Sampling of columns from Knight Ridder/Tribune contributors.(Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service)

LARRY STONE, Seattle Times, on JASON GIAMBI and THE YANKEES:

TAMPA, Fla. _ One is hesitant to even mention the perceived quietude of any Yankees camp, because the next tabloid eruption is always just a heartbeat, or a George Steinbrenner appearance, away. The last time anyone started pointing out that all was serene in the land of pinstripes was early in the spring of 2000, and then Darryl Strawberry tested positive for cocaine, his third strike, shattering the calm until Opening Day.

But so far, it's been all sweetness and light, with Manager Joe Torre commenting Tuesday that this is the first spring he can remember without one fire to put out. (That sound you just heard was Torre knocking on wood, or at least on Don Zimmer's steel plate.)

The big news Tuesday was provided, naturally, by Jason Giambi, who already is holding court with more frequency (and much less venom) than Judge Judy. No, it wasn't about Giambi's nagging hamstring injury, which admittedly has caused some nervousness from the front-office types who bestowed upon the flamboyant first baseman a seven-year, $120 million contract.

Ominously, Giambi was hampered by the same injury last year in Oakland, but Torre says he is merely being extra cautious this spring, and Giambi is expected to be ready to play by Saturday.

No, the clubhouse buzz was Giambi's new haircut. Having already shed his facial hair to comply with team policy, Giambi decided to go all the way and reported to work with his once-flowing locks cropped short.

"But it's still spiky, kind of edgy," he pointed out.