The second-guessing game

Here are a few things teams might regret.

Green saw no red flags

What was your relationship with A-Rod?

NG: "I consider him a friend. When I came up to the team, he took me under his wing. I lived with him in his apartment in Manhattan for a couple of months and in the offseason I was with him down in Miami. At the time, his wife and his baby were living there and everything seemed great. The whole Rodriguez family was so kind to me."

You always hear whispers about other players saying nasty things about him. Ever hear any of those things?

NG: "People are always trying to get me to say something bad about the guy, but there's nothing bad to say. He was a great teammate as far as I could see. I know that he really helped younger guys all the time, especially Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera. He spent a lot of time with those guys, teaching them the game and showing them the right way to do things, just as he did with me. I think we all appreciated what he did for us.

What was the offseason like in Miami?

NG: "We'd work out and we'd go hitting. I'd be there in the batting cage taking my swings and I thought I was swinging the bat so well, and then he gets in there and you see him do his thing and it's just at a level you can't possibly imagine. Hitting a baseball sounds a lot different when he does it than when anybody else does it. It's amazing to watch him. It's not something you can really describe to people, but as a professional baseball player, I'm in awe of what he does."

What do you think about all the things that have come out about him?

NG: "He certainly admitted to what he admitted to, and I'm sure that was hard to do. Those are things he has to deal with, given who he is, and they're much more magnified because of who he is. He's a strong person, a great talent, and I think he just wants to get back out on the field and play baseball."

Opinions don't seem to be tipping in book's favor

The story goes that Rodriguez, in games that were out of hand, would relay the catcher's signal to an opposing hitter, and A-Rod would get tipped off when he came to the plate.

Red Sox third base coach DeMarlo Hale, who coached Rodriguez with the Rangers, was dumbfounded by the allegations.

"I must have been looking at a different game if that was happening," said Hale. "What I'll say about Alex is this: He was one of the hardest-working players I ever coached or managed. Alex was a guy who really cared about winning. That's what was in his heart."

Former Blue Jays manager Buck Martinez also said he had a tough time believing it. His point was that so many players would have to be involved, how could it not have gotten out by now?

About a dozen scouts covering the Red Sox-Rays series in Tampa also were skeptical, many believing that Rodriguez has become an easy target, given the steroid admissions and some of his social habits.

Said a coach familiar with Rodriguez, "I hope that's not true because I don't know how he could pull that off without other people on our team knowing about it. He definitely ran our defense and he gave signs on the field to adjust. If someone mistook those signals for tipping off batters? I don't know. Doesn't make much sense to me."

The Commissioner's Office will likely look into the matter anyway.

About a dozen baseball people asked about the allegations rolled their eyes and brought up several issues.

"I can barely see the signals from third base," said Mike Lowell. "I don't know how that would work. I've never heard anything like this."

Etc.

2. Pat Burrell, DH, Rays - The Rays brought in Burrell and Gabe Kapler to improve their performance against lefthanded starters. Unfortunately, the Rays started 1-8 vs. lefties.

3. Six-shooters: The Angels and Jays both have six pitchers on the disabled list, but they will get a majority of them back. So if both teams hang in for a while, they could be big factors in the AL race. For Los Angeles, John Lackey (strained forearm), Ervin Santana (shoulder), Dustin Mosely (elbow irritation), Darren Oliver (strained triceps), Kevin Jepsen (lower back spasms), and Kelvim Escobar (shoulder surgery) will likely all be back between next week and June. The Jays are missing B.J. Ryan (left trapezius tightness), Ricky Romero (strained right oblique), Shaun Marcum (Tommy John surgery), Dustin McGowan (shoulder), Jesse Litsch (forearm), and Casey Janssen (shoulder). Romero, Litsch, and Janssen should be ready in mid May, while McGowan could return in mid June. Ryan has a bit of inflammation and Romero says he feels fine. The only one we may not see this season is Marcum. The Angels have resisted bringing in a veteran such as Pedro Martinez and Mark Mulder, and the Jays don't have the money to consider it.

4. Cito Gaston, manager, Blue Jays - Gaston has done a terrific job keeping the Jays ready to play. Said an AL scout assigned to the Jays, "Everybody on that team was prepared to play by the end of spring training." It's only been a month, but Gaston has managed to win even with a depleted pitching staff. His hitting coach, Gene Tenace, has done an excellent job keeping hitters aggressive and attacking.

5. Outfielders Jason Bay, Red Sox, and Matt Holliday, A's - It's not a competition, but as two of the premier free agent-to-be outfielders, it'll be interesting to see which ends up with the better deal. Bay is off to a much better start than Holliday, who finished April with one homer ("the worst start of my major league career"). But Holliday will be a factor; he always is. Bay is the better defensive outfielder, but Holliday is a better pure hitter. If Bay has a 30-homer, 100-RBI year again, does he get three years and $36 million? Or has the market run dry, meaning he'll have to settle for three years and $30 million?

6. Barry Bonds, OF, free agent: He sat in his seats at AT&T Park with the Giants brass last week. He insists he's still not retired. He also has a 10-year personal services contract with the team that won't be executed until after his perjury trial. Bonds had this quote on Manny Ramírez on Giants radio: "I wish we got him over here in the Giants organization, because these people would be going crazy."

7. Joba Chamberlain, RHP, Yankees - The Elias Sports Bureau told the New York Post that the last time the Yankees had pitchers in the rotation as young as Chamberlain, 23, and Phil Hughes, 22, was 1982, with 23-year-old Dave Righetti and 22-year-old Mike Morgan. How long they'll stay together remains the question. The Yankees are resisting any talk of Chamberlain going to the bullpen. The key appears to be whether hard-throwing righty Mark Melancon, 24, can be effective in middle relief. If he is, Chamberlain may enjoy a long run as a starter.

8. DeMarlo Hale, coach, Red Sox - Don't be surprised if Hale emerges as a managerial candidate this offseason. Hale has had interviews in the past, but his association with a successful manager (Terry Francona) and his reputation as a positive influence on players is improving his stock around the league.

9. Daniel Bard, reliever, Pawtucket - The Red Sox are receiving high marks for the way they've handled Bard. "I think what they've done is handled him in such a way where his confidence is rising sky-high," said a scout who has watched Bard quite a bit this season. "They're easing him into closing situations and little by little they'll find a way to bring him in more games with runners on base. This kid isn't far away from being a dominant closer in the big leagues."