The New York Mets made light of the big move and the Boston Red Sox tried to pooh-pooh it. Still, it was hard to avoid the shock wave the Yankees sent through baseball by signing Alex Rodriguez.
On the fields of spring training and beyond, the newest star to hit New York was all anyone was talking about Tuesday.
"A-Rod goes to the Yankees and you sit there and look at that lineup top to bottom," Chicago White Sox closer Billy Koch said. "The best way to deal with that lineup is to be a Yankee pitcher. So you better ask Mr. Steinbrenner to trade for you."
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner stayed in Tampa, Florida, as pitchers and catchers reported to camp. But manager Joe Torre and captain Derek Jeter were at Yankee Stadium, where Rodriguez put on the pinstripes for the first time.
"We haven't won anything yet," Steinbrenner said. "It will be a big spring. It will determine a lot of things down here."
"Every year, everybody gets better. Boston is probably the favorite," he said.
Some early arrivals at the Red Sox camp in Fort Myers, Florida, played down the Yankees' acquisition.
"You didn't want to see A-Rod go to the Yankees, but just because he's there, we're not scared," catcher Doug Mirabelli said.
Boston came close to getting the AL MVP earlier in the offseason before its proposed deal for Rodriguez fell through.
The Yankees' move shows they "are worried about us in a way," Red Sox pitcher Alan Embree said. "They know we have a very good ballclub this year and it's exciting."
Added Mirabelli: "Having a lot of guys over there that are All-Stars, that's going to be tough. They can't deny that. There's going to be some egos over there."
The Mets made their own move Tuesday, signing former Yankees left-hander Randy Keisler to a minor league contract.
The Mets announced the Keisler move in an e-mail headlined, "Alex Who?"
At St. Petersburg, Florida, Tampa Bay manager Lou Piniella was caught up in discussing Rodriguez, a former player of his in Seattle.
"The biggest adjustment will be moving from shortstop to third base. He's been playing shortstop since he was a teenager," Piniella said.
"Alex likes the limelight, so New York wont faze him. New York has brought in a lot of new people, like our situation. There are, obviously, a lot more expectations out there."
The Devil Rays will not have outfielder Josh Hamilton for a while. The 22-year-old prospect was suspended until March 19 and fined for violating baseball's drug policy.
Hamilton was the No. 1 pick in the 1999 amateur draft but has yet to play a full season in the minor leagues. He's been hurt and also been beset by unspecified personal reasons, which kept him out all of last season.
The Devil Rays have repeatedly declined to discuss his situation.
"The organization is not in a position to make any further statements concerning this issue," the team said.
At Legends Field in Tampa, a handful of players reported to Yankees camp. Among the arrivals was newcomer Paul Quantrill.
"It's like going to the All-Star game," the reliever said. "It's a good group of people. I think it's a nice thing coming into a team where you feel so much confidence."
The Yankees had already added the likes of Gary Sheffield, Kevin Brown, Javier Vazquez, Kenny Lofton and Tom Gordon in the offseason. Then came Rodriguez.
"It's never surprising with the New York Yankees," said Darryl Strawberry, a player development instructor for the Yankees.
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