New York gets a lefty: Pettitte
Dick Williams elected to Hall
NASHVILLE - Brian Cashman was one of the last general managers to arrive to the winter meetings yesterday afternoon, and when he did, he wouldn't discuss anything surrounding the Yankees' trade proposal for Johan Santana or the team's "deadline" to make a deal.
Cashman received good news earlier in the day when Randy Hendricks, the agent for Andy Pettitte, informed the Yankees that the 35-year-old lefthander will return to New York next season.
"Many teammates have called urging Andy to come back," said Hendricks.
The timing was superb for the Yankees, considering that they didn't expect to hear from Pettitte until January.
As of last night, the Yankees still had the most formidable package to offer the Twins for Santana: center fielder Melky Cabrera and righthanded pitching prospect Philip Hughes. But the teams may have to work through some animosity stemming from Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner's previous statements that the Yankees "would not be used" and that last night was the deadline for the take-or-it-leave-it offer.
Two Minnesota officials laughed at the Yankees' deadline, but the teams were expected to meet last night.
A Twins official said, "We don't have to deal him right now. We're not going to deal him if we don't get the right mix of players."
Hendricks, meanwhile, told the Houston Chronicle that Pettitte (15-9, 4.05 ERA in '07) started telling teammates Sunday that he would return. The contract still has to be finalized, but Pettitte was due to earn $16 million before he opted out of his previous contract. "It's well known that the Yankees have publicly stated that they were ready for Andy when Andy was ready," said Hendricks.
Five to enshrine
Dick Williams, manager of the 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox, was one of five people elected by the Veterans Committee to the Baseball Hall of Fame, in balloting results announced yesterday.
Williams took those Red Sox to the World Series and later won two championships with the A's in the early 1970s.
Also elected were former Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss, whose team lost to Boston in the first World Series in 1903; former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn; former manager Billy Southworth; and former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, who is loved in Los Angeles and hated in Brooklyn.
Williams was considered one of the game's toughest managers, and while his stern approach wouldn't go over well in today's game, he seemed perfectly suited for the young '67 Sox. Carl Yastrzemski, who won the Triple Crown under Williams in 1967 but was benched and fined by him in 1969 for not running out a tapper to the mound, congratulated Williams in a statement released by the team.
"It was an honor to play for him," said Yastrzemski.
Williams remembered his days in Boston fondly.
"I had managed their Triple A team for two years at the top level and I got to come up and manage the big league team on a one-year contract the next year," he said. "We were 100-to-1 odds to win it.
"I had a Hall of Fame left fielder, and he was the last Triple Crown winner. I had Jim Lonborg and a lot of good extra players.
"I'm sure I made some people mad. I demanded perfection and I might have stepped on some toes, but I'm sure none of them turned away their World Series checks."
Former Red Sox CEO John Harrington, who was on the selection committee, said, "It's great that someone with a Red Sox affiliation would be elected to the Hall of Fame. Dick holds a rich history with the Red Sox."
Pioneering union head Marvin Miller received only three of 12 possible votes, but his adversary, the late Kuhn, got in.
Asked whether the Veterans Committee has an axe to grind, Twins great Harmon Killebrew said, "Not that I'm aware of. I knew Marvin Miller. I met him when I was player and he did great work on behalf of the players."
Nationals get Dukes
The Nationals continue to take chances on young outfielders with some baggage. They have already traded for 22-year-old Lastings Milledge from the Mets, and yesterday they acquired Elijah Dukes from Tampa Bay for minor league lefthanded pitcher Glenn Gibson. The Nationals believe they have a player they can nurture and get to mature. The idea is that exposure to veteran Dmitri Young will help; Young has undergone serious changes in his troubled life and is now a role model for Washington's younger players. Dukes hit only .190 with three doubles, two triples, and 21 RBIs in 52 games in 2007. He also has been involved in off-field incidents, threatening to kill his wife and children. Dukes met with Young, who was flown to Nashville yesterday.
Royal treatment
The Royals are major players on two fronts: free agent center fielder Andruw Jones and Japanese righthander Hideki Kuroda. The price on Kuroda has reached four years at $44 million and is likely to go higher. The Mariners and Cubs are also in the hunt for the 32-year-old pitcher . . . The Phillies are very interested in rehabbing righthander Kris Benson, according to his agent, Gregg Clifton . . . The White Sox added right fielder Carlos Quentin in a deal with the Diamondbacks for minor league first baseman Chris Carter . . . Brewers general manager Doug Melvin denied reports that he has talked to the Red Sox about a deal for righthander Ben Sheets . . . The White Sox and Mets will play in the second Civil Rights Game, March 29 in Memphis. 