Hank Azaria calls classic Mets moments as 'Simpsons' characters (VIDEO)

Actor and comedian Hank Azaria joined MLB Network earlier this week and called a few classic Mets highlights as some of the characters he voices on The Simpsons. The Queens native is a Mets fans and, like all Metsies, has a healthy sense of humor about the Flushing Follies.

Watch as Azaria calls the Bill Buckner play from the 1986 World Series, Endy Chavez’s spectacular grab in the 2006 NLCS, and the time Roger Clemens threw a broken bat at Mike Piazza as Moe, Apu, and Chief Wiggum, respectively.

Cue The Simpsons theme song.

Chuck Knoblauch goes on bizarre 'tribute to drunk drivers' Twitter rant: Report

Former MLB second baseman Chuck Knoblauch took to Twitter early Thursday and unleashed a bizarre rant that seemed to come out of left field — maybe even from out of the park.

The 46-year-old Knoblauch, a four-time All-Star in Minnesota before joining the New York Yankees, seemed just a little out of touch with reality when he implied people who drive drunk and commit domestic violence should be praised, reported the N.Y. Daily News.

“You know what. Let's pay tribute to all the drunk drivers in the world. All the domestic violent offenders, yes me. Is the nation sad?” Knoblauch, who earned three World Series rings with the Yankees from 1998-2001, tweeted.

“We are all sad stories,” Knoblauch, who now lives in Houston, tweeted just after midnight local time. “I'm guilty that's it. I will never be guilty Of drunk driving. It's sad like everything else. But f---king stand”

“UP AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. DONE. CRY NOMORE TEARS. I STAND UP. ITS MY FAULT.”

You know what. Let's pay tribute to all the drunk drivers in the world. All the domestic violent offenders, yes me. Is the nation sad?
— Chuck Knoblauch (@chuckknoblauch) November 13, 2014

And the social media response against Knobby's out-there remarks wasn't a surprise.

Chuck Knob's needs to hug a kitten and logg off Twitter right now.
— Vincent Frank (@VincentFrankNFL) November 13, 2014

It’s unclear what the troubled Knoblauch was referring to, but one likely cause is a recent domestic violence charge against him.

He was arrested July 23 for misdemeanor assault after court records allege he smashed his wife Cheri’s head into a wall,  reported Click 2 Houston. Police said Knoblauch appeared to be intoxicated while they also observed a bump on his wife’s forehead, scratch to her face and a large bruise on her arm.

Knoblauch’s name was also in the news Wednesday after a videotaped deposition from 2009 featuring former Yankees teammate Roger Clemens was released. Clemens faces a defamation suit tied to steroid allegations levied by trainer Brian McNamee.

McNamee said he provided banned drugs to Andy Pettitte, Knoblauch and Clemens. Knoblauch, whose name was included in the now-infamous Mitchell Report, has admitted using human growth hormone.

What set Knoblauch off on his late night Twitter binge is anyone’s guess. But it can't be good for his case. Just sayin'.

Infamous Clemens-Piazza broken World Series bat gets $47,800 at auction

The broken bat that Roger Clemens infamously threw in the direction of Mike Piazza during the 2000 World Series was auctioned this weekend for $47,800.

The winning bidder asked to remain anonymous, a Heritage Auctions spokesman said Sunday. The auction house initially expected the bat to go for around $10,000, reports Newsday.

Former Yankees strength coach Jeff Mangold, who sold the Subway Series bat, said in an interview this month that he noticed immediately after that World Series Game 2 ended that Piazza's broken bat was headed for the trash and thought it was too meaningful to be thrown away.

So Mangold said he took it home and quietly displayed it in his office for 13 years.

He said the broken barrel of Piazza's Mizuno Pro bat still has the old Yankee Stadium dirt stuck in its end because, after Clemens threw it toward Piazza, the bat took a few bounces before getting stuck in the grass.

"I've had it for 13 years, mainly in the office here at the house," said Mangold of the memento. "It's time for it to move on."

