Dan Gould Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 Great news on the Damon Watch: Dodgers Sign Lofton And then there were two. Of course, the problem remains that once Boras comes off the seven year fantasy, I am sure the Yanks will make an offer and then things will get interesting. My guess now is that the team that goes five years guaranteed will get him, and that team will be the Sox. BTW, now that Damon has declined arbitration, the Sox have until January 8th to negotiate with him or else they can't negotiate til May 1. Speaking of which, that's the same deadline the Yanks now face with Bernie Williams. Is that deal going to get done or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave James Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 (edited) Holy jumpin' up and down, Martha: YANKS SIGN JOHNNY DAMON Four years, $54 million. I'll be available for consultation tomorrow. Right now, I'm gonna crack me an Old Milwaukee. Up over and out. Edited December 21, 2005 by Dave James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted December 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 Pretty shocking, if you ask me!!! Lucky Yanks!!! Don't quite know why he didn't find a way to sign with the Dodgers. Who do they go after now??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubleM Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 That should help w/ the Yanks' "O", but with the "D"? Not so sure. Either way, Holy jumpin' up and down, Martha: YANKS SIGN JOHNNY DAMON. Four years, $54 million. I'll be available for consultation tomorrow. Right now, I'm gonna crack me an Old Milwaukee. Up over and out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyJazz Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 (edited) This deal just goes to show how the real "idiots" are we fans who get so wrapped up in a team and its players. There is absolutely no sense of loyalty among players who, given the structure with which they are free to operate (and certainly that is how it is in the business world), will move without a care in the world to the "enemy". Being a hard core Yankee fan, certainly Damon not only obviously represents an upgrade over Bubba Crosby, his absence totally diminishes the Red Sox, a team he had come to personify. I hate to say it but there is definitely a sadness to this. Thankfully, I grew up in the '50s and '60s. If free agency had resulted in Mickey Mantle signing a contract with the Red Sox or Sandy Koufax leaving the Dodgers to pitch for the New York Mets, etc., I would have been totally appalled and my ardor for baseball would have been quenched in my relative infancy. My condolences to Dan, blues for Bartok et al. Edited December 21, 2005 by MartyJazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted December 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 I can't believe he up and signed with the evil empire either, BUT if the stories are true that the Sox offer was 12 million less for the same 4 years, and that they wouldn't budge from 4 years, you can see at least part of the reason why he signed with the Yanks....not bothering to keep Theo was a bigger mistake than the Sox ownership could fathom.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 I am too staggered and stupefied to speak. At this point the only thing left is to go ahead and trade Ramirez for prospects, and hope that Damon turns into Bernie by the last year of this deal, after we suffer through at least two more parades down the canyon of heroes. My instincts may be to hate and resent Damon and bemoan the changes that Marty mentions but the fact is that the hatred and the resentment ought to be entired heaped on the front office for failing to match what was a reasonable offer given the current structure of salaries, and for a team with the resources to let him walk away ... I hope Lucchino chokes on his Christmas turkey, and that the Sainted Mr. Henry chokes on what I predict will be a 30% fall off in advance ticket sales, and the inevitable end of the current streak of sellouts, which might have threatened Cleveland's record but now we'll never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 One more comment before I withdraw from all further discussion: The Boston media has both Lucchino and Werner being contacted regarding Damon's signing and both expressing surprise and a complete lack of knowledge. Lucchino even speaks of "ongoing negotiations" when they are trying to get a comment about Damon signing with the Yankees. My question: were they just being disingenuous, or is it possible that Damon and Boras took the offer without giving the Red Sox a final chance to match or top it? Supposedly the Yanks gave them a midnight deadline, claiming that they couldn't wait longer because other options might no longer be available. It really sounds to me like they took the offer without telling the Sox what they had in hand ... but that is a very un-Boras thing to do because he essentially left money on the table. As much as I hate Lucchino, I have a hard time believing that they would not have made another offer, had they known that the Yankees were about to snatch him. Or had they simply made it clear that 4 years/40 million was their top offer, so when the Yanks made their offer, Boras and Damon took it without even giving the Sox a chance. Last thing I'll say is that at this point my hope is that they trade Wells for Dave Roberts, straight up, and then I got two words for you after the inevitable Yankee championship in 2006: Andruw Jones. There may not be anyone on base in front of them, but Ortiz-Manny-Jones would be the scariest middle lineup in history, particularly at Fenway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 I'm not big on off-season speculation - it still has to happen on the field - but as a Yankee fan, I wonder how many good years Damon has left. I just hope that he has four good years left in him. Another thought I have is that Yankee and Red Sox fans have the idea that it's all about their teams. The White Sox and the Angels played for the AL championship last season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 I'm not big on off-season speculation - it still has to happen on the field - but as a Yankee fan, I wonder how many good years Damon has left. I just hope that he has four good years left in him. Another thought I have is that Yankee and Red Sox fans have the idea that it's all about their teams. The White Sox and the Angels played for the AL championship last season. Why shouldn't it be about our teams, if those are the teams we care about? As far as Damon goes, he's 32, he plays extremely hard yet he's never been on the DL. Its my devout wish that streak ends soon with a catastrophic knee injury, but there is no reason why Damon doesn't do what he's been doing for at least the next three years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 We all have players that everyone raves about, but we don't think that highly of, for me, Damon is that kind of player. Of course he had a great year last season, but that was a contract year, which always seems to bring out the best stats for a player. I see Damon going to down in value this season, and I don't think over a full season he can handle center at Yankee Stadium. Feel free to flame away now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 (edited) We all have players that everyone raves about, but we don't think that highly of, for me, Damon is that kind of player. Of course he had a great year last season, but that was a contract year, which always seems to bring out the best stats for a player. I see Damon going to down in value this season, and I don't think over a full season he can handle center at Yankee Stadium. Feel free to flame away now. No flames here. I just hope you're right. He's the enemy now and I invite him to eat sh*t and die, and take Matsui and Sheffield with him. Edited December 21, 2005 by Dan Gould Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzypaul Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 Another thought I have is that Yankee and Red Sox fans have the idea that it's all about their teams. The White Sox and the Angels played for the AL championship last season. Well, one look at their record in the playoffs will tell you that it WASN'T all about their teams. And considering the starting rotation that we're going to have on our hands this time out, the whole AL better watch out. Now if only Kenny Williams would simply decide to spend the money on Manny, at which point, we'd have deadly offense AND pitching. Y'all would just have to bow before the greatness that is the Chicago White Sox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quincy Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 (edited) This deal just goes to show how the real "idiots" are we fans who get so wrapped up in a team and its players. There is absolutely no sense of loyalty among players who, given the structure with which they are free to operate (and certainly that is how it is in the business world), will move without a care in the world to the "enemy". On the other hand plenty of players gave their careers to teams only to be traded away or tossed aside like yesterday's garbage. Some had skills that had diminished like Eddie Mathews or Jim Rice. But take Willie McCovey, who was traded away at 35 and still put together 3 seasons of more than 20 homers (the Giants did bring him back later of course.) Or Dwight Evans, who played 19 years for the Red Sox and wanted to stay, still had something to offer (as evidenced by a .390 OBP the following season) but was released by the Sox. He was one of those older players hit by the shrinking "middle class" in baseball, and so saving some money over loyalty to a long-time player was the deciding factor for ownership. I think it's great that players now have some say in their destiny. If they want to sign for less for the old home team that's fine, but on the other hand there's enough evidence to suggest there won't be much in the way of sentimentality from ownership so it's hard for me to begrudge them too much when they sign for money. Edited December 21, 2005 by Quincy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 dan's gotta be pi$$ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 We all have players that everyone raves about, but we don't think that highly of, for me, Damon is that kind of player. Of course he had a great year last season, but that was a contract year, which always seems to bring out the best stats for a player. I see Damon going to down in value this season, and I don't think over a full season he can handle center at Yankee Stadium. Feel free to flame away now. No flames here. I just hope you're right. He's the enemy now and I invite him to eat sh*t and die, and take Matsui and Sheffield with him. Why all the anger towards Damon, Dan? The Sox are the ones who deserve your ire. Damon just took a better deal. I don't know if my loyalty is to a team or to players. Players change venues so often these days, both through free agency and trades, that it's hard to say. I do know that I stopped being a NY/SF Giant fan on the day they traded Willie Mays to the Mets. I'm not sure if I would have remained a Yankee fan if the Yanks had ever traded Ron Guidry - glad that never happened. It's interesting that fans tend to get more angry at a player when he leaves via free agency than they do at a team when a player is traded or allowed to go to another team for want of an equivalent offer. Free agency has long been a fact of life in the music business. Miles left Prestige for Columbia; Trane left Atlantic for Impulse; Ray Charles left Atlantic for ABC Paramount; The Everly Brothers left Cadence (where they made their best records) for Warner Brothers and a lot more money; Sonny Rollins signed with almost everyone. Good thing people don't root for record companies like they do sports teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 We all have players that everyone raves about, but we don't think that highly of, for me, Damon is that kind of player. Of course he had a great year last season, but that was a contract year, which always seems to bring out the best stats for a player. I see Damon going to down in value this season, and I don't think over a full season he can handle center at Yankee Stadium. Feel free