Iwakuma 00740314

10/24/2007 7:10 PM ET
Pena wants to take Yanks to Classic
First-base coach is third to interview for vacant manager job


NEW YORK -- Tony Pena stepped in as the third candidate for the Yankees' managerial vacancy on Wednesday. His interview may be the final one before Joe Torre's successor is named.
Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner told reporters outside Legends Field in Tampa, Fla., that the team has reduced its goal of "five to six candidates" to the current group of three, which also includes Joe Girardi and Don Mattingly.

General manager Brian Cashman has remained silent through the process, but no interviews are scheduled for the remainder of the week. The team could come to a decision as early as Friday, assuming that commissioner Bud Selig grants the team permission to announce the move during what would be a World Series travel day.

While Mattingly is viewed in many circles as the front-runner, Pena's presence at the Yankees' Spring Training home served to remind the team that Torre's final coaching staff had more than one reasonable candidate.

"I'm capable to manage this ballclub," Pena said on a conference call from Tampa. "I'm capable to take this ballclub to the final line, which is to win the World Series. I feel we have great talent in this organization."

Earlier in the day, Steinbrenner urged patience for whoever emerges as the Yankees' manager, saying that the prospective skipper is "not getting the '96 Yankees." Instead, Steinbrenner painted a picture of the 2008 roster as a club growing progressively younger and a team in transition.

Pena said the Yankees' forecast appears much brighter to him.

"With the talent that we have, I think we can do it this year," Pena said. "There's no question in my mind that we have the capability and we have the talent to go and do the job."

Pena, 50, completed his second season as the Yankees' first-base coach this year after spending parts of four seasons as the Kansas City Royals' manager from 2002 into 2005.

The 2003 American League Manager of the Year, Pena guided that overachieving Royals club to an 83-79 record and a third-place finish in the AL Central -- the organization's only above-.500 campaign in the last 13 years.

He was dismissed 33 games into the 2005 season after his Royals got off to a 8-25 start en route to a 106-loss showing under three managers. Pena said having the opportunity to coach alongside Torre for two seasons have made him a better manager than he was with the Royals.

"There's no question that just being around Joe, I learned so much from him," Pena said. "I have to say thanks to him for the things that I learned. I know that I did a great job in KC, but I think the two years that I spent in New York working for Joe Torre helped me a lot. One thing about Joe -- he never was up and he never was down."

Like the rest of the Yankees' coaching staff, Pena's contract with the organization is set to expire on Oct. 31. In the event he is not named manager, Pena left the impression that he would be willing to remain on as a coach for either Girardi or Mattingly for 2008.

"If I don't get the job and they ask me to come back as a coach, I have no problem with that," Pena said. "I'm in love with this organization. I'm very, very proud to wear that uniform."

Yankees sign two: The Yankees announced the signings of outfielder Jason Rees and catcher Eladio Rodriguez to Minor League contracts on Wednesday, plucking both players from the Israel Baseball League.

Rees, 23, batted .362 (47-for-130) with seven doubles, leading the league in home runs (17) and RBIs (50) in 42 games for the league champion Bet Shemesh Blue Sox, managed by former Yankee and original designated hitter Ron Blomberg.

A native of Newcastle, Australia, Rees was awarded the league's Co-Defensive Outfielder of the Year honors and was named to the IBL South All-Star team.

Rodriguez, 28, received the Hank Greenberg Award as the IBL's Co-Most Valuable Player after leading the league with a .461 batting average (47-for-102) and a 1.000 slugging percentage.

In 34 games at catcher with the Modi'in Miracle, he led the club with 16 home runs and 44 RBIs and was named to the IBL South All-Star team.

The Israel Baseball League is the first professional baseball league in the Middle East. Players from nine nations, including a dozen Israelis, competed in the league's initial season in 2007.

Club mourns: The Yankees organization has been mourning the passing of media relations department intern Matthew Wasser, 22, who passed away Sunday morning in Waltham, Mass. Wasser was a passenger in a taxi cab rear-ended by a driver charged with operating under the influence of alcohol.

Born and raised in Bernardsville, N.J., Wasser was to graduate from the College of New Jersey in December with a degree in communications. He is survived by his parents, Marilyn Gottlieb Wasser and Eric Wasser, and siblings Jason and Stephanie.

"A loss of this magnitude is impossible to put into words," said Jason Zillo, the Yankees' director of media relations. "Matt will long be remembered for his boundless enthusiasm and uplifting, selfless spirit. The Yankees family reaches out to the Wasser family during this tremendous time of grief, as we keep his loved ones and friends close to our heart."

Services will be held on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. ET at Temple Sholom on 594 North Bridge Street in Bridgewater, N.J. The family asks that any memorial gifts be sent in Matt's name to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, The American Cancer Society or Joe Torre's Safe at Home foundation.