Cashman confident about signing Jeter, Rivera

ORLANDO, Fla. - "I don't think I'll get anything accomplished while I'm down here," Brian Cashman said Monday, moments after he checked into the Waldorf Astoria for the general managers' meetings.

But he knows what he has to get done. Never has the Yankees' GM spoken so confidently about re-signing players as he continues to do concerning Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. He did so again here.

"I think it's usually pretty obvious every year what our priorities are," Cashman said. "It's real simple because you have the closer and the shortstop that are a layup. They have to get done. And then after that, there are things you'd like to get done. Can you? Will you? We'll see."

The Yankees aren't close to agreeing on terms with either Jeter or Rivera, yet Cashman's words express the certainty of common ground being discovered. The biggest other item he wants to get done is acquiring Cliff Lee, and that figures to take another three weeks or so to play out. The Yankees want Lee very badly to augment their starting rotation.

Andy Pettitte typically decides on his future around the time of the winter meetings, and friends of his believe the lefthander will return for a 17th season.

In the shorter term, upon his return to New York later this week, Cashman will continue looking for a new pitching coach. Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitching coach Scott Aldred is a candidate, while former Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone is not. The Yankees don't like the idea of bringing aboard former Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson, whom the Brewers have dismissed.

While they view Lee as their top external target, Cashman said that the team found itself less desperate now compared with two years ago, when the Yankees paid high prices to bring aboard CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and A.J. Burnett.

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"We've done a lot of good things here, and we've got a lot of things coming," Cashman said. "It's not like two years ago, when we really needed to secure certain things to set up our future. I think our future is good either way. It's just, can it be better early with certain additions?"