What a difference a year and a half can make for Red Sox fans. Sox fans felt a slew of emotions back in December of 2005. Shock, anger, disbelief and betrayal were just a few of the emotions described by Sox fans as one of the most beloved Sox players, Johnny Damon, signed a 4-year, $52 million dollar contract with the hated New York Yankees.
The feelings of betrayal and anger were warranted for Sox fans. Not only would the Sox be losing one of the most beloved and recognizable players from the “Idiot” Red Sox team that finally brought a World Series title to Boston, but they were also losing a premier centerfielder who was just one year removed from career highs in batting average, home runs and RBIs
Damon signed with the Yankees for a slew of reasons, but one of the main factors in his decision to leave for New York was the Red Sox’s unwillingness to match the Yankees' contract in the terms of years and salary. Much of the fans anger for Damon’s departure was geared towards Larry Lucchino and the rest of Red Sox management for being a few million cheap on a deal that would have brought Damon back to Fenway.
It appeared that just like Wade Boggs and Roger Clemens before him, Damon would be next in a long line of Red Sox to switch alligence to the Yankees in the prime of their careers. But a funny thing happened to Damon on his way to greener pastures in the Bronx. Close to a year and half after Sox ownership was ripped for lowballing Damon and letting him walk , it appears and as if the Red Sox made the right move by letting Damon go.
After an impressive first season with New York, Damon’s second season in pinstripes has been nothing short of a disaster. Damon appears to falling apart right before our eyes, coming down with a variety of ailments ranging from calf problems, a sore Achilles tendon and chronic back problems. Damon has already played a significant portion of the season, as the Yankee’s DH and word is that the Yankees are thinking about placing Damon on the disabled list for the first time in his career.
While on the field, Damon’s season has not fared much better. Always one of the league leaders in batting average, Damon is hitting just .248 this season with only 23 RBIs. Clearly, this isn't the type of production the Yankees had in mind when they signed Damon.
The Yankees are now on the hook for the remaining 2 years and $26 million left on Damon’s contract, hoping that this season is just an aberration and not a sign of things to come for Damon. The bad news for the Yankees, conventional wisdom says that at 33, Damon is on the downswing of his career. Anyone else thinking that the Yankees might want a do over with that contract?
As for the Red Sox, letting Damon go in 2005 has a lot to do with the current success of the team. While Coco Crisp has proven to only be an adequate replacement for Damon in centerfield, the money saved by passing on Damon allowed the Red Sox to bring in Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Dice-K.
While Sox fans had a hard time coping with the loss of Damon at first, you are more likely to hear a Sox fan say “Damon who” than you are to hear someone asking for Johnny’s return. It seems clear now that letting the “idiot” go has been the best move the Red Sox have made in years.
13 comments:
Melky is better anyway, in every facet of the game.
Let's not forget that Damon said during the 2005 season that he would never, ever play for the Yankees. Obviously, Red Sox fans should've been wise enough to know that baseball players hardly ever say what they mean when money's involved, but Damon still came off as a big douche when he signed up for the George Steinbrenner All-Stars.
While I totally agree with the idea that the Red Sox were wise not to overpay for Damon (in both dollars and years), I don't see how a guy who has only hit over .300 four times in twelve seasons and has a .287 career batting average can be considered "always one of the league leaders in batting". Also, citing his 23 RBI, which is about the last thing you're really concerned about from your leadoff batter, sounds like you're just cherry-picking stats to back up your case. Stick with the fact that they signed him for too many years and he'll continue to break down. How's this deal going to look 3 years from now?
Let's not forget that Scott Boras was offering the Yankees a discount (...well cheaper than what the Mets paid...) for Carlos Beltran in late 2004.
Between replacing Bernie for 1 year, and Damon for (up to) 4, that doesn't sound like such a bad deal today.
That's good stuff. Also, Damon is so sub-par in the field and he can't even hit the relay man on a shallow single to center.
1. The Beltran thing can't be overstated enough. Mets fans will kick sand in Yankee fans eyes forever because of this botched signing.
2. It's a little early to be calling the Damon era in New York to a close. A DL stint will be good for him. Let's see his numbers at the end of the season.
I dispute the idea that Damon signed with the Yankees because the Sox didn't match the Yankees' offer. So does the most authoritative source, .
The Red Sox were surely willing to match the offer; Boras never gave them the chance to.
The problem with not signing Damon, and many other moves by the Red Sox, is that their unwillingness to negotiate in-season cost them the chance to get guys like Damon, Pedro, and soon to be Schilling for less years and less money. Sure, Pedro is a shell of himself and the same can be said for Damon, but you hate seeing some of the 2004 guys go.
As for the condition of Damon, he probably wouldn't be in his shape if the Sox had just kept Dave Roberts and let him spell Damon a quarter of the time in Center.
......a word to Damon......he should have just said NO.........when it came to steroids.................no juice.......no Damon..........another great signing brought to you by the esteemed Brian Cashman.........
Compared to Beltran, the signing is pretty bad. But compared to everybody else, it's not really too terrible. They don't care about the money, so that's not much of a hangup. If he's broken down before the contract is up, they'll get someone else. And so it goes for the Yankees.
Check out the latest "news" on Damon. Painfully funny.
callofthegreenmonster.com
Now that Coco appears to finally be getting hot at the plate it is starting to look even better. He is a much better fielder than JD. Plus with Dice-K looking good, Beckett headed for a possible Cy Young and Lowell doing well (although he's tailed off lately)that $$$ was definitely better spent.
Just want to add here belatedly that it appears that Scott Boras may have been the one to cheat Johnny out of returning to Boston, where his heart was... he never went back to the Sox to propose a counter offer, and he likely lied to the lovable idiot about it. JD thought they didn't really want him and felt disrespected.
But it was BORAS -- that disrespected you, Johnny. Take charge, dude - take charge like Kenny Rogers and Arod and dump his ass for lying to you.
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