After weeks of trying, the Arizona Diamondbacks finally caught up with Tony Womack.
The Diamondbacks traded for the two-time NL stolen base leader Friday, getting him from the Pittsburgh Pirates for a minor league outfielder and a player to be named."The addition of Tony Womack shifts us into a different gear," Arizona general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said. "The speed he possesses brings another dimension to our club and makes for a much more balanced offensive attack."
A long rumored deal that would have sent Womack and outfielder Al Martin to Arizona for outfielder Bernard Gilkey fell through Tuesday.
"I thought it was all over, and it felt like a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders," Womack said. "It's disappointing to me. I like Pittsburgh. I like playing for the Pirates. No disrespect intended to the Arizona Diamondbacks, but I was happy where I was at."
Womack, who stole 60 bases in 1997 and 58 last year -- just 15 short of Arizona's total -- will be asked by the Diamondbacks to shift from second base to right field.
"I've played some outfield but it's been center field," he said. "I've never played right field. It's going to be tough trying to learn a new position and coming to a new team at the same time."
In return for Womack, 29, the Pirates received outfielder Paul Weichard, 19, who hit .293 with 28 RBIs and 19 steals in 54 games last year with the Diamondbacks' rookie team at Lethbridge, Alberta.
Roger Clemens, meanwhile, is getting more accustomed to his new teammates on the New York Yankees.
The five-time Cy Young winner was pitching to a minor leaguer during his first live batting practice stint at Tampa, Fla., when Derek Jeter and Chuck Knoblauch got ready to step in wearing full catcher's gear.
When Clemens noticed Knoblauch, he smiled and tipped his cap. And then he threw a pitch softly behind Knoblauch's back.
"I knew eventually something would be up . . . I think it was a good move by them, actually," Clemens joked. "So to make them feel right at home, I went ahead and threw those ones behind them."
Jeter and Knoblauch both were hit by Clemens pitches in the past, but apparently any lingering problems have been worked out.
Another former Cy Young winner, Sandy Koufax, made an appearance at the New York Mets camp at Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Koufax lives about 20 miles north of the Mets complex in Vero Beach. As he did last year, the Dodgers Hall of Famer took an interest in fellow lefty Al Leiter.
Also ready to work is Barry Bonds. The San Francisco star missed the team's first full-squad workout at Scottsdale, Ariz., having spent a little extra time at home after the birth of his daughter, Aisha Lynn, on Feb 5.