Mangold was the strength coach for the Yankees from 1984-88 and again from 1998-2006, and for the Mets from 1993-96. He said he's done Google searches over the years to see if anyone ever wondered about the bat's whereabouts.

"There was no mention of it, just no mention of it at all," Mangold said of the symbolic piece of wood. "Just a handful of friends of mine know about it. I wasn't out to show it off or anything. It was just something that was known among our family. Very strange, for all these years, nobody ever mentioned. The Hall of Fame never inquired about it. No one did."

Amazing.

Roger Clemens steroids question stumps three Jeopardy contestants (VIDEO)

The only thing funnier than these contestants' answers to this "Jeopardy" show question (answer?) is host Alex Trebek's reaction.

To their credit, two women apparently heard about gambling and steroids in baseball and all three knew  that Pete Rose, Curt Schilling and Mark McGwire aren't in the Hall.

Ex-MLB MVP Vladimir Guerrero signs with Long Island Ducks

Vladimir Guerrero — the former American League MVP with 2,590 hits and 449 home runs in his career — will suiting up for the Long Island Ducks this summer.

Once one of the most formidable hitters in the majors, "the Impaler" hopes to slug his way back into the bigs with the independent minor league Ducks of the Atlantic League.

"Vladimir Guerrero is a Hall of Fame talent that has produced tremendous numbers at the highest level of the game," Ducks general manager Michael Pfaff said Thursday night. "He has a real desire to return to the major leagues and we thought the Atlantic League was the best place for him to begin that journey. We're happy to give him that opportunity."

Roger Clemens pitched against the Ducks with the Sugar Land Skeeters in a highly publicized attempt to revive his career last summer.

The 38-year-old Guerrero -- the 2004 MVP and a nine-time All-Star, including as recently as 2010 with the Rangers -- last played in the majors in 2011 with the Orioles, hitting .290 with 13 home runs and 63 RBIs. Guerrero was open to a minor-league deal in his comeback attempt but was unable to land one.

Pfaff said he reached out to Guerrero's representatives last week and the contract was finalized Thursday night.

"He brings run production, he brings leadership and he brings a bat that opposing pitchers have to fear and plan to pitch around," Pfaff said. "With a Vladimir Guerrero in the lineup, it gives some of our others hitters like a Ray Navarrete some better pitches to see."

Central Islip may be a long way from the Dominican Republic where Guerrero currently resides but it is a lot closer road back to the majors. Pfaff hopes to have him join the team next week. 

The Ducks, who won the Atlantic League championship last season, open the season against Sugar Land on April 18 and the home opener on April 26.

"He's very excited about the opportunity," Pfaff said of Guerrero, a .318 hitter during his 16-year career. "He's very appreciative. He's looking forward to coming here and helping us win a championship if he doesn't get signed before that."

Mike Piazza to perform at the acclaimed Miami City Ballet

Mike Piazza will be exchanging his old shin guards for dancing shoes — for at least one night.

The former Dodgers and Mets star catcher will have a bit part in a performance of George Balanchine's "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" at the internationally-acclaimed Miami City Ballet on May 3.

The 44-year-old-Piazza will play the role of "The Gangster" — a character who threatens the protagonist of the ballet and then coldly watches the performance unfold.  He will have a few lines tossed out "Al Capone style."

"He won't be be dancing or catching any flying ballerinas, but he will be part of the action," said Roberto Santiago, a spokesperson for the ballet company.

Hey. It can't be any harder than doing The Batcracker and dancing around the shards of the Louisville Slugger Roger Clemens hurled at Piazza back in the 2000 World Series.  He was pretty light on his feet.

Don't count on Piazza turning this performance into a permanent gig. Swan Lake will just have to wait. The former All-Star took the part as a favor to his 6-year-old daughter, Nicoletta — who is a student at the Miami City Ballet school.

"It's going to be a lot of fun seeing the reaction of my two little girls," Piazza said in a statement. "For [Nicoletta] to have the opportunity to see daddy on stage is my little gift.  I'm looking forward to it."

Piazza is no stranger to the performing arts and besides doing a baseball version of "Don Quixote" behind the plate for 16 major league seasons, he was a spokesperson for Pert shampoo and appeared on "Married...With Children."

