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The most media-friendly player in the Yankee clubhouse just couldn't stay mum for the duration of the winter.

Johnny Damon, who spoke with the New York media from his home in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, is preparing for fatherhood. His wife Michelle is due to have their first child — Damon's third — around the New Year, and he has also been physically getting ready for his second season with the Yankees, one which he hopes will have a more positive ending.

Damon has been working out every day and says his foot, back and shoulder — injuries that plagued him throughout 2006 — are "great." Damon believes that the addition of Andy Pettitte along with the already potent offense should make the Yankees the front-runners for its 27th championship.

"If I ever got to first base, his pickoff move is amazing," Damon said. "He kept guys close. The guy knows how to pitch. He throws that cutter and he also started throwing that sinker to left-handed hitters which made it tough to get the good part of the wood on it.

"I know he's a competitor. He's pretty awesome and I'm sure he's going to be pretty fired up because every game in New York matters. I'm sure he'll come out and do very well for us. He knows how to keep the opposition runs down."

Damon also believes Bernie Williams, who played behind Pettitte in center field for nine seasons and four World Series titles, should be a part of the '07 puzzle and hopes the 38-year-old outfielder is back in pinstripes for his 17th season.

"Of course I would love to see Bernie back, because he meant so much to our team last year," Damon said. "He played well and when Joe (Torre) called upon him he came out and did a great job.

"It seems like he got himself in great shape. He can still run. He can still hit. I would love to see him back here."

Once again, Damon's old team, the Red Sox, made a significant splash in the offseason pool, most notably by signing Japanese wonder Daisuke Matsuzaka. After winning the negotiation sweepstakes with a bid of $51.1 million, early Wednesday evening the Red Sox announced they came to terms with the hurler for six years, $52 million — resulting in a staggering $103-million investment. But Damon, whose agent Scott Boras couldn't get the Red Sox to settle on a long-term deal in the winter of 2005, isn't looking in the rearview mirror and finds no correlation between the money Boston threw at Matsuzaka but not at him.

"You know what, that's water under the bridge," Damon said. "I got a great offer and a great contract from the Yankees and I'm happy. You can always look back and say what could have been, but I think I'm in a pretty good situation. Maybe they learned a lot from what happened last year. They finished in third place, sothey definitely needed to go out and make a statement and it seems like they're kind of doing that.

"It's definitely going to be another great year in the American League East."

Although Damon, Bobby Abreu and Hideki Matsui will round out the '07 outfield, Damon wants Melky Cabrera to be a big part of the upcoming season. After successfully filling in for the injured Matsui — Cabrera recorded a .280 batting average with seven home runs and 50 RBIs — Damon would like to see the 22-year-old be more than the fourth outfielder. And Cabrera's youth and energy didn't go unnoticed.

"I think Melky Cabrera was a pleasant surprise and I think Joe is going to have to deal with having to shuffle the lineup around," Damon said. "It seemed like when he played, things happened. Guys didn't try to score on him. He used his arm to win some big games.

"I would love to see him play 120-130 games. We'll find a way, that's the good thing. You can never count on injuries, like we did last year, but because of that, a young star got to emerge."

Damon is also in the Doug Mientkiewicz fan club, having been a teammate of his on the Red Sox' 2004 championship team. With Brian Cashman still in search for a first baseman, along with Andy Phillips and Rule 5 draft pick Josh Phelps, Mientkiewicz is reportedly on the Yankees' radar.

"There's not too many first basemen who could save two, three runs a game," Damon said, "but I've seen Doug Mientkiewicz do it and it's amazing. And the guy can hit. He's a contact hitter with the right work ethic and the right people pushing him. He could produce for us. "But defensively I haven't seen a better defensive player than Doug. If we pick him up it would be great. He knows a lot of people on the team, he and Alex (Rodríguez) grew up together. It definitely would not hurt us."

Overall, Damon is optimistic about next season and is confident the makeup of the 2007 team is a winning one.

"We never wanted to end the season that way, but we also understand that some teams can catch fire," Damon said. "Unfortunately for us, Detroit caught fire halfway through Game 2. They got momentum and they kept going, especially when we got back to Detroit.

"I think we improved but we didn't need to improve on the offense side. We're getting our pitchers ready and I can't wait to hit in this great lineup again next year."

Ending remarks from Damon:

"Peace out! Shake and Bake!"