Will A-Rod escape from New York?

Expect Sox, Cubs to be interested if Rodriguez opts out of deal after season

One Chicago team never has wavered in its interest. The other Chicago team mostly has been linked through rumor and innuendo. Either way, every time New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez does something big -- which has been happening daily this month -- his future comes to mind.

And somehow, the Cubs and White Sox get dragged into the fray.

It is becoming increasingly likely -- despite A-Rod's protests -- that the man with the richest contract in baseball will exercise an opt-out clause at the end of the season despite three years and $81 million of guaranteed money left on his deal.

Yes, the Texas Rangers -- still on the hook for about $31 million of A-Rod's salary if the contract remains -- would be the happiest team. But they wouldn't be the only ones excited about A-Rod the free agent.

The Sox' Ken Williams got a rude welcome to the general-manager world during the 2000 winter meetings, when as a rookie GM he thought he was close to signing Rodriguez, only to realize he was being played by agent Scott Boras -- a man the Sox now prefer to avoid. Sources say Williams continues to covet A-Rod, even if his bank account and his distaste for Boras should be telling him not to bother.

Then there are the Cubs. They spent $300 million last offseason on manager Lou Piniella and a crop of free agents. The thinking nationally is the Cubs would spend even more to accommodate a reunion of Piniella and Rodriguez, who formed a father-son relationship during their days with the Seattle Mariners.

Though still a long shot with so many back-loaded contracts weighing down the Cubs' finances, with a new owner expected to take over next offseason, it seems more likely now than it did a month ago.

Either way, Rodriguez has quieted the boos in the Bronx and is getting off to the kind of start that would make it feasible to walk away from $81 million -- or $27 million annually through 2010. He has similar opt-out protection after 2008 and 2009 if it gets to either point.

He entered a showdown series this weekend against the Boston Red Sox hitting .351 with 10 home runs and 26 RBI. He then belted a solo homer in the fourth inning and a three-run shot in the fifth Friday, tying a major-league record with 12 homers in his first 15 games.

He has hit safely in the Yankees' first 15 games and in 20 in a row dating to last season. And he had at least one extra-base hit in 14 of the first 15 games entering play Saturday.

So the potential suitors definitely will be there. Aside from the two Chicago teams, count the Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels among the clubs that could pony up the kind of deal that would entice Rodriguez to bolt. Of course, the Yankees always could tear up the deal and work out an extension, if for no other reason that to freeze out the Red Sox.

But the Yankees are looking to be more prudent with their spending, and A-Rod's next big deal figures to be in a more laid-back atmosphere.

Through it all, Rodriguez continues to shrug off all of the opt-out talk.

''I just wanted to come back and enjoy myself, regardless of what happens,'' he told the New York Times. ''Just enjoy it as much as I can.''

Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has come under fire for not showing as much fire in front of the media as Cubs manager Lou Piniella has.

But the more pressing problems for the Phillies center on all of those runners they are stranding. In their first 13 games, the Phillies left 131 runners on base -- the most since the Detroit Tigers stranded 132 in their first 13 games of the 1970 season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. But the Tigers went 10-3 during that span; the Phillies were 3-10.

Manuel is trying to push some buttons. With closer Tom Gordon's shoulder a concern, Manuel took Opening Day starter Brett Myers and put him in the bullpen, serving as a right-handed setup man. Despite an 0-2 record and an 8.31 ERA, Phillies insiders think Myers soon will wind up as the closer.

The whispers have begun: Oakland Athletics right-hander Rich Harden is being called ''Mark Prior West'' in some corners.

The reason for the major slam? In the post-Big Three era, Harden has been tabbed the A's ace, but injuries keep impeding his progress. Last Sunday, he left a start against the New York Yankees complaining of tightness in his throwing shoulder.

After elbow trouble limited Harden to nine starts last season, this presents an April scare the A's don't need. An MRI exam revealed nothing serious, but red flags are going up around Harden. He tentatively is scheduled to face the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

In his first start since getting a three-year, $33 million extension, Cleveland Indians right-hander Jake Westbrook allowed eight runs and eight hits in 1 2/3 innings Tuesday against the Yankees. Westbrook, who drew the Cubs' interest last winter, is 0-2 with a 12.08 ERA in his first three starts.

Westbrook's diminished returns evidently have nothing to do with the Indians tabling contract talks with designated hitter Travis Hafner and left-hander C.C. Sabathia, both of whom will be eligible for free agency after the 2008 season.

The Indians were closing in on a deal with Hafner last weekend before delaying talks until after the season. The sides are expected to agree on an extension. Sabathia, the Indians' Opening Day starter who is 14-3 in his career against the White Sox, is unlikely to reach a deal.

10: Teams for whom Royce Clayton has started at shortstop, the most in major-league history, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Clayton, 37, has started at shortstop for the Giants, Cardinals, Rangers, White Sox, Brewers, Rockies, Diamondbacks, Nationals, Reds and Blue Jays -- all since 1995. "People in Cincinnati saw Pete Rose for 100 years. That's the way it should be played. This was always the organization of Charlie Hustle. That's what I want to get it back to be." -- Jerry Narron, Reds manager, who recently benched Edwin Encarnacion for not running out a pop-up MOISES ALOU | New York Mets LF

Alou, 40, raised questions about whether he has anything left by hitting .164 (9-for-55) with no home runs and three RBI in 19 spring-training games. But the former Cubs outfielder has gotten off to another sizzling start. A career .332 hitter in April, Alou entered play Saturday hitting .377 (20-for-53) with two homers, two doubles and nine RBI in his first 14 games with the Mets. His breakout game came Wednesday, when he belted two homers in a victory against the Phillies. ''It's more fun than I thought it would be coming to New York,'' said Alou, who left the Cubs after 2004 and spent the last two seasons with the Giants. ''Everything we're doing is really contagious, and it's a great feeling to be a part of it.''