"He sees what ballet study has done for his daughter in terms of discipline and athleticism," said Santiago.

A .308 lifetime batting average, 427 career home runs and now a pirouette.  Maybe the Hall of Fame will realize what a well-rounded player he was.

Yankees continue battle over 'The House that Juice Built' trademark

As if the New York Yankees don't have enough to deal with — injuries, contract talks and getting under the luxury tax limit — the team is still battling a Long Island man over a trademark slogan — for the fourth straight year!

The dispute between Steve Lore and the team's pinstriped lawyers is over his trademark application for the phrase "The House that Juice Built," reports The New York Post.

Lore's slogan is a twisted word play on the team's trademarked phrase for Yankee Stadium, "The House that Ruth Built." Lore's version also alters the team logo from an Uncle Sam-style hat over a baseball bat to the hat with the bat being replaced by a syringe.

It sounds like this house hits too close to home.

The Yankees slammed the trademark application as "offensive" and understood the word "juice" to be a reference to "consumption of alcohol or illegal anabolic steroids."

The Brooklyn-born Lore, a lifelong Dodgers fan, applied for the trademark in 2009 as an anti-steroid message.

"This is about wanting to control people," said Lore. "They don't want to be held responsible for not overseeing their own players.

"Steroids really ruined the game, and when news of [the rampant use] broke, it was mostly of Yankees that were suspected — Giambi, A-Rod, Clemens," he explained.

The case has lingered before the US Patent and Trademark Office even long before the Core Four was whittled down to the Key Three and has been suspended to allow the two parties to negotiate between themselves.

"They are dragging this on because they don't have a case," claims Lore.

The Yankees have not commented.

Piazza memoir: I took karate lessons in preparation of fighting Clemens

Excerpts from Mike Piazza's new memoir "Long Shot" were published by The New York Times yesterday and in it, the former Dodgers and Mets All-Star confronts rumors about being gay, taking steroids and lastly — his rivalry with Roger Clemens.

In the book, Piazza admits that he steered clear of steroids but used androstenedione — the same controversial supplement that Mark McGuire used — during a stretch of his playing days.  Piazza says he stopped using the supplement before it was banned by MLB.  He also admits he experimented with amphetamines until they were outlawed.

On his sexual orientation, and rumors his dalliances with models and Playmates were just a charade, Piazza said. "If I was gay, I'd be gay all the way."

The 44-year-old Piazza doesn't hold back when it comes to his grudge against Clemens for beaning him  with a 98 mph fastball during a July 8, 2000 game and then for the infamous bat-throwing incident against the Yankees in the World Series (see video) that same season.  Piazza goes into detail about the storied rivalry in The New York Post:

“I truly believe that if I hadn’t gotten my head down at the last instant, Clemens’ two-seamer would have struck me in the eye and possibly killed me,” he recalls.

The Yankees hurler called the Mets dugout to apologize during the game, but Piazza wasn’t hearing it.

“I grabbed [the phone], threw it and said, ‘Tell him to go f--k himself,’ ” Piazza said.

“Roger Clemens had near-perfect control. I wouldn’t have batted an eye if he had just brushed me off the plate — of course that’s what he said he was trying to do . . . But to stick it in my forehead, that’s another story altogether.”

In the book, Piazza tells how he mapped out a plan for revenge — taking karate lessons and visualizing the next time they would go at it. “I would approach with my fist pulled back. I figured he’d throw his glove out for protection. I’d parry the glove and then get after it,” Piazza writes.

Piazza would get his chance in the 2000 World Series — when the underdog Mets met their crosstown rivals in the Fall Classic. The highly anticipated confrontation between the Mets’ 12-time All-Star catcher and the Yankees flame throwing hurler had New York City buzzing.

The climactic moment came at Yankee Stadium, during Clemens’ fourth pitch to Piazza in the first inning of Game 2. The righthander's fastball shattered Piazza’s bat into three pieces, with the top part of the bat flying toward the mound. Clemens picked up the splintered barrel and, inexplicably, threw it in Piazza’s direction as the batter ran down the first-base line.

