Watchdog

Cone on returning to TV after working with YES In 2002: "I'm thrilled to be back. The part I underestimated is the transition game a lot of athletes go through. After my first year with the YES Network I thought I could still make a comeback with the Mets, something that you might remember didn’t turn out so well. I’m as stubborn as any athlete at the end of his career. Sometimes you’re the last one to know when it’s time to go. It’s hard to be realistic with yourself. After that comeback with the Mets I’ve had some opportunities to get back in this business and I wavered. But I always had good feelings about the YES Network and Flip [president of production and programming John Filippelli]."

On objectivity: "I don't pretend to be a journalist . . . I just want to find my niche and be an analyst and maybe on occasion tell you something you don’t know. I certainly will try to be honest as I always have."

On Joe Girardi's biggest challenge: "Trying to get out of Joe Torre’s shadow, trying to establish his own identity. I know Joe Torre affected him a lot, they're very close, but at the same time I think Joe needs to establish his own identity."

On Johan Santana: "I know he’s a great guy and he’ll fit into that clubhouse very well . . . I look back to when I was 29, I was ready to go, I was ready to pitch for a contender."

On the Mitchell Report: "I wish it was more of a cooperative effort with the Players' Association. Had the Mitchell Report been done as a cooperative effort we might have had a different outcome in terms of protecting anonimity and really getting some solid answers. When you have unilateral action taken by the commissioner it puts the union in a different position, and this is what we’re left with."