AL Notebook | Steinbrenner guarantees Series victory

In an interview that became public Thursday, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner guaranteed his club would break its five-year "slump" without a World Series title.

"We're going to win it," Steinbrenner told the Associated Press, in an interview conducted last week. "We're going all the way."

The interview also touched on Steinbrenner's health, and The Boss once again insisted he was fine. Now 76 years old, Steinbrenner attended nearly every day of spring training, and he came to about 20 Yankees home games.

Many people in the Yankees' community believe that Steinbrenner is ailing, with one theory long circulating that he suffered a stroke when he fainted at a December 2003 memorial for football star Otto Graham.

"No, I did not have a stroke. I am not ill. I work out daily," Steinbrenner said in the interview. "I'd like to see people who are saying that to come down here and do the workout that I do."

No longer does Steinbrenner conduct daily meetings, and he often doesn't report to work until the middle of the afternoon.

And he really has let general manager Brian Cashman run the baseball operations, just as he promised last October when Cashman signed a new, three-year deal.

Added The Boss: "I miss the day-to-day, but I still talk to Cashman every day. I talk to [manager Joe] Torre a lot. I still offer my opinion. They still listen quite a bit."

Steinbrenner also released a statement, through his publicist Howard Rubenstein, on the Yankees' ninth consecutive American League East title.

The statement concluded: "This is just the first step and I'm excited about playing hard to win the championship. I'm incredibly proud of every single member of the Yankee family."

BALTIMORE: SS Miguel Tejada had three hits Thursday, giving him 202 for the season. His career high is 204.

BOSTON: The ball DH David Ortiz hit Wednesday for his 50th homer will be auctioned on the team's Web site with proceeds going to charity.

CHICAGO: The White Sox lead the AL with 121 solo home runs this season.

CLEVELAND: LHP C.C. Sabathia, who grew up near Oakland, lost for the third time in four starts and fell to 1-4 in 10 career starts against the A's.

DETROIT: OF Magglio Ordonez collected his 100th RBI, becoming the first Tiger to reach that number since Bobby Higginson and Dean Palmer had 102 in 2000.

MINNESOTA: Michael Cuddyer's 40th double Wednesday made him the first Twin with 40 doubles since Matt Lawton hit 44 in 2000.

NEW YORK: The Yankees will be without Jason Giambi for their series this weekend against Tampa Bay. Giambi, who has a small ligament tear in his left wrist, had a third injection in the wrist Thursday.

OAKLAND: 3B Eric Chavez sat out his second game in a row with a strained left hamstring, but planned to play today against the Angels.

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