“What the f--k is your problem?” Piazza, still holding the handle of the broken bat and walking toward the pitcher’s mound, asked Clemens. But Piazza went no further — and never followed through on his plan for revenge.

“There were complications,” he writes. “The least of them was the realization that Clemens was a big guy, and I stood a pretty fair chance of getting my ass kicked in front of Yankee Stadium and the world. That was a legitimate concern.”

Now we know.

Clemens claims comeback is not a ploy to delay Hall of Fame

Roger Clemens went to great lengths and expense to clear his name of perjury charges and now critics are saying his baseball comeback is not just for fun— but a calculated attempt to delay his  appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot this winter.

The 50-year old pitcher downplayed the idea that he was hoping to return to the majors, where even one pitch would delay his eligibility for Cooperstown another five years and maybe put memories of his association with steroids in the back of voter's minds.

Clemens is expected to begin pitching for the independent Atlantic League's Sugarland (Tex.) Skeeters this Saturday.  The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the Houston Astros have already sent a scout to see the seven-time Cy Young Award winner throw.  The 354-game winner's fastball was recently clocked at 87 mph on a radar gun.

Hall of Fame voters were expected to reject the inclusion to the Hall of Fame because of his high-profile role in the Mitchell report on doping in the major leagues.  A jury acquitted Clemens in June of six felony charges related to his congressional testimony after he denied using steroids and human growth hormone.

"Sure the Hall of Fame is great, I've told people that.  But it's not going to change my life either way," Clemens said.  "But if there's something there that somebody feels like they have a grudge or want to hold something against you, I can't control that one bit."

Clemens last pitched in the majors with the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the ALCS in 2007 claims  a big league return or turning back the Hall of Fame clock aren't on his mind.

"I've been to the major leagues and back a couple of times," he said.  "I've retired and unretired, so I wouldn't consider thinking that far ahead.  I'm just going to try to get through Saturday.  I think I can compete a little bit."

Former Astros executive and current Skeeters special advisor Tal Smith knows Clemens will help put fans in the seats but won't call the comeback a publicity stunt.

"Knowing Roger and how competitive he is and what great shape he is in, and the fact that Jamie Moyer pitched close to 50 and Nolan Ryan pitched well into his 40's. If anyone can do it, Roger Clemens can do it," Smith said.

It sounds like Smith thinks Clemens' return to the majors will help the pitcher's chances of winning over the HOF voter's hearts

"I think voter's should remember that he's been acquitted of all charges and that he never tested positive," Smith said.  "I hope this story dies down in future years."

If Clemens' comeback can make unsympathetic voters forget about the 10-week trial— with its images of steroid-covered syringes and other medical waste covered with the hurler's DNA— could a Barry Bonds return be far away?

Reggie Jackson says A-Rod's records are 'clouded' by PED use

New York Yankees' great Reggie Jackson sounds like he has a warning for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens or any other players linked to steroids and will be on the ballot for the Hall of Fame next year— don't expect to make it to Cooperstown in the near future.

If Mark McGuire is any indication— Bonds, Clemens and any other players associated with PEDs will not make the cut and, if they do get into the Hall of Fame, Mr. October won't be there to welcome them.

"If any of those guys get in, no Hall of Famer will attend," Jackson told Sports Illustrated.

That list of players with their names tainted by PEDs and headed towards a Hall of Fame ballot will probably one day include Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez— who passed Jackson on the all-time home run list.

"Al's a very good friend, but I think there are real questions about his numbers," Jackson said.  "As much as I like him, what he admitted about his usage does cloud some of his records."

Rodriguez admitted in 2009 to using PEDs earlier in his career.

It's sounds like a complete 180-turn from what Jackson told USA Today last month.  He said Clemens deserved to be in the Hall of Fame after he won his perjury case.

While Jackson— who still works for the Yankees organization as a special adviser— ripped A-Rod's numbers as not being legit, he said he might make an exception for Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte— who also admitted using PEDs.

