The final version of David Wells' autobiography could be different from the one that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has said "tarnishes the Yankees' image."

While Wells tells anyone who will listen to just read "Perfect I'm Not! Boomer on Beer, Brawls, Backaches and Baseball," Chris Kreski, who wrote the book with Wells, told The New York Times on Sunday that Wells might have edited the book's most controversial passage -- the one in which he claims that up to 40 percent of major leaguers use steroids.

"He may very well have asked for that percentage to go down after reading it in print for the first time," Kreski told The Times in a telephone interview. "We almost took it out. We bounced it back and forth, and that may be different in the hard copy."

The book will be released March 14. Cashman said he planned to begin reading the galleys Monday.

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner told reporters Monday he has no plans to talk with Wells about the book.

"I haven't heard much about it except what you guys write," Steinbrenner said. "I'm not reading it, so I don't really know."

In the galleys, Wells claims that steroid use is rising and that steroids are readily available.

"They're easy to score," Wells writes. "They're easy to use. They really do work. As of right now, I'd estimate that somewhere between 25 and 40 percent of all major leaguers are juiced. But that number's rising fast."

Wells also claims he was "half drunk" when he pitched a perfect game in 1998, and he takes digs at teammates Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina.

"I'm not going to answer any more questions," Steinbrenner said. "Talk to Cashman, talk to (Joe) Torre. Those are the two people you have to talk to. I've got these guys to handle it."

According to The Times, Wells made conflicting statements about the book Sunday in Tampa, Fla. At one point, he said, "I'm not taking anything back." But he also admitted to exaggerating his claim that he pitched his perfect game in 1998 while "half-drunk" and said his steroid estimate was off.

"You guys are writing about this steroid stuff, '40 percent,' " Wells said. "In the book, it's different. It's a much lower percentage."

In the final copy, the figure will appear as "10 to 25 percent," the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., reported Tuesday.

Kreski, who has co-written books with the actors William Shatner and Barry Williams of The Brady Bunch fame, added Wells was an active participant in collaborating on the book and had altered the manuscript several times, and that the book was written "very much directly from transcripts," which allowed him to capture Wells's voice.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.