Yankees sign Wright; Johnson on deck?
Free agent Jaret Wright and the New York Yankees finalized a $21 million, three-year contract yesterday, announcing the deal on the pitcher's 29th birthday.
"It's probably the best birthday present you could ever get," Wright said on a conference call from California. "I've been looking forward to something like this for a long time."
Wright was 15-8 with a 3.28 ERA for Atlanta last season, then lost both of his starts in the first round of the playoffs against Houston. The righthander is 52-45 with a 5.09 ERA in a career that began in 1997 with Cleveland and nearly ended because of shoulder trouble.
Wright and the Yankees reached a preliminary agreement Dec. 7. Because he twice had surgery on his right shoulder, the Yankees put him through an extensive physical.
Meanwhile, the Yankees and Diamondbacks talked for the third straight day about a trade that would bring Randy Johnson to New York for Javier Vazquez. Yankees president Randy Levine and incoming Arizona chief executive officer Jeff Moorad discussed prospects and money for the second consecutive day. New York says the amount of money it would send the Diamondbacks in the deal depends on the quality of prospects.
The teams are believed to be closing in on a deal in which pitcher Javier Vazquez, catching prospect Dioner Navarro, pitching prospect Brad Halsey, and cash, around $8 million, go to Arizona for Johnson.
Sox No. 1 again
The Red Sox World Series victory, ending 86 years of frustration, is the sports story of the year, according to a vote by the newspaper and broadcast members of the Associated Press. Boston's first World Series title since 1918 and the unprecedented comeback against the Yankees that made it possible was a runaway winner with 108 first-place votes and 1,325 points. Lance Armstrong's sixth straight Tour de France title (seven first-place votes, 785 points) finished second and the Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons brawl was third (six first-place votes, 662 points). The Patriots' Super Bowl victory and 21-game winning streak was next (no first-place votes, 498 points) . . . Washington mayor Anthony A. Williams signed legislation to bring major league baseball back to the nation's capital. "This is one of my proudest days as mayor," Williams said. His signature came after weeks of wrangling as several members of the District of Columbia Council balked at an earlier plan to finance a new stadium.