"The question is going to be a guy like Andy Pettitte, who admitted  that he got involved for a while, but who is so universally respected in the game," said Jackson.  "I think he'll get in, but there will be a lot of [members] who won't go."

Asked if Pettitte was inducted, would he attend?

"I've know Andy since he was 20," he said.  "I'll leave it there."

The former A's, Angels and Yankees slugger didn't hold back when it came to a number of players recently inducted into Cooperstown who he feels are undeserving of the honor.

"I didn't see Kirby Puckett as a Hall of Famer," Jackson told Sports Illustrated.  "I didn't see Gary Carter as a Hall of Famer.  I didn't see Don Sutton as a Hall of Famer.  I didn't see Phil Niekro as a Hall of Famer.  As much as I like Jim Rice, I'm not sure he's a Hall of Famer.

Jackson once claimed he was the straw that stirred the drink when he was with the Yankees during the turbulent '70's.  It looks like he's shaking things up these days.

Joe Torre: Clemens belongs in Hall of Fame

Joe Torre believes that Roger Clemens— who was acquitted on accusations of lying to Congress during a 2008 session on performance enhancing drugs— belongs in the Hall of Fame even though the seven-time Cy Young Award winner has been connected to PEDs.

At Sunday's Old-Timer's Game at Yankee Stadium Torre claims Clemens was like a son to him and said he was in Clemens' camp on the subject of whether or not his former player was Hall of Fame worthy.

"He is to me," the former Yankees manager said.  "I can't make other people look a him.  I can just tell you the way I feel about it.  I was proud to have him play for me.  He always gave you everything he had and I always respected that."

Clemens played for six seasons in New York for Torre and helped the Yankees win World Series Championships in 1999 and 2000 before being linked to performance enhancing drugs in 2007— when he was mentioned in the Mitchell Report.  Clemens denied any connection to steroids and human growth hormone at the televised 2008 hearing.

Torre— who is now executive vice president for baseball operations for MLB—  said he understands that people will now evaluate the 354-game winner's career with the cloud of PEDs surrounding Clemens' achievements.

"It's sad for me," Torre said.  "Because Roger Clemens in the way he went about his business— and I disliked him like everyone else until I got a chance to know him— he was a great teammate for these guys and he was very devoted to the team he was playing on and I always respected that."

This winter, Clemens will make his first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot along with Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa— two other big names associated to steroids.

Jeter is glad Clemens beat the rap

Roger Clemens may have lost a few fans— and Hall of Fame votes— while battling a variety of steroid-related charges over the past few years but some of his former New York Yankees teammates are glad the whole saga is over and still on the Clemens bandwagon— including Derek Jeter.

After Clemens was found no guilty on Monday of lying to and obstructing Congress, Jeter said he was pleased with the result.

"I think it means a lot for him, first and foremost," said the Yankees shortstop. "That's the important thing.  I think it's great for the game that we can stop talking about it now, you know what I mean?  This is something that's been going on for a long time.  I'm glad it's over with.  I'm pretty sure baseball fans will be happy it's over with."

Jeter— who chooses his words as carefully as his pitches added," There was a lot of speculation.  You always have to be careful not to rush to judgement."

While Jeter was forthright in his remarks, his teammate Andy Pettitte— whose testimony likely helped Clemens with his acquittal— wasn't so chatty.

"I don't even care to talk about it," said Pettitte— who pitched with Clemens in New York and with the Houston Astros.

Alex Rodriguez— an admitted steroid user— had nothing to say on the matter and the Yankees third baseman actually ran past reporters at the end of batting practice to avoid them.

Jeter sounds like he still thinks Clemens is bound for the Hall of Fame.

"That's how you look at his career," said the Yankees Captain.  "He was someone that I enjoyed competing against, I enjoyed playing with. He's going to go down as one of the greatest pitchers of all time."

Jose Canseco joins minor-league team and says 'see you at Fenway'

Jose Canseco's seemingly never-ending Kenny Powers-like journey to keep his professional baseball career alive just added another episode.  The Bash Brother— and self-proclaimed 'Godfather of Steroids'— signed a one-year contract with the Worcester (Mass.) Tornadoes of the independent Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball on Friday.

