He has beaten cancer without complaint. He has served Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for 3 seasons without compromise. He's not going to start whining now. The trading deadline remains more than five weeks away, but Steinbrenner's open coveting of one more thunderous bat has created turmoil in the normally copacetic Yankees' clubhouse for more than a week now. Players walk on eggshells waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Reporters wear out carpets waiting for the next story to jump into their notebooks.
There is an end in sight, but only if Steinbrenner convinces Gonzalez to accept a trade to New York or swoops down and gets Sosa from the Cubs or Moises Alou from Houston. Looking into Torre's tired eyes, it is clear he just wants to get back to playing baseball. We're used to it, but this one has gone on a long time. This is probably the toughest distraction we've had to deal with since I've been here. You can't ignore it.