Hal: ‘No problem’ with Yankees GM  —  Hal Steinbrenner does not think Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is insubordinate.  He does not think Cashman is trying to get fired.  He does not think Cashman is saying anything outrageous publicly.  —  What does the Yankees owner think about his general manager?

A's not giving up on outfield prospect Chris Carter  —  Many reporters were on hand to interview Chris Carter on Thursday at the A's preseason media day.  —  That shows interest remains high in the power-hitting outfielder, even as his stock appears to be low in the eyes of the A's brass.

Mets owner Fred Wilpon happy with new GM Sandy Alderson, expects Mets to be good in 2011  —  Fred Wilpon finished up a story about how even his dogs don't want to go out in the snow anymore by declaring Thursday night, “I'm ready for spring training.”  —  But are the Mets ready, the team's longtime owner was asked?

Spanish Links: Garcia, Belaguer, Rangers  —  Links in Spanish as the 2011 Caribbean Series inches closer...  - The White Sox may be considering Freddy Garcia, but Garcia had a different team in his sights when he spoke yesterday with Israel Pacheco Velásquez from the Venezuelan paper Meridiano.

Wilpons are ‘exploring’ possibility of strategic partnership  —  According to Michele Steele from Bloomberg Sports, “The Wilpons say team may add one or more “strategic partners,'” though Sterling will continue to be the primary owner of the team.  —  Here is the official press release:

Ken Rosenthal: Part of Daniels knows trading Young is right move  —  Micheal Young (left) hit .284 with 99 runs scored and 91 RBIs in 2010.  —  Ken Rosenthal, baseball writer for Fox Sports, was interviewed on KESN-FM on Thursday and talked about the Texas Rangers and Michael Young.

Video: Brian Wilson wears sea captain costume on George Lopez  —  Not to worry, lovers of half-baked punk rawk-baseball comedy: San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson  —  appears to be in midseason form with his one-off imitation of Andy Dick.  —  Yes, the Bearded One surfaced …

A's unveil new gold alternate home jerseys  —  OAKLAND — The A's have gone gold.  —  On Thursday, the club unveiled its newest look for the 2011 baseball season, a gold jersey that will serve as the alternate home jersey to the traditional white uniform.  —  A's general manager Billy Beane referred to new look as “canary yellow.”

Bobby Valentine is taking public service very seriously  —  We all shook our heads when Bobby Valentine was named the public safety director for Stamford, Connecticut, but the dude is committed: he was caught on film directing traffic near the I-95 on-ramp this morning.  Click through for the video.