The last time we heard from Canseco was last month, after he failed a drug test when he tried out for the Quintana Roo Tigers of the Mexican League after stints as boxer and MMA fighter.  He told the New York Daily News he receives testosterone treatment since he cannot produce testosterone naturally due to all of his years of steroid use.

It seems like the 47-year old slugger has played in every league in every country and just won't go away.

In fact, Canseco tweeted that he will be at Fenway Park on Friday for the landmark's 100th anniversary celebration.

"OK haters and army of immortals," he said via Twitter.  "The cat's out of the bag.  I'm here for the red sox 100th anniversary.  Glad to be back at fenway."

Canseco played for both the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees— who will be playing Friday afternoon to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first game played at Fenway.

Judge Denies Clemens' Motion To Prevent 2nd Perjury Trial

A motion by Roger Clemens' defense team to have a judge dismiss the government's case against the former pitcher was denied Friday afternoon, as reported by Fox News.  Clemens' lead attorney Rusty Hardin had asked judge Reggie Walton to forbid another trial following the July hearing in which the judge declared a mistrial after two days of testimony.

According to Fox News, the judge sided with the prosecution and set a date for the second trial.

Hardin accused prosecutors of deliberately sabotaging the case because it was going badly for the government.

During the first trial jurors were shown evidence that was already determined to be inadmissible in court by the judge.

The prosecution team claimed it was a mistake.  Prosecutors-- Steven Durham and Daniel Butler made a critical error by introducing the barred evidence.  They apologized and impelled Walton into giving them another chance.

The evidence in question was a video in which a congressman referred to testimony by Laura Pettitte-- former Yankee Andy Pettitte's wife-- that Walton had barred as second-hand testimony.

In a statement, Walton said," I want to believe it is a mistake.  I would find it hard to believe that they would blatantly disregard a ruling I would make.  But it's hard for me to reach another conclusion."

Hardin, meanwhile, thinks a retrial would be a "reward" for the prosecutors for causing the mistrial in the first place.

Clemens is accused of lying under oath after speaking before a committee about steroid use in 2008.

At that hearing, Clemens testified," No matter what we discuss here, I'm never going to have my name restored.  But I've got to set the record straight.  Let me be clear.  I've never taken steroids or HGH."

Today's decision by judge Walton means that there was no procedural misconduct and it favors the prosecution.

The ruling determined that Clemens will be tried once more for lying under oath.  The trial date is set for April 17.

A guilty verdict would further tarnish the image of one of baseball's greatest pitchers and hinder his chances of getting into Cooperstown.

Hardin said it would take a couple of days to decide if they will file an appeal.

Mistrial Ruled In Roger Clemens Case; Could Get Off Due To Double-Jeopardy

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton was not certain of a fair trial, in the case of former-major league baseball star Roger Clemens' perjury trial,  and ruled a mistrial on the second day of the case.  His ruling was handed down after prosecutors showed jurors inadmissible evidence against his orders.

Prosecutors claimed the problem could be corrected with instructions to the jury to "disregard the evidence."

Walton wasn't convinced of the prosecution's assurance and said, "We've got a man's liberty at interest."

The jurist followed that up by reasoning," I don't see how I can un-ring the bell."

Now the government's case could be "concluded" if they determine not to re-try the case or if Clemens' attorneys claim 'double-jeopardy."  The term refers to the law which prevents anyone from being tried again for the same crime.

Roger Clemens Witness List Looks More Like an All-Star Roster

Former pitching great Roger Clemens may call on ex-teammates to testify in his defense at his perjury trial.  At the same time, a prosecutor said he may call former players already implicated in the scandal to the stand as well.  It's virtually a Who's Who of future, potential and tainted Hall of Famers.

While throngs of potential jurors lined up outside the E. Prettyman Court House in Washington; both sides planned their strategies and it sounds like a lot of former baseball greats might be headed for the stand.

