Bronx Bummers

JANUARY Alex Rodriguez sets the tone for the year by overthinking his participation in the World Baseball Classic . First, he says he'll play for the Dominican Republic , where his parents were born. Then he picks the U.S. , where he was born. Then he decides not to play at all, so as not to dishonor either country. But later, Rodriguez says he will play for the U.S. Not even the Belgian team engaged in that much waffling.

FEB. 22 After the first workout of spring training, owner George Steinbrenner says eight of the very few words he will utter to the media in 2006. Unfortunately, those words are "We are going to win it this year!"

FEB. 22 Rightfielder Gary Sheffield is ebullient after interpreting a statement by Yankees G.M. Brian Cashman to mean his 2007 contract option (for $13 million) will be picked up. But on ...

FEB. 24 Sheffield is enraged when Cashman says he didn't say that and adds that nothing is definite. Speaking of the G.M., Sheffield says, "I trust him, but I don't trust him totally." The Yankees will eventually embrace the concept of partial trust.

MARCH 4 With the World Baseball Classic in full swing, a sign on the team's spring training ticket window in Tampa apologizes for the absence of participants Derek Jeter , Alex Rodriguez , Johnny Damon and Bernie Williams : THE NEW YORK YANKESS DID NOT VOTE TO SUPPORT THIS EVENT. Was Steinbrenner behind it? "George would not have misspelled Yankees ," says his spokesman.

MARCH 27 New York City tabloids report that Randy Johnson , who earns $16 million a year, is suing the mother of the 16-year-old daughter he fathered before he was married for $71,000 in day-care payments he made after the child was too old for day care. (He added $26,000 in interest.) "My daughter is 16 and has not been in day care for at least five years," Big Unit declares in court papers. (The case was dropped.)

APRIL 3 Yankees fans get indignant when new Mets closer Billy Wagner enters his Opening Day save opportunity to the strains of Metallica 's Enter Sandman--which happens to be Yankees closer Mariano Rivera 's trademark tune. Yankee fans say this is outrageous, that it must stop and is morally wrong. Wagner shrugs and sticks with the song.

APRIL 21 The Yankees become baseball's first billion-dollar team, with a franchise value of $1.026 billion, according to Forbes --a 10,000% return on Steinbrenner's original $10 million 1973 investment. Meanwhile, a Budweiser at Yankee Stadium costs $7.75.

JULY 17 Rodriguez makes three errors against the Mariners hours after he was photographed sunbathing, shirtless, in Central Park . The New York City media speculate that Rodriguez 's tanning left him tired for the game. "I think I looked good in the modeling picture, actually," says A-Rod .

JULY 19 The Yankees win government approvals to build a new stadium. The facility requires the razing of 400 mature oak trees and the paving of 22.4 acres of park land, but the Yankees say the lost green space will be partly offset by parks built on the roofs of new stadium garages. Enjoy!