FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner knew exactly what he was doing when he got under the skin of superstar shortstop Derek Jeter during the offseason.
Steinbrenner, still stinging after a short postseason, hinted that his franchise player was spending too much time on the town and not enough time working to maintain the level of performance that established him in the late 1990s as one of the game's best clutch players.
It was an old-school Steinbrenner tactic intended to light a fire under a team that has gone two whole years without a world title. Jeter took the bait and fired back Thursday, creating just enough residual acrimony to keep the New York tabloids humming through the first weekend of training camp.
The initial charge was specious. Jeter is a diligent professional who is known by his peers to have his priorities very much in order. He puts his job first, but he also clearly enjoys some of the perks that come with being a rich, handsome, famous, young bachelor. Who wouldn't? The Boss doesn't really care about that, but he has become so spoiled by the Yankees' recent success that one year without a World Series was enough to get his blood boiling. He has done a pretty good job of staying out of the spotlight since returning from a lengthy suspension in the early 1990s, but he couldn't resist the temptation to stir the pot for old times' sake.
Give Steinbrenner credit on one count. He generally picks on someone his own size. During the 1970s and early '80s, it was Billy Martin or Reggie Jackson. During the '80s, it was Dave Winfield. Now it's Jeter, one of the players most responsible for the great Yankees resurgence.
No doubt, the volatile Yankees owner fancies himself a master manipulator, pushing just the right buttons to re-establish the edge that he felt was lacking in 2002. Jeter was just a convenient target.
Trouble is, Jeter isn't Martin or Jackson or Winfield. He's much more accustomed to cashing World Series checks than playing mind games with the owner, so there is no way of knowing just how he'll respond to Steinbrenner's machinations.
Most likely, he'll go about his business and the well-stocked Yankees will cruise back into the World Series, allowing Steinbrenner to believe that he helped the franchise get refocused.
Then Jeter won't have to look over his shoulder every time he goes dancing next winter.
Piniella's glass half full
New Tampa Bay Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella apparently is an optimist. What other choice does he have after giving up one of the prime managerial jobs in baseball to take over a train wreck like the Devil Rays organization?
Piniella has set a reasonable goal for the first year - to set a franchise record for wins in a season, which shouldn't be an impossible dream considering that the team has never finished out of the American League East cellar. After that, the next step is a .500 record.
If all goes according to the Piniella plan, the Devil Rays will be competitive in the AL East in three years.
"Our job here basically is to get to .500 first," he told the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times. "The quicker we can get this thing to .500, the better off we're going to be as an organization, and from there we can take the next step forward.
"I think that's going to be done here quicker than people anticipate."
General manager Chuck LaMar has bought into that positive outlook, predicting that the Devil Rays also will turn around at the gate.
"Winning is going to attract fans to the Trop and Lou Piniella helps us win," LaMar said. "You put a winning product at Tropicana Field and you're not going to hear any more about driving across bridges. You're not going to hear about concessions. You're not going to hear about parking. You're not going to hear about anything. They're going to come."
Of course, they'll have to cross that bridge when they come to it.
No fool for a lawyer
Seattle Mariners pitcher Jamie Moyer succeeded this winter where a lot of experienced player agents could not. He personally negotiated a three-year contract with the club that will guarantee him $15.5 million.
Not bad for a guy who turned 40 in November and doesn't throw much harder than the average corporate attorney.
"It was a good experience," Moyer said. "I learned a lot about the business side of the game, how this organization deals with negotiations. I felt I had to be well-prepared and thorough."
Just another impressive achievement from a resourceful pitcher who has never taken no for an answer. He was little more than a journeyman pitcher when he passed through Baltimore in the early 1990s, but he transformed himself into one of the most dependable winners in the American League.
Cone's comeback
What made David Cone decide to come out of retirement and sign a minor-league contract with the New York Mets? Mets pitchers Al Leiter and John Franco talked him into it.
"I told him, if he still feels competitive enough and he still feels he can do it, why not give it a shot?" Franco told the New York Daily News. "The worst thing that could happen is he doesn't make the squad."
Cone contacted Mets owner Fred Wilpon and eventually agreed on a one-year deal that would pay him $550,000 if he makes the team and calls for $200,000 in incentive bonuses. He'll audition for a job in the bullpen or compete with several youngsters for the fifth spot in the rotation. With a little luck, he could get the seven victories he needs to reach career win No. 200.
"I'm excited about the opportunity," said Cone, who won 20 games for the Mets during their division title run in 1988. "I'm ready to do whatever Art Howe wants me to do. I had a lot of good years at Shea Stadium with the Mets, and I'm ready to try to help this club any way I can."
Making peace
Former Boston Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette met recently with CEO Larry Lucchino and new GM Theo Epstein to assure them that he was not affiliated with a pair of Web sites devoted to trashing the new Boston brain trust.
The Internet sites were set up by former Duquette publicist John Flynn, so it wasn't hard to reach the conclusion that Duquette had something to do with them.
"The meeting was at his request," Lucchino told The Boston Globe. "He wanted to clear the air regarding the story that came out about a negative Web site.
"He called me and I met with him and he met briefly with Theo as well. I thought it was positive that he would take the initiative to come in and make sure we knew he was not connected to that silly effort."
Civic duty
San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown wants to ride down Market Street in a world championship parade, but he told Giants owner Peter Magowan during a luncheon last week that he is running out of time.
"My term ends Jan. 8 at noon and I've got to do the parade before I leave," he said. "Please, please, please, Mr. Magowan, my mother would be so grateful to see me riding next to Barry Bonds."
Bonds' mother probably wouldn't mind that, either.
Compiled from interviews, wire services and reports from other newspapers.