It sounded like U.S. District Judge might permit Clemens former Yankees teammates-- Chuck Knoblauch, Andy Pettitte and Mike Stanton-- to take the stand, after Clemen's attorney, Rusty Hardin, said that Clemens' main accuser, Brian McNamee, created evidence made to blackmail his client.

Other potential witnesses including Mark McGwire, Jorge Posada and Sammy Sosa also appeared on the list.

Yankees Jeter Will Be Hitting and Pettitte Might Be Sitting

It looks like Derek Jeter will be getting an early jump on the 2011 season by heading down to Tampa in two weeks to work out with New York Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long--three weeks before the start of spring training.

When last seen Jeter was happily splashing around the Caribbean with his girl Minka Kelly.  This was after a disappointing season as a player and an early exit from the playoffs.   The year was capped off with a mockery of drawn out contract negotiations with the Yankees.  The turbulent contract talks had Jeter--normally a company man--suggesting, after the new contract was signed, that the team leaked information during the talks to make the Yankee star look like the bad guy.  All in all, it wasn't the best of times for the face of the team and future Hall of Famer.

Jeter, doesn't need to be reminded about his below-standard season and is looking to remedy his .270 average--a monstrous 30 points below his career number.

Long has worked with other players during the off-season but never with Jeter.  "He wants to get going," said Long from his home in Arizona.  " We're well on our way to getting that [Jeter's low average] taken care of and seeing if we can't speed up the process with him a little bit," he said.

Jeter isn't the only Yankee taking last season not sitting down.  Long will piling on the frequent flier miles after he spent time in Los Angeles working with outfielder Nick Swisher.  Next week he will be in New York working with first-baseman Mark Teixeira before heading down to Miami to work with third-baseman Alex Rodriquez and newly-appointed DH Jorge Posada.

Long is prepared to correct any problems which caused Jeter to put up the worst numbers of his solid career.

"I think we found something with his stride and the direction of his stride and going up and down with his stride instead of gaining distance and going in," said the hitting coach.  "We're going to keep it as simple as possible."

While Jeter gets a jump on his new three-year deal, things don't look so good for the Yankees and their veteran pitcher Andy Pettitte.

GM Brian Cashman has been dropping subtle hints since October that the free-agent Pettitte was straddling the fence on whether or not to pitch another season with the Yankees.  Yesterday Cashman may have let the cat out of the bag after he said the lefthander "has chosen at this stage at least, not to start in 2011."

"Don't count on me," is what Pettitte told Cashman.

The Yankee GM tried clarify Pettitte's statement by saying, " I don't think he's determined if he's officially finished or not , but he's chosen at this stage at least not to start in 2011. If that ever changes, he'll call us," said Cashman.  "We're not going to hound him or bother him," he said.

Pettitte has pulled this will he or won't he act before.  The Yankees, who did not add a big-time starter to the rotation this off-season, are probably hoping for the 38 year-old Pettitte's return.

Even if Pettitte does return to baseball, it could be in another uniform.  The Texas native desires to be near his family and reportedly has not been working out during the off-season--which he normally does.

Pettitte has repeatedly claimed that if he does return, it would only be in Yankee pinstripes.

The lack of big-name pickup during the off-season pick-up could sway Pettitte.  He pitched 21 games last season and finished 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA.  The Yankees are looking at an average starting rotation, even with Pettitte, with little help on the horizon.

Pettitte confessed in 2008 to using human growth hormone will be a star witness in the government's case against his old teammate and buddy,  Roger Clemens this summer.

Clemens trial--which the former pitcher is accused of lying under oath about using steroids and HGH--is scheduled for July and could put a considerable amount of stress and a limit on Pettitte's time.  I'm sure Pettitte would rather face the potent Red Sox lineup then to be cross-examined by Clemens tough-as-a-cowboy's saddle, attorney Rusty Hardin.

Cashman says he is ready to push forward, with or without Pettitte.  "I'm actively out there," the GM said.  "It's a very thin market to be flying in right now.  That's why we may have to rely on our strong farm system a little bit sooner than we expected."

All signs seem to point to a Pettitte retirement but, for now, Cashman better get down on the farm sooner anyway.