"Russell Martin is in town, and his presence triggers thoughts of a movie.

"Escape From Alcatraz."

Martin is a Yankee now. When he gets in his crouch behind the plate these days, it is in the uniform of Ruth and Gehrig, not Koufax and Reese.

Say it ain't so, Joe.

Martin was the Dodgers' All-Star catcher in 2007-'08. Many considered him to be the best at his position in baseball in those seasons. He was a homegrown Dodgers draftee, part of the core built by the Dodgers minor league organization to take the fabled team to successes well into the second decade of this century.

He was humble, personable, hard-working. He was a catcher who could hit for power and steal bases. The fans loved him. So did the media. He was a small salve to the wound left in 1998, when the bumbling Fox management traded away likely Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza."