Pat - will you settle for a New Years present?

[db44]

When I got to work, I heard this: We're reporting the Randy Johnson deal will be finished by New Years!

From the sounds of it, the deal will be between the two teams (NYY and Ari, nobody else) Johnson will come here for Vazquez, Brad Halsey and some other prospects.

I think Vazquez sealed the deal himself with his talk about the "mistake" the Yankees would be making if they traded him. He then went about saying he'd make sure he'd have a no-trade clause in his next contract.

I don't seem to remember him being so keen on staying put in Montreal. :rolleyes: Hey, rook, you go where we tell you! You may end up being a great pitcher, but you'll never be Johnson. We'll take our chances on him for a few years. Besides, you're performance down the stretch was pathetic, and horrible in the post-season.

[*nsyncablemom]

Hey Dave:)
I read that about Vasquez too! I am still working on tickets, but that deal would make a nice New Year's gift;)

I will be there, at some point for some game........HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND TO THE NYY:D

[princessKT]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylc=X3oDMTBpa2lpNnFzBF9TAzk1ODYxNzc3BHNlYwN0bQ--?slug=yankeesrandyjohnson&prov=st&type=lgns

Oh yeah ;)

[stephj24]

Hey Dave,

Here's another New Year's present. Our boy is coming back. :-D

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/nyy/news/nyy_news.jsp?ymd=20041230&content_id=926400&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp

12/30/2004 4:30 PM ET
Tino to return to the Bronx
First baseman played for Yankees from 1996-2001
By Mark Feinsand / MLB.com


NEW YORK -- As the Yankees waited to complete a trade for Randy Johnson, the club made another move on Thursday, bringing former Yankee Tino Martinez back to the Bronx.

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Martinez passed his physical at the Yankees' complex in Tampa, Fla., and the deal could be announced within a day or two.

Martinez signed a one-year deal, though exact terms were not available. He will likely share time at first base and DH with Jason Giambi. He also gives New York a viable option at first base should Giambi experience any health problems.

When reached by phone, general manager Brian Cashman declined comment on the matter.

Martinez played for the Yankees from 1996-2001, and helped the team win four World Series titles in that time. He drove in 100 or more runs in five of his six seasons in pinstripes, including 1997, when he finished second in the American League's MVP voting.

In 15 seasons, Martinez has a .272 average, 322 home runs and 1,222 RBIs, and has played in two All-Star Games. Last season, Martinez hit .262 with 23 home runs and 76 RBIs for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

New York has spent its offseason focused on pitching, signing Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright to bolster its rotation. The team also traded for relievers Mike Stanton and Felix Rodriguez, filling out the bullpen for 2005.

Martinez is just the second position player added by the Yankees this winter, joining second baseman Tony Womack.

Mark Feinsand is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[db44]

Tino is almost more important than Randy! :D

One of those players keep referring to as part of the heart of the championship teams. A player they never should have gotten rid of.

Opening Day will be interesting. People talk about how fragile Giambi is mentally. Will he be able to handle seeing Tino getting all the love and he himself getting jeers to rival the visiting Red Sox?

Giambi always was infactuated with Mantle. His life at this point paralleled the Mick's way too closely. He destroyed himself over drugs, where he may have been a tremendous player without his vices.

[princessKT]

Wow, Tino too. What a day!

[*nsyncablemom]

I want to be at opening day :cry:
I am more excited by Tino's return, but I want to know where my man Bernie is going to be :scratch:

[db44]

Either DH or in center still... I'de be surprised if he wasn't in the starting lineup.

[*nsyncablemom]

he had better be in the starting lineup! :crazy:
Bernie was a big part of the success last year!

[stephj24]

Back to the Bronx: Tino Martinez Rejoins Yankees

Friday, December 31, 2004

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Tino Martinez is headed back to the Bronx.

The popular first baseman and the New York Yankees finalized a $3 million, one-year contract Friday, a deal that gives manager Joe Torre a familiar option if Jason Giambi's health problems keep him out of the lineup again.

Martinez, 37, played for New York from 1996-01, helping the Yankees win five AL pennants and four World Series titles. A close friend of Derek Jeter, Martinez hit .262 with 23 homers and 76 RBI for Tampa Bay last season.

"The Florida Marlins probably were my other choice," Martinez said. "If the Yankees had any interest at all, whatsoever, it's where I wanted to be, where I wanted to finish my career."

Giambi, who replaced Martinez as New York's first baseman in 2002, missed much of last season because of a variety of illnesses, the most significant a benign tumor. He was ineffective at the plate when he returned late in the year, and New York did not include him on its postseason roster. Giambi, the 2000 AL MVP with Oakland, wound up hitting .208 with 12 homers and 40 RBI.

During the offseason, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Giambi told a federal grand jury in 2003 that he used steroids, and the Yankees have been investigating whether they can void his contract, which has $82 million and four years remaining.

"At this stage, we have not made any decisions on things like that," general manager Brian Cashman said
. "I expect him to be in camp with us, 100 percent healthy and ready to contribute to the 2005 Yanks."

