Scott Boras says Yankees should pursue his clients Max Scherzer and Stephen Drew

Scott Boras, not surprisingly, indicated the Yankees should have every intention of pursuing two of his biggest free-agent clients this winter: Max Scherzer and Stephen Drew.

"One thing I know about the Yankees is that they've been out of the playoffs for two years," the agent said Wednesday. "The Steinbrenner history has always been we're going to win. It serves their brand, it serves their model to do everything they can to win."

The Yankees have a great need at shortstop and therefore are interested in the 31-year-old Drew, who last season hit .162 in a combined 271 at-bats for the Yankees and Red Sox.

Scherzer and Jon Lester are the top free agent pitchers available. Although the Yankees don't want to saddle themselves with another albatross of a long-term, big-dollar deal, the Bombers can't be completely ruled out for either -- or James Shields, for that matter -- given internal concerns about their rotation.

"Over the last three years he's led Major League Baseball in strikeouts and wins," Boras said of the 30-year-old Scherzer. "He has a resume that's off the charts."

Speaking generally about teams in need of pitching, Boras added: "This guy is a No. 1 pitcher, there aren't that many of them . . . the question is, does the ownership want to win? It's the difference between a good team and a World Series team."

Pace of play

The Arizona Fall League has been experimenting with several initiatives to speed up games, including a 20-second "shot clock" between pitches and not allowing batters to step out of the box between pitches.

"I went out to a game yesterday and I was impressed," MLB's executive vice president of baseball operations Joe Torre said. "I wasn't a real fan of clocks but it just seemed . . . the games have been a lot crisper to watch."

Nothing is likely to be implemented this season in the big leagues and any changes would have to be done in conjunction with the Players Association.

Pitching smart

MLB, in partnership with USA Baseball, unveiled a new website, pitchsmart.org, Wednesday. The purpose of the site is to help prevent the kinds of arm injuries in youth players that require Tommy John surgery.

"Ultimately, we believe this program is a long-term step toward keeping present and future pitchers healthy as they progress through all levels of baseball," Torre said.

V-Mart re-signs with Tigers

The first major free agent of note came off the board Wednesday when the Tigers re-signed designated hitter Victor Martinez to a four-year deal worth $68 million.