TAMPA - Don Zimmer was happy to see his old Yankees buddies such as Joe Torre and Derek Jeter on Sunday at Legends Field and just as happy not to see old Yankees boss George Steinbrenner.
Zimmer has been vocal in saying how Steinbrenner drove him to quit the Yankees after eight years, and Sunday he said there was absolutely, positively no chance they could resolve their differences.
"N-E-V-E-R," Zimmer said. "Never! ... It's actually sad because we were so close for 20 years or 25 years. But I'm a human being, and I want to be treated like one. I didn't feel like I was, so I moved on. ...
"I've heard people say he buys people back. Here's one he can't buy back. I'm here sitting on this side because of what happened."
Zimmer said he was glad to see the rest of the Yankees but passed on a chance to get a close-up look. The Rays kidded Zimmer on the bus ride over they were going to make him bring out the lineup card but decided against it. Zimmer ended up briefly the center of attention anyway when Jeter ran to the Rays' side of the field on his way to the shortstop position before the first inning and relived his good-luck tradition of rubbing Zimmer's head.
"I snuck up from the side," Jeter said. "It was fun. It was good to see him. It's always good to see Zim."
Said Zimmer: "That's Jeter. I didn't know he was going to do that. It was the furthest thing from my mind. I was thinking he might look over. When I saw him coming, I turned my head and acted like I didn't see him coming."
Torre enjoyed the reunion, too: "It's nice to see him happy. It's good for him. It's good for his health. And it might make (his wife) Soot's life a little easier."
