Derek Jeter

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he doesn't remember specifically criticizing New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter or Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, but said he likely did. The comments were part of a profile of the Orioles manager in the April edition of Men's Journal, months after Showalter was interviewed by the magazine during a lunch meeting in Dallas. "We were sitting down at a table laughing about different stuff, and three or four months later, somebody brings it up as a quote and it's newsworthy," Showalter said.

Cashman forced to pay Dan Connolly Baltimore Sun Brian Cashman, but it doesn't matter. Because Derek Jeter is more valuable to the Yankees than to anyone else, and they'll eventually have to pay him close to what he wants. The Orioles faced a similar dilemma with Cal Ripken Jr. , when he approached his final contract. There is no way they could have let him finish his career elsewhere. Jeter will be 37 in June and his skills are declining.

The silence around baseball regarding those suddenly and unexpectedly available has been deafening. The Yankees have won five World Series with Derek Jeter , but now that he's 36 with long-haul contributors such as Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez on his flank, they seem to think they can live without him. Perhaps that's because they are on the verge of signing Cliff Lee to a contract that could...

News item: The New York Yankees and team captain Derek Jeter still haven't finalized a new contract, and negotiations appear to be hung up over the length of the deal. The Yankees reportedly want to give Jeter a three-year deal worth about $21 million per year. Jeter is believed to want four or five years at that price. My take: This thing will get worked out with some kind of fourth-year vesting option. Jeter isn't going anywhere — the magnitude of his legacy depends on him being a lifetime Yankee — and the team can't afford the PR backlash that would result from playing hardball with its most beloved player.

It is a truism , born in Hollywood westerns, that the good guys wear white hats. Now from New York comes word that the bad guys prefer Yankee caps. In the last 10 years more than 100 suspects or persons of interest in connection with serious crimes in New York wore Yankee apparel at the time of their crimes, arrests or arraignment. This report comes from The New York Times, the newspaper of record in the Yankees' hometown, which stated that when it came to clothing favored by the accused, "no other sports team comes close.

Smart baseball Phil Rogers Chicago Tribune Give Derek Jeter an Oscar. And extra MVP consideration. Derek Jeter was once again instinctually brilliant when he faked getting hit with that Chad Qualls pitch in the seventh inning on Wednesday night against the Rays. It was a case of bad umpiring and very, very smart baseball. The Yankees were trailing 2-1, so getting on base was Jeter's priority. When the pitch hit the knob of his bat, he immediately acted as if the pitch hit him and he was in pain, and umpire Lance Barksdale bought it, sending him to first.

Admirers of Yankees most eligible bachelor Derek Jeter could be cheering a World Series victory in November -- then mourning his marriage a few days later. The New York Post reports Sunday that the star shortstop and girlfriend Minka Kelly will be married Nov. 5 on Long Island. Acting on a tip, a reporter posing as a bride-to-be spotted an entry reading "JETER wedding" on the calendar for the Oheka Castle in Huntington, N.Y. Sales manager Rick Bellando insisted that a celebrity wouldn't be listed under his real name when the reporter pointed it out. The Oheka Castle is the second-largest private residence in the United States and recently hosted the wedding of one of the Jonas Brothers.

A recap of the Orioles' 7-1 loss to the Yankees yesterday: Maybe he was due Chad Bradford gives up home runs about as often as the Orioles wear "Baltimore" on their road jerseys. OK, maybe a little more often, but it's unusual to see someone take him deep. Johnny Damon belted a two-run homer off Bradford in the seventh inning yesterday after Steve Trachsel left the game, increasing the Yankees' lead to 4-0. The only long ball that Bradford surrendered last year came Sept. 22, when the Texas Rangers' Hank Blalock connected off him. He has given up four homers since the start of the 2005 season.

There are two pervasive thoughts for the 2008 baseball season: The American League is far superior to the National League. And no team is without a significant question mark heading into its first games, even in the AL. The Boston Red Sox's rotation is banged up, the New York Yankees are maybe too old and maybe too young. The Detroit Tigers' bullpen is a mess, the Cleveland Indians have offensive holes and a top-heavy rotation and the Los Angeles Angels? deep rotation already is reeling.

There are two pervasive thoughts for the 2008 baseball season: The American League is far superior to the National League. And no team is without a significant question mark heading into its first games, even in the AL. The Boston Red Sox's rotation is banged up, the New York Yankees are maybe too old and maybe too young. The Detroit Tigers' bullpen is a mess, the Cleveland Indians have offensive holes and a top-heavy rotation and the Los Angeles Angels' deep rotation already is reeling.