EL TITAN DE BRONZE

The Yankees held a press conference at Yankee Stadium yesterday introducing Jose Contreras to the press.

George King reports that Contreras won't riff if he's not initially in the starting rotation:

"I am ready to do whatever is necessary," said the 6-foot-4, 230-pound right-hander with enormous hands, introduced at a Stadium press conference yesterday when he filled out a No. 56 jersey. [The Daily News said that Contreras wore #52...let's split the difference and assume he's #54.] "I have always been a starter and I prefer to be a starter but I am ready to do anything the Yankees ask me. I am the last one to arrive so I understand that."

TORRE SHOULDERS BLAME

Manager Joe Torre was in town for the big day, and he addressed several issues, which included defending his coaches.

"My coaching staff works very hard," Torre said after the press conference to introduce pitcher Jose Contreras. "You want to drop blame on someone, here I am. I get paid a lot of money to do what I do. We don't win, start here.

"It's tough to say they don't work when we win 103 games. If we were taking something for granted, we would've slacked off after winning the division and we didn't."

...Torre was asked if he felt any more pressure this season, as he prepares to leave New York for Tampa.

Torre smiled. "I've been doing this a long time," he said. "I expect a lot out of myself and the players. I judge players and teams a little different. I don't look at the bottom line, I look at the effort.

"To see how close we've come, in a couple of the years we won the World Series, to being knocked out, you realize how lucky you are to do it."

Has Torre's relationship with Steinbrenner changed, either because of the early loss or the Boss' cracks?

"No, I don't think so," Torre said. "He's pretty vocal. He knows what he wants. He needs to be on top, which is good for me because I get what I need to win.

"Moods change, like all of us, but nothing's different between us."

Torre also reiterated his plans to give Jeff Weaver a spot in the starting rotation:

"It's going to be difficult," he added. "We'll wait and see. It's going to be tough, but the quality is there."

Torre said "I meant it and I still mean it" when asked about his comments regarding Weaver. "I still feel like Jeff Weaver is going to be an elite starter in this league," Torre added. "At the time I told him (he'd be a starter), I felt it. I still feel going into spring training that he's one of our starters.

"My obligation is to the team first. Second, it's my job to try to make the people who are not in the rotation understand it. Not like it, understand it."

BIG BAD BOMBERS

Not everything came up roses and daffodils in the Bronx yesterday however. Joel Sherman ripped the Yankees, and their bulldozer approach to success in the Post this morning:

When the talent is overt (Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Contreras, Matsui), they buy it. When the talent is not so obvious and they cannot restrain themselves anyway (Sterling Hitchcock, Steve Karsay, Raul Mondesi, Rondell White), they buy it at prices others would not consider paying.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman was offended by this assertion. I can understand his annoyance, since he still oversees an extremely hard-working, bright staff he insists is merely doing what this organization always has done.

"If you are asking me if the Yankees have an advantage because of money, yes," he said. "But I don't think that is any different than in the past, and I've been here since 1986."

However, I see a difference. It is the difference between using money to augment rather than overwhelm.

... Yes, the Yanks are playing by the rules, they will pay heavily in luxury tax/revenue sharing, and they are plying dollars seen from turnstiles/cable TV back into the product.

It used to be much easier to defend this organization against simply trying to buy titles when they were making more artful moves than simply applying the scouting skill of any Tom, Dick or Rotisserie player with $120 million to sign Giambi, or investing $32 million in a Cuban defector who may not even make their rotation.

Peter Gammons blasted the Yankees along similiar lines earlier this winter. Both writers have a point. It's inherently difficult to root for the rich bully. But sincerely, who cares if it was easier for Sherman to defend the Yankees several years ago? Looks like it will be harder for him to appreciate any success the Yankees enjoy this year---what did you expect, they bought it---but you can bet he'll be first in line to knock them if they sputter. Hey, everyone needs an angle. The Post has got to sell papers after all.

YES ON THE ATTACK

It's snowing in New York this morning. I usually read the Post and the News on the subway on the way to work, then I look at the Times during lunch. Kobe Bryant deservedly made the backpages after torching the Knicks for 46 at the Garden last night (including a frightening reverse dunk at the end of the first half that is on tip of every basketball fan's tongue this morning), but I couldn't help but be impressed with the full page ad the YES network took in the local papers. According to a report in the Daily News:

The Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network said it will submit to a ruling by an "independent arbitrator, mediator, judge or panel" to settle its dispute with Cablevision.

"And we challenge Cablevision to join us at that table," said YES boss Leo Hindery.

Hindery made the challenge in a letter to fans, which appeared today in advertisements running in a variety of local newspapers.

In the past, Cablevision brass has said it will not even address the subject of an independent arbitrator until YES drops its anti-trust lawsuit against their company.

NICK HAPPY TO BE HERE: SORI NOT SERIOUS

The News has a puff piece on Nick Johnson, who is happy to still be in pinstripes. (For what it's worth, I'm happy he's still around too.) Alfonso Soriano has pulled out of a Home Run Contest in Las Vegas due to a sore shouler. Apparently, it is not anything serious.

MILLAR CASE: JUST A MATTER OF TIME

I'm running out of headlines for this storyline. When is Steinbrenner going to jump out of the weeds and attempt to cockblock the Sox again? (Gosh, I hope he can manage to contain himself.) Here is the latest on Kevin Millar, from today's Boston Globe:

''Clearly, Major League Baseball has an interest in how this works out,'' [executive vice president of baseball opertations for MLB, Sandy] Alderson said. ''I'm not sure Major League Baseball ever looked into the issue [of whether the contract was valid]. But it appears the operating assumption for the Florida Marlins, Chunichi Dragons and Millar himself, as evidenced by his rejection [of Boston's unconditional roster claim], is that there was a binding agreement, at least for a good part of the time.'' The Sox claim on a player despite being notified of Florida's intention of selling that player to Chunichi was unprecedented in Alderson's memory. Asked if Chunichi officials had complained of the Red Sox' involvement in the matter, Alderson said, ''Their focus at the time I had conversations with them was their desire to convince Kevin Millar he should play in Japan.''