Melky's Sigh Of Relief,A Visitor To Thurman's Locker

Brian Heyman of the Journal News caught up with Yankees centerfielder Melky Cabrera and was able pull some quotes regarding his inclusion in a trade package which would have sent him to Minnesota in exchange for Johan Santana.

"I was a little worried about getting traded because I wanted to stay with my teammates," Cabrera said through an interpreter last night at the Marriott Marquis, where he was among the honorees at the 28th annual Thurman Munson Awards, a dinner that benefits the AHRC NYC, which works with the developmentally disabled. "I'm really happy the trade didn't go through."

As a footnote, Heyman described a special visitor making her first trip to the hallowed locker kept empty in honor of Thurman Munson following his tragic passing.

Diana Munson has never seen her late husband's locker at Yankee Stadium. It has been kept empty with the No. 15 over it since his death in 1979. But she hopes to come this year on a day when no one is around to take a look, since this is the ballpark's final year of existence.

"To me, it's very touching," she said. "I want this to be a private moment in my life and in the lives of my children."

The article also has some updates on stories which broke yesterday afternoon, including a resolution to Derek Jeter's tax predicament:

According to The Associated Press, Derek Jeter has settled his problems with the state's Department of Taxation and Finance, although the numbers weren't released. The tax people believed Jeter should have paid taxes for 2001-03 as a resident of the state because he had an apartment he owned in Manhattan. Jeter said he was a resident of Florida.

As well as Don Mattingly's bizarre encounter with his drunken estranged ex-wife:

An AP report stated that Don Mattingly's estranged 45-year-old wife, Kim, was arrested on Saturday at his home in Evansville, Ind., and charged with public intoxication and disorderly conduct. Police said she wouldn't leave the premises. She posted $50 bond and appeared in court on Monday, the same day the ex-Yankees player and coach was granted a protective order.