Yankees trying to keep houses in order

Derek Jeter laughed off Hank Steinbrenner's assertion that some New York Yankees were "too busy building mansions" after winning the 2009 World Series.

The Yankees captain was building a large multimillion dollar home in Tampa last year when New York lost to Texas in the AL Championship Series after fading in the second half of the season and winding up with the AL wild card.

Steinbrenner, the Yankees' co-chairman, made the remark Monday in saying his team lacked hunger last year.

"I understand most of it," Jeter said before yesterday's spring training workout. "The house, I didn't understand. That's a first. That's funny, I think. I'm not moving, so we won't be talking about this again."

Jeter often smiled and laughed during an 11-minute session with reporters. He pointed out, with a smile, that Steinbrenner used the plural "mansions" and that his name was not specially mentioned.

The shortstop said no further explanation was needed from the oldest son of George Steinbrenner, the Yankees owner who died last July.

"Hopefully, this is the last time we have to discuss last season," Jeter said.

Steinbrenner said later yesterday his comments were not directed at Jeter.

"It was a generalization, a euphemism. A bad choice of a euphemism," Steinbrenner said. "That's all it was."

Steinbrenner sent a message to Jeter clarifying his remarks.

"Sometimes teams get a little complacent, they celebrate for too long," Steinbrenner said. "It certainly isn't Derek. Derek's got five rings. You don't win five rings by being complacent. So, it was definitely not Derek I was talking about, and it wasn't, obviously, a few other players, either. But, in the end, we've got to win."

"He knows I wasn't referring to him," Steinbrenner added. "It's not what I meant. That was never my intention."

After Steinbrenner's comments, Jeter said he never thought the remarks were directed at him.

"I guess I was right," he said.

In other Yankees news, righthander Bartolo Colon will start Saturday's spring training opener against the Phillies.

* An arraignment for Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera is scheduled for next month in Florida. Deputies with the St. Lucie County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office arrested Cabrera last Wednesday night for suspicion of driving under the influence and two counts of resisting an officer without violence in Fort Pierce, Fla., more than 100 miles from both his south Florida home and the Tigers' spring-training base in Lakeland, in central Florida.

The arraignment is set for 9 a.m. on March 16 in front of Judge Cliff Barnes at the St. Lucie County Courthouse in Fort Pierce.

* Former major league general manager Roland Hemond has been selected to receive the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hall of Fame.

Hemond becomes the second winner of the award, the Hall announced. O'Neil, a Negro league star, received it posthumously in 2008, 2 years after his death.

The 81-year-old Hemond began his major league career as assistant scouting director of the Milwaukee Braves in the 1950s and currently is special assistant to the president of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

* Union head Michael Weiner says the players' association is not worried about the lawsuit filed against New York Mets owners and its impact on the club's financial stability.

Trustee Irving H. Picard, trying to recover money for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, sued the Wilpon family that owns the Mets and related entities in December seeking at least $300 million in fictitious profits. The Mets owners say they are victims.

During a visit to Mets camp, Weiner said the only concern for the union is to "make sure contractual obligations to the players are honored."

"We have been assured through the commissioner's office that's the case, so there's no concern there," Weiner said.