Damon Talks About Future, Varitek

He's a good guy, and he's kept his speed longer than most people do, but it looks as if - like Abreu last year - he'll be the odd man out in the Yankees outfield.

He'll go somewhere and be a good hitter, though.

I hope to God they don't go after Vlad. He's over the hill and not worth however much he'll ask for.

Coco Crisp would be nice speed off the bench, something the Yankees really haven't had since Bubba Crosby.

What do the Yankees do this off season. Clearly changes have to be made and they will have money to play with.

If Damon, Matsui and Nady leave, that frees up 32.5MM. Thats a lot of cheddar.

I say this should be the plan.

1. Give Jackson a shot at the big league level this year and see how he develops, if things look good, he becomes a VERY affordable CF option next season.

2. If the Yanks arent in contention come the deadline, trade away Damon, Matsui and Nady for the best offers possible and add some prospects to the organization.

3. In the offseason, its going to depend who signs new deals but as of now Jason Bay, Matt Holliday and Rick Ankiel will be available along with several other decent options. Its a lock that the Yankees will sign at least one of the big names and then perhaps another middle end option.

4. Make Swisher the full time DH and give him occasional games at 1B and in the OF.

They spent a lot of time on pitching this past offseason but next offseason, its going to be all about the outfield. I could see them bringing back Damon if he'd be willing to take a massive pay cut though and they could put him in RF and just have to find a big name for left. This of course all depends on whether Jackson can deliver at the big league level.

xethicx,
First of all the yankees never see themselves as being out of contention untill around mid september and if they are around 10 games out at deadline time, they would prob attempt to buy rather than sell.
Second, they arent going to be able to get anything for a 35 year old(turns 35 in june) dh with a bum knee or an outfielder coming off an injury on the same elbow that he has had tommy john surgery on earlier in his career, and both are impending free agents so the yanks would receive nothing in trading them and they would be considered salary dumps, which the yanks most certainly don't need to do. As for damon, he may be able to return a mid level prospect but even that is questionable, and with the yanks, we're always in it mentality, no way he is traded either.
As for Ajax, the only way I wanna see him in the big leagues this year is as a september call up, but he's not on the 40 man so they would have to release a player to do that.
And as for swisher moving to dh fulltime, don't really like that either, he's a serviceable outfielder and there is no need to remove him from the outfield and have a bunch of young, and as for know unproven players out there.
There is no way i see them signing holiday or ankiel, at least I hope they don't. I'd love Bay but I see him working something out with the sox, so I'd say the best bet would probably be to bring johnny back for a year or may b 2 depending upon his price, if he really wants to stay with the yanks he may give them a discount.

Maybe it me, but I just don't see why people are so enamored with the play of Ankiel? I just don't think he's more than an average CF. Obviously the learning curve is an issue with him since he's only been a full time position player for a little over a year but what has he done that makes him a sought after player? His line last year is just ok (.264/.337 w 25 hrs) but that's not any better than Nady. He strikes out a lot @ 25% and only walks 1 per 10 at bats. His defense is very questionable. He has a strong arm but that's about it. He's represented by Boras which means he'll be asking for the moon and I imagine at least a 3 year deal minimum. Plus already 30 yrs old, so what is his worth as an avg power hitter with an avg at best glove w/ a good arm? And why would the Yanks sign him to play CF when he would be blocking Ajax?

Wouldn't it be better to go after a more known quantity not named Holliday?

I tell you....I think I could really warm up to the ideas below:

-Sign Manny to replace Matsui as a full time DH.

-Sign Coco Crisp to start/platoon with Melky in CF.

-Sign Nady to a 1 year deal and Swisher plays RF

OR

-Move Jeter to LF and play Pena at SS.

I really, really like the idea of Jeter moving to LF next year.

Jeter-LF
Crisp/Cabrera-CF
Teixeira-1B
Arod-3B
Manny-DH
Cano-2B
Posada-C
Swisher-RF
Pena-SS

or maybe do something very unconventional and slide Cano to the #2 slot. Can you imagine the amount of fastballs he would see with Tex, Arod and Manny to follow?

That would be an awesome IF and OF defense, provided Jeter can acclamate himself to LF.

