Guillén offers apology

During his two seasons as manager of the Chicago White Sox, Ozzie Guillén has fired off opinions and profanity-filled declarations on a variety of topics and personalities.

Yesterday, he added a rare offering -- an apology.

Guillén apologized to Alex Rodriguez for comments he made in Sports Illustrated, in which he criticized the Yankees star for waffling on his choice of countries for the World Baseball Classic.

''I learned a lesson," Guillén said at the White Sox spring training complex in Tucson. ''I apologize to Alex Rodriguez, his family, his fans, the New York Yankee organization, to the White Sox organization," Guillén said. ''That's the first time I feel like I did something wrong. I've been in a lot of controversial things before, but I think I started this one and I'm going to finish it."

In the article, Guillén said of Rodriguez, ''He knew he wasn't going to play for the Dominicans. He's not a Dominican. I hate hypocrites. He's full of [bleep]."

Guillén also had a comment about Nomar Garciaparra, who decided not to play for Mexico. ''Garciaparra only knows Cancun because he went to visit."

Guillén said he was joking about Garciaparra. ''I think it was funny."

If the glove fits . . .

Finding the right first baseman's glove could be the most important thing Garciaparra does this spring.

''I've got a stack of them," Garciaparra said. ''I'm trying to get a feel for what I like and don't like."

Garciaparra, who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the offseason, is test driving an assortment of gloves to find the right make and model to use as he makes the transition from shortstop to first base.

''I need to feel comfortable," he said. ''[Adjusting to first base] is a work in progress.

The Boss fires away

New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, no fan of the World Baseball Classic, began spring training in classic Boss style, saying he was disappointed some of his stars will be leaving camp for the tournament. Derek Jeter, Rodriguez and Johnny Damon are on the United States roster, and Bernie Williams is on Puerto Rico's preliminary roster. When baseball owners approved the classic in August 2004 at the urging of commissioner Bud Selig, the Yankees abstained. ''If a player gets hurt, he's risking a lot," Steinbrenner said Thursday . . . Ken Griffey Jr. showed up early to the Cincinnati Reds camp in Sarasota, Fla., eager to play for the United States in the WBC, although he'll only be with the Reds for about two weeks. ''That's going to be weird. But I'll still be on the phone and looking at the paper in the morning," he said, promising to keep up on his teammates . . . Ken Griffey Sr. is one of four candidates for the Reds first base coaching job . . . Cuba submitted a provisional 60-player roster for the WBC, making its participation in next month's international tournament official . . . Albert Belle, 39, who was arrested in Scottsdale, Ariz., Thursday and charged with stalking, tracked his ex-girlfriend with a Global Positioning System device and repeatedly threatened her, according to a police probable cause statement filed in support of stalking charges.