1. Former Yankees manager Joe Torre (now with the Los Angeles Dodgers) has a new book that he co-wrote with Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci. Torre’s book, The Yankee Years, is a 500-plus page book that details his stay in New York, dealing with the pressures of managing the Yankees and all of their high-profiled players, including Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, etc. I’ve watched and listened to several interviews that Torre has conducted with the national media about his book over the last couple of weeks and I find it really interesting that he even decided to do this book. I have not read the book, but supposedly, he gives lots of details about certain players and even talks about the day he was basically fired from the Yankees. I think insight books like this are always fun to read and I’m really looking forward to seeing what the New York Yankees are all about through the eyes of Joe Torre, one of the most respected people in baseball today.

And, oh yeah. I guess the Dodgers were pretty smart when they hired Torre last year, because they put a clause in his contract that states he’s not allowed to ever write any books about his years of managing the Dodgers. Does anybody else know any “weird” clauses in manger or player contracts, because I’m wondering how many teams will start putting this clause in every manager’s contract … 

2. Alex Rodriguez — need I say more? Last Saturday, it was reported on Sports Illustrated’s Web site that he, in fact, tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. To date, A-Rod is no doubt one of the biggest names to come out of this whole Steroid Era mess, and in a way, it’s really sad to see so many great players get busted. SI columnist Joe Posnanski recently did great column about players like Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens and if they should be voted into the Hall of Fame for their “apparent” involvement in the Steroid Era. Verducci also recently wrote a column where he claims A-Rod’s interview with ESPN’s Peter Gammons was a complete joke. Both columns are really good reads.

3. When the story about Roberto Alomar broke Wednesday afternoon, I was actually pretty shocked. This is a pretty serious case  — and if you haven’t read the story, check it out here on the NY Daily News’ Web site. When I read that Alomar apparently has AIDS, the first thing I thought about was MLB umpire John Hirschbeck. Hirschbeck got spit on by Alomar in 1996 after Alomar disagreed with a call he made at third base. I don’t know about you guys, but if I’m Hirschbeck, I think I’d be getting tested for HIV really soon!

4. Last, but not least, Cardinals spring training games are literally only days away. The first game is on Feb. 25 against the Florida Marlins at 11:05 CST. I know this a bit ridiculous to do, but the Cardinals play 32 spring training games — how many do you think they’ll win? What’s the over-under? I think I’m going to go with 20-12.