The Daily Yankeeland

Ron Villone has signed a minor league deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. Villone is hoping to pitch in his 14th major league season. Bubba Crosby signed a minor league deal with the Mariners, but was not invited to the major league camp.

We've been hearing from Hank Steinbrenner since last October, but now Hal Steinbrenner has some things to say. He sat down for an interview with GQ Magazine entitled, "The Godfather, Part II". Here are a couple of excerpts:

Was there a distinct moment at which you and Hank took control of the Yankees?
No. I obviously became considerably more involved at a somewhat dramatic pace when Steve, my sister’s ex-husband, left [in February of 2007]. A couple months after that, I think Hank realized I could use some help.

Various sources say you “hate” and “avidly disdain” the media.
No truth to that. That was Bill Madden [of the New York Daily News]. Look, first of all, I don’t hate anybody. It’s a useless emotion. It accomplishes nothing. He even said I hate the players, which is certainly not true. We’ve all had issues with the media, okay, but at the same time, I understand, Hank understands, they’re in business just like we’re in business.

Am I comfortable dealing with the media? Probably not as comfortable as Hank is. Definitely not as comfortable as my dad was. Have I had disagreements with them in the past, disagreed with things they’ve written and the reasons they wrote them? Yes, of course. But again, I understand what the deal is.

The Yankees' position players report today. It will be interesting to see what kind of shape Jason Giambi, who has reportedly lost a lot of weight, and Johnny Damon, who admitted he was out of shape last year when he reported, are in.

Hank Steinbrenner took yesterday's Pettitte press conference as an opportunity to take a shot at Congress and the NFL. Prince Hank feels baseball has been singled out and the NFL has gotten away with much more P.E.D. use than baseball. There's definitely some truth to what he says.

Hank also talked about how confident he feels about this year's Yankees team.

"I think we're a legitimate World Series threat this year," Steinbrenner said. "I think we're one of the four or five teams in the American League that can win it. I don't want to trash the National League, but the American League is very strong and everyone knows it.

"We're one of, I'd say, four teams that has a chance to win it, in my opinion. Starting next year or the year after, we may be the favorite."

According to the Sports Business Journal, the Yankees are seeking about $20 million a year for the top sponsorship package once they move into the new Stadium.

After 2 years away from the game, former Yankees pitcher and pitching coach Mel Stottelmyre is back at work as pitching coach for the Seattle Mariners.