Zell's Pinstripe Blog

Here are some news and notes from Yankees land today as the day turns to night. If there is anything else that comes out, we’ll update this post.

• Granderson will wear No. 14 instead of his old number, 28, because Girardi will likely take that number next season. Girardi wore No. 27 as the Yankees sought and eventually won their 27th title. Granderson went on to say:
  

  “I know how tradition is and superstition is from an outside standpoint, so I don’t want to mess with that,” Granderson said. “Hopefully he’ll continue to wear it and we’ll move forward and keep on knocking people’s numbers out of the way.”

• As expected, Rodriguez said he will not need a second surgery on his right hip. After being re-examined by his hip specialist, Dr. Marc Philippon, Rodriguez learned Monday that no further surgery would be needed. “You can never say never, but I think he is saying for the immediate future, the next two or three years,” Rodriguez said. A-Rod said he will not need to see Philippon again this offseason and has been cleared to begin his usual offseason workouts.

• The Yankees appear to be at a standstill with free agent Johnny Damon. Yankees co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner said, “We all love Johnny Damon and he was a big part of the reason we won that championship. But I think right now there’s just a difference of opinion as to what the pay is, quite frankly.”

• Girardi, whose contract runs through the end of next season, said there has been “zero” talk about an extension. “I don’t worry about my contract,” he said. “I worry about this year, and I wouldn’t expect them to talk to me until it’s over. I’m under contract. So I don’t really worry about it.”

• Cashman said the Yankees talked to the Blue Jays about a potential trade for Roy Halladay and talked to the Phillies about Cliff Lee, “but we were far from matching up.”