That's stupid, if a guy isn't good any more, you don't continue to pay him big bucks just to keep him around.

This guy still hasn't gotten over the fact that the RedSox let him go. Did'nt the Yankees play hardball with Pettitt? Damon will find out about loyalty vs business after the season when they chose to not sign him

Damon is not very smart...

true it is rare for teammates to play together for 15 years, but it did happen with the Brewers back with
Jim Gantner, Paul Molitor and Robin Yount (15 years, 1978-92 with Milwaukee)

This guy really needs to let his grudge go. Varitek wanted 5 million a year to hit .220 with 15 HR's, is it really even worth it at that level? I mean I would have, but can you blame the Sox for not giving in so quickly? I think Damon is gonna be a pissy little b---- this offseason after the Yankees basically say, screw you, we will go in another direction

Johnny, teams keep guys if it makes business sense. If it goes well with PR, as it has with the Yanks with guys like Jeter, Rivera and Posada, even better. But that's not always the case.
Boston has Ellsbury now, and guys who play the game you do don't always have those same skills at your age. You perform well enough for your salary not to be in the same holy-crap-what-were-they-thinking realm a la Zito, V Wells and whatnot, but with teams getting younger, and with Ellsbury waiting in the wings, you weren't needed. If every team kept every guy they personally liked, I can't imagine the even worse contract signings we'd see out there.

Bottom line, as much as the fans got a kick out of you (at least some of them), it didn't make sense to keep you. So stop shooting your mouth off like an ignorant fool.

Sure, the Yanks keep people around for along time. But at the same time, it's too long. That's one of the reasons they couldn't win a championship. They had all these dinosaurs around. Damon has done pretty well since becoming a Yank, but I highly doubt they keep him after this year. And when that happens, he won't be singing their praises anymore.

Your right Damon..the yankees have to keep all their player cause they traded everyone in the farm system away the past 10 years...Jackazz!!

Posted by: chowdah | May 04, 2009 at 11:34 AM
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Ummmm.....name me 1 young star player who the Yanks traded away in the last 10 years other than Lowell who was being blocked by Boggs and Soriano who was traded in the Arod deal?

It honestly just makes me laugh that this guy can't let this grudge go. I kinda hope that some dumb GM makes a trade for the guy at the deadline (preferably a horrible team) and watch him cry and whine even more

This sounds like he's trying to play the angle of talking NYY up in hopes they extend him for next year.

And who is he to talk about loyalty anyway? Isn't this the same player who, while still in Boston, said he would never play for the Yankees?

I think wisdom says to let Matsui and Damon both walk. However, it would not be an insane idea to sign him to a 1 year deal with an option, purely as insurance in case Bay never makes it to the open market, Crisp's option is picked up and Holliday's stats or salary requests are a turn off. He's still a productive player but certainly not worth more than a 1 year committment.

What I did find interesting were the stats with Boston compared to those with the Yanks. I could never udnerstand where this thought came from of him being a washed up player. He was on the DL for 15 days in the years with the Yanks so far and really had only 1 "off" year. Otherwise the stats are almost the same.

DAMON - THE RED SOX YEARS (2002-2005)

.295 average / .362 OBP / .441 slugging / .803 OPS
Average per 162 games: 125 runs, 15 homers, 81 RBIs, 27 steals

DAMON - THE YANKEE YEARS (2006-2009)

.286 average / .362 OBP / .449 slugging / .810 OPS
Average per 162 games: 114 runs, 20 homers, 80 RBIs, 30 steals

YanksFanSince78,

The major difference I see is that while in Boston, he played a serviceable CF. Those numbers out of the CF position are stellar, but those numbers out of a corner outfielder could be considered pedestrian.

800+ OPS with 30 steals is hardly pedestrian. Sure it would be better if he were playing CF, Catcher or SS but most teams would be thrilled to get that production.

I was very skeptical when the Yanks signed Damon. Turns out, this was a very smart move.

Lol, I wonder why Damon didn't mention Joe Torre when talking about how great the Yankees treat people!

YanksFanSince78, Granted some of these trades revolve around the same guys and I too would probably make them but . . . Dioner Navarro, Juan Rivera, