NEW YORK — Hal Steinbrenner isn’t nearly as blustery or as brash as his famous father, but he still expects the same thing once October baseball begins.

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Kate Hudson

She should show up to more games. I’m sure Yankee fans would appreciate it, and it can only help Alex get out of his slump. Oh by the way, Rodriguez passed non-steroid-using Yankee great Reggie Jackson and now has 564 career dingers, good for 11th all-time.

“You’re so focused on playing the game and playing it right every day that I’ve never stopped to see [who he's passing],” Rodriguez told the Daily News. “But when you see Reggie – Reggie is such a huge name in our game and he’s also Mr. October and a close friend – it’s big.”

Jackson, who unlike Rodriguez has never been liked to steroids, was on hand for the milestone.

“Today is a day for me to come and tip my cap and say congratulations and keep hitting home runs for the Yankees,” Jackson told the New York Post. “I’m a fan of Alex’s. . . . The negativity that surrounds the steroids is certainly not something that I carry over to him. I do appreciate the fact that he admitted his mistakes, and so from here we move forward. Judgment on him will be passed with his next 7½ years with the Yankees.

“I don’t vote [for the Hall of Fame],” Jackson added. “If he doesn’t make it on the first 15 years of the ballot, I get a chance to vote [on the Veterans Committee], but here is a guy who is going to wind up with 700 or 800 home runs.

“He works as hard as any player I’ve ever seen around the game. They used to say about me, ‘Reggie Jackson, love him or hate him, you cannot ignore him.’ Alex Rodriguez goes to the post every day, unless he goes to the hospital, and that you have to tip your hat to with all the adversity he has gone through.”

**This ongoing verbal battle between Bill Simmons and Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy is really getting entertaining.

Dunleavy went on Colin Cowherd’s show and said Simmons was a “joke writer” who had “no credibility.”

That sparked the following tweets from Simmons:

Mike Dunleavy saying someone has no credibility is like Michael Richards calling someone a racist.

Ok, 1 more: Q: “What do you get when you cross cheap suits, booing, 35-point losses + players mailing it in?” A: The Mike Dunleavy Era.

1 more joke: Q: “What do you call a coach who decimated 40% of his team’s season ticket holders base?” A: “Mike Dunleavy.”

Here’s a joke: “What do you call an NBA coach who’s 194-298 with the Clips?” A: “Still employed!!!” Now that’s a funny joke.

**Speaking of Twitter, Shaquille O’Neal has more than 1.4 million followers. That’s higher than the circulation of The New York Times. Think newspapers are in trouble?

**Despite speculation that the Warriors will trade Stephen Curry to Phoenix for Amar’e Stoudemire, Warriors coach Don Nelson says he has no intention of trading Curry, whom Golden State chose at No. 7 in the NBA Draft.

“He can unpack his bags, go look for a house and relax,” Nelson said. “He ain’t going anyplace.”

NEW YORK — Joe Girardi was reminded by a reporter Wednesday that in a bygone era, Yogi Berra was once fired as the Yankees manager after 16 games.

The year was 1985 and George Steinbrenner was changing managers the way the rest of us change underwear.

Those Yankees lost their first five games against the hated Red Sox, a Bronx tragedy that hadn’t repeated itself since Girardi’s Bombers did it again this year.

So, does Girardi worry for his job security?

Read the full column here.

And find out who Brian Bruney is blaming for his elbow soreness.

On another note, I don’t know how Major League Baseball beat writers do it. I was out at Yankee Stadium yesterday for nine hours and I’m exhausted. The beat writers do that day after day after day. Must be very on hard on their personal lives.

Give me basketball any day. Games take two hours, and your back home or on the bar stool before the night is out.

Top Ten Messages Left on Alex Rodriguez’s Answering Machine

10 “Hey, it’s Mark McGwire, want to get together this weekend and not talk about the past?”

9 “Joe Torre here, thanks for helping book sales.”
8 “Could you find a steroid that keeps you from choking in the playoffs?”
7 “Are you worried this will taint all the championships you didn’t win?”
6 “Hi, it’s Bernie Madoff. Nice try, but I’m still the most hated man in NYC.”
5 “Michael Phelps here, got any snacks?”
4 “Hi, this is Sammy Sosa, just pretend you don’t speak English.”
3 “Michael Phelps again, did I call you or did you call me?”
2 “Hi this is Rod Blagojevich, I’ll say you’re innocent if you say I am.”

and the Number One Message Left on Alex Rodriguez’s Answering Machine:

1 “It’s Madonna. You got a phone number for Jeter?”

Watch the video here.

They reached an agreement with left-handed free agent pitcher CC Sabathia, according to the New York Post.

ESPN is saying it’s for seven years and $160 million. The Yankees initially offered six years and $140 million.

Looks like the Yankees haven’t been impacted too badly by the recession.

Sabathia, 28, went 17-10 with a 2.70 ERA last season. The year before he won the AL Cy Young.

Sabathia, who was a workhorse down the stretch for the Milwaukee Brewers, is exactly what the Yankees need. A front-of-the-rotation ace who can pitch the first game of any postseason series, if the Yankees can get back there.

Sabathia joins Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain in a rotation that was decimated by injury last season. The Yankees are also pursuing free agents A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe. Bringing back Andy Pettitte is also an option. Youngsters Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy are still in the mix as well.

The Sabathia deals comes a day after the Mets announced a three-year, $37-million deal with closer Francisco Rodriguez.

“I’ve been a die-hard Rays fan for 11 years now,” Vitale, the Hall of Fame ESPN college hoops analyst who grew up in North Jersey and now lives in Sarasota, Fla., said by phone Monday morning. “I’ve had season tickets. I love baseball. I’m passionate about the game.

Read the full story here.