"There were plenty of "Who's Your Daddy" chants at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night when Pedro Martinez was on the mound for the Phillies, and as usual the former Red Sox ace ate it up, smiling as he came off the mound even as he fell to 0-2 with a 5.75 ERA in four career playoff appearances in the Bronx .

But it's worth pointing out that Martinez twice made a bid to join his "daddies" in the family business - once when he was a free agent after the 2004 season, and again earlier this summer when he was also a free agent and worked out for numerous major league scouts.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said that in both instances, there was a slim chance that Martinez was going to sign with the Yankees, but for very different reasons. Five years ago, Martinez's monetary demands were one hurdle for George Steinbrenner and Cashman, but the more serious concern was the righthander's long-term durability.

"At that time we had internal information about his health that turned out to be accurate," Cashman said yesterday after the Yankees' workout at Citizens Bank Park . "We thought he was going to break down and he did."

Martinez eventually signed with the Mets for four years and $54 million, but the health worries proved valid, as he made just 79 starts for them, going 32-23 with a 3.88ERA. Martinez's woes included missing most of 2007 after rotator-cuff surgery. Martinez had a separate meeting with Steinbrenner in Tampa during that winter of 2004-05, which Cashman did not attend, a meeting that Martinez reflected on fondly during a 2005 interview.

"You know, Mr. Steinbrenner was a gentleman. Everybody in the Yankees organization was very gentlemanly to me," Martinez said then. A source familiar with the meeting said that Steinbrenner even teased Martinez about his unruly hair at the time, and said that if the righthander did sign, he would have to get a haircut. Instead, Martinez went across town to Flushing , where he helped the Mets win the NL East in 2006, but was a disappointing 8-7 over the final two years of his deal. "