Do They Want More Tino, or Mo?

How many fresh starts do you get before the Yankees give you a fresh start with another team?

That’s what people are wondering about first baseman Tino Martinez, who led the Yankees with 123 runs batted in during the regular season but whose postseason struggles have led to speculation the Yankees will pursue free-agent first baseman Mo Vaughn over the winter.

When Martinez went without an RBI in the division series, he looked forward to a clean slate for the American League championship series. But he hit .105 with one RBI against Cleveland, so now he hopes to break out during the World Series against the San Diego Padres.

“It was kind of a relief when the ALCS was over and we won,” said Martinez, who went one for 11 in the 1996 World Series. “It’s like when you have a bad three-game series and you go to another city. Sometimes you just need to get away.”

Martinez is comfortable with his swing.

“But I’ve been overanxious,” he said. “My pitch selection is horrible. I just have to relax and get good pitches to hit. That’s easier said than done, especially when you didn’t have a good postseason in 1996 and you want to make things happen so badly that you’re trying too hard.”

Yankee Manager Joe Torre isn’t concerned about Martinez’s batting average.

“You may not even hit .200, but if you can hit a sacrifice fly or drive in a run with an out, do something to help win a game, that’s what I stress,” he said. “If you concentrate on just winning each game, it takes some of the stress away.”

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If not for a shoulder injury, Greg Vaughn could have been playing left field for the Yankees instead of the Padres in this World Series, and Yankee third baseman Scott Brosius could have been watching the playoffs on television.

The Yankees and Padres agreed to a deal in July 1997 that would have sent pitcher Kenny Rogers to San Diego for Vaughn and infielder Mariano Duncan, but the trade was voided when Vaughn failed the Yankees’ physical.

Rogers remained in New York but was eventually shipped to Oakland last November for Brosius, who hit .300 with 19 homers and 98 RBIs for New York in the regular season and leads the team in playoff RBIs with nine.

Vaughn remained in San Diego and hit 50 homers for the Padres.

Rogers also had an outstanding year in Oakland, going 16-8 with a 3.17 earned-run average, third best in the league.

“It’s a unique situation, but it worked out for everyone,” Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman said. “The Padres got Vaughn, and they wouldn’t be here without him. We got Brosius, and we wouldn’t be here without him. And Ken had a great year in Oakland. All three clubs got the most bang for the buck.”

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With Martinez struggling offensively, there has been talk that Yankee designated hitter Chili Davis, who hasn’t played first base since 1991 with Minnesota, will replace Martinez when the Series shifts to San Diego, where there will be no designated hitter for Games 3, 4 and 5.

“But I don’t expect to do that,” Davis said. “I’m really counting on Tino having a tremendous series, so it will not be necessary for Chili Davis to show how bad a first baseman he is.”

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Torre, when told Game 1 starter David Wells was a guest on Howard Stern’s show Thursday: “Why does that not surprise me?”

Torre, when told Wells had predicted on the show that the Yankees would win the World Series in five games: “You have to take what David Wells says at face value. You can’t react or overreact to anything he says.”

Wells on Stern: “He’s a cool dude. He’s the man.”