While no top Yankees officials have spoken with Giambi since the end of the season, he's been in contact with the medical and training staff.

"It is a strange situation," Martinez said. "I spoke to Joe Torre last night. He gave me a call. I told him I'm willing to do whatever role he wants me to be in."

Tony Clark and John Olerud, who played first base in Giambi's absence, both became free agents.

Martinez has 322 homers, 18th among active players, and he has played in 95 postseason games, fourth on the career list. He gets $2.75 million next season, and New York has a $3 million option for 2006 with a $250,000 buyout.

He signed a $21 million, three-year deal with St. Louis in December 2001, then was traded by the Cardinals to Tampa Bay in November 2003. The Devil Rays declined an $8 million option, allowing him to become a free agent.

Martinez said the Yankees will be the final team he plays for. New York hasn't won the World Series since Martinez left and Paul O'Neill and Scott Brosius retired.

"They've had great teams and have come up short a few times," Martinez said, "Maybe a few breaks here and there, they're world champions again."

[stephj24]

Yankees bring Tino back to Bronx
First baseman won four World Series in New York
By Mark Feinsand / MLB.com


NEW YORK -- When Tino Martinez left the Yankees after the 2001 season, he figured he would never put on Yankee pinstripes again. With Jason Giambi's new seven-year deal, it seemed unlikely he would return to the Bronx before the end of his career.

He was wrong.

Friday, Martinez was introduced as the newest member of the 2005 Yankees, as New York inked the veteran first baseman to a one-year deal for $3 million with a club option for 2006.

"This is the last uniform I'm going to put on," Martinez said. "I'm playing for the Yankees, and I'm never going to play for another team again, whether it's one year or two years."

Martinez, who played for Tampa Bay last season after two years in St. Louis, spent six seasons with the Yankees, helping New York to four World Series titles between 1996-2001.

"Coming back to the Bronx was my first and only choice," Martinez said. "I really wanted to come back and play for the Yankees and my family wanted me to come back. The chance to come back and win a World Series, play for that great team in the place that I loved playing all those years, it's a great opportunity."

"He's played here before, he knows the score, and his leadership and presence in the past has helped lead us to championships," said general manager Brian Cashman. "Hopefully he'll again have a positive effect on us as we try to take from Boston what they've earned this past year."

Shortly after this year's World Series, Yankees officials contacted Martinez's agent, Jim Krivacks, to gauge the player's interest in returning to the Bronx. Martinez expressed interest, but as the team focused primarily on its pitching staff, he was asked to be patient.

The Florida Marlins made a strong push to sign Martinez, as he spoke several times with owner Jeffrey Loria. But Martinez, 37, knew that if the Yankees wanted to sign him, he would be a Yankee.

"It got to the point where if the Yankees had any interest at all whatsoever, it's where I wanted to be," he said. "It's where I want to finish my career."

The role in which he will finish his career, however, remains unclear. Martinez's playing time will depend largely upon the status of Jason Giambi, who has been at the center of a steroid controversy for much of the offseason.

Joe Torre called Martinez on Thursday night, and Martinez informed his manager that he would do whatever he was asked to do this season, whether it be as the starting first baseman, a DH or a bench player.

"I don't think anybody knows what Jason's situation is, or what's going to happen," Martinez said. "I think I have a chance to play quite a bit if he doesn't come back, but if he does, this is the only place that I would love to come off the bench. When Spring Training comes around, those questions will be answered a little more.

"It is a strange, strange situation," Martinez added. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make the team better and win. Hopefully if he comes back, he comes back healthy and he can help our team win. We'd love to have him back."

Giambi has four years and $82 million remaining on his contract, though there has been speculation that the Yankees would like to find a way to void the contract following reports that Giambi admitted to steroid use in front of a federal grand jury in December 2003.

"The signing of Tino Martinez, or somebody else, would have happened regardless of the current controversy surrounding Jason," Cashman said. "Jason Giambi is a member of this team. I know there's a lot of speculation about his situation, but he's a member of this organization until circumstances dictate otherwise. I expect him to be in camp with us, 100 percent healthy and ready to contribute to the 2005 Yankees."

Martinez is the second member of Torre's championship teams to return to the team this winter, joining reliever Mike Stanton, who was acquired earlier this month from the Mets for Felix Heredia. They join Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada in their old clubhouse, giving New York two more links to the '96-2000 teams.

With most of the roster turned over since his departure, Martinez doesn't know what to expect in the clubhouse, other than to say that he believes his new teammates will be hungrier than ever after October's ALCS disappointment against the Red Sox.

"I don't know much about the chemistry in the clubhouse, but I know that guys like [Gary] Sheffield and A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez) are driven to be great, to put up big numbers," Martinez said. "When you accept big money from Mr. Steinbrenner, you have to win a World Series. They know it and that whole team knows that they came up short and failed. They have to win a world championship. That's what they're there for, and that's what they'll be remembered for as Yankees. I know I'm coming back to a very hungry team."