TAMPA - Two reporters check with Yankees catcher Jorge Posada to see if he had heard from outfielder Bernie Williams. Posada says no, and the conversation turns silent. The unspoken consensus is that Williams, after rejecting the Yankees' offer of a spring-training tryout, will not play again.
"It's going to happen to all of us," Posada says, glumly.
The ongoing Alex Rodriguez/Derek Jeter catfight is always good for drama, in an Angelina Jolie/Jennifer Aniston sort of way. But the fear and loathing on the left side of the infield is not the Yankees' most unsettling off-field issue, not even close.
The deeper tension with this club stems from the reality that the 2007 season could be something of a last hurrah. Posada, closer Mariano Rivera and manager Joe Torre — three of the four enduring cornerstones from the Yankees' four most recent championship teams, Jeter being the other — are entering the final years of contracts.
And that's not all.
A-Rod has the right to void his deal after this season. Left-hander Andy Pettitte has a player option for next season. Right fielder Bobby Abreu has a $16 million club option that the Yankees could decline if they decide to pursue a center fielder next winter, when Andruw Jones, Torii Hunter, Ichiro Suzuki and Mike Cameron will be free agents.
Such uncertainty is not atypical for teams in the free-agent era, but the emotions are more intense for the Yankees, considering the importance of Rivera, Posada and Torre to the team's late 1990s renaissance. The increased financial stakes for players further complicate the issue, following an off-season in which the free-agent market escalated sharply.
The impact of all this on the Yankees' performance this season might be as minimal as the impact of the Rodriguez/Jeter relationship — "If stuff like that affects you, you're not going to be very good at what you do, anyway," general manager Brian Cashman says.
But already, the fissures are showing.
Rivera has said that the Yankees "will not have an advantage" if he hits the free-agent market, a surprisingly bold comment from a player who rarely makes headlines with his words. A-Rod's opt-out clause will be a topic of discussion all season, as will Torre's status. Posada's situation is drawing less attention, in part because that is his wish.
Against this backdrop, Cashman's refusal to offer Williams anything more than a minor-league contract was an eye-opener, vividly illustrating that the Yankees will not be governed by sentiment in their decision-making. Rather than retain Williams, 38, as a fifth outfielder, the team is preserving a spot for a right-handed hitting first baseman, Andy Phillips or Josh Phelps.
"It's tough," Posada says. "This business is really tough. He's done everything for this organization. It's tough as a player to put it into words. If you need one more year, you would think they would do it for you. But it doesn't happen like that. If they don't have a fit for you, that's the way it is."
Rivera, 37, and Posada, 35, are in a different category than Williams; both continue to rank among the elite at their respective positions. Cashman is correct to delay offering them contract extensions when the grind of another 162-game season could affect either or both physically. But sensible as Cashman's approach might be, it works both ways.
As Rivera says, "This is business."
However remote, the possibility suddenly exists for Rivera to bolt the Yankees, his original team, and New York, where much of his family resides. The Yankees were successful in re-signing outfielder Hideki Matsui after the 2005 season and pitcher Mike Mussina after last season. Chances are, they will employ the same strategy with Rivera and Posada. But by that point, Rivera, in particular, might be curious enough to test the market.
The Yankees could actually benefit this season from the overall dynamic created by expiring contracts; players in the final years of deals often elevate their performances. On the other hand, teams facing multiple free-agent defections sometimes display fragile chemistry. When such clubs falter, it's not unusual for players become pre-occupied with their own futures.
The Yankees are unlikely to be affected in such a manner — the team is too good, Torre is too strong a leader and Rivera and Posada are too professional to suddenly turn selfish. But there's an underlying strain with this team, one that is far more significant than how often Rodriguez and Jeter make dinner plans together.
The fixtures — first Williams, and now Rivera, Posada and Torre — no longer are secure.