to flame away now. No flames here. I just hope you're right. He's the enemy now and I invite him to eat sh*t and die, and take Matsui and Sheffield with him. Why all the anger towards Damon, Dan? The Sox are the ones who deserve your ire. Damon just took a better deal. I don't know if my loyalty is to a team or to players. Players change venues so often these days, both through free agency and trades, that it's hard to say. /quote] My loyalty will always be towards team and not specific players. The money offered by the Red Sox, in a perfect world where players are not purely motivated by financials, ought to have been sufficient to keep him. I believe (see my post earlier today) that Damon and Boras declined to give the Red Sox the opportunity to match or better the Yankee's offer. My ire at Damon is a natural result. Yes, I am angry with the front office for messing things up yet again, but the fact is, Damon is now a Yankee. I am a Red Sox fan. Damon is dead in my eyes. I will keep the memories near and dear, but he is dead to me. Put another way, as I have seen mentioned on a Red Sox BB, I root for the laundry. That is, if you're wearing a Sox uniform, I root for you. And if you wear pinstripes, you are the scum of the Earth. If you willfully chose to wear pinstripes (as opposed to being traded to the Yankees or drafted by them, then you are the scum of the universe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 We all have players that everyone raves about, but we don't think that highly of, for me, Damon is that kind of player. Of course he had a great year last season, but that was a contract year, which always seems to bring out the best stats for a player. I see Damon going to down in value this season, and I don't think over a full season he can handle center at Yankee Stadium. Feel free to flame away now. No flames here. I just hope you're right. He's the enemy now and I invite him to eat sh*t and die, and take Matsui and Sheffield with him. Why all the anger towards Damon, Dan? The Sox are the ones who deserve your ire. Damon just took a better deal. I don't know if my loyalty is to a team or to players. Players change venues so often these days, both through free agency and trades, that it's hard to say. /quote] My loyalty will always be towards team and not specific players. The money offered by the Red Sox, in a perfect world where players are not purely motivated by financials, ought to have been sufficient to keep him. I believe (see my post earlier today) that Damon and Boras declined to give the Red Sox the opportunity to match or better the Yankee's offer. My ire at Damon is a natural result. Yes, I am angry with the front office for messing things up yet again, but the fact is, Damon is now a Yankee. I am a Red Sox fan. Damon is dead in my eyes. I will keep the memories near and dear, but he is dead to me. Put another way, as I have seen mentioned on a Red Sox BB, I root for the laundry. That is, if you're wearing a Sox uniform, I root for you. And if you wear pinstripes, you are the scum of the Earth. If you willfully chose to wear pinstripes (as opposed to being traded to the Yankees or drafted by them, then you are the scum of the universe. I guess you can't be much clearer than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave James Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 Being a fan (short for fanatic) is all about having a favorite team. I've been a Yankee fan since before most of you were born, so the idea of pledging allegiance to another team has never crossed my mind for even a single second. These are my guys and they have been through thick and thin. And, believe me, over the years, there's been plenty of "thin". The other part of being a fan is rooting against other teams. While I can't say I hate the Red Sox, I certainly don't root for them, but the biggest reason I don't is only because every time they win, I have to worry about the Yanks keeping up. In other sports, there are teams I truly hate, especially the Dallas Cowboys, but in baseball, not really. I just love the friggin' game. Up over and out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 "There's no way I can go play for the Yankees, but I know they're going to come after me hard. It's definitely not the most important thing to go out there for the top dollar, which the Yankees are going to offer me. It's not what I need." - Johnny Damon, May '05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyJazz Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 "There's no way I can go play for the Yankees, but I know they're going to come after me hard. It's definitely not the most important thing to go out there for the top dollar, which the Yankees are going to offer me. It's not what I need." - Johnny Damon, May '05 Whenever they say "it's not about the money"........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILLYQ Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 "There's no way I can go play for the Yankees, but I know they're going to come after me hard. It's definitely not the most important thing to go out there for the top dollar, which the Yankees are going to offer me. It's not what I need." - Johnny Damon, May '05 Whenever they say "it's not about the money"........ And Scott Boras is his agent... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 Like any of you, if offered a 30% raise above what your current boss was offering for doing the same job you're doing now, would say "No thanks". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILLYQ Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 Like any of you, if offered a 30% raise above what your current boss was offering for doing the same job you're doing now, would say "No thanks". Good point, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted December 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 Like any of you, if offered a 30% raise above what your current boss was offering for doing the same job you're doing now, would say "No thanks". Well, it wasn't the current boss that offered the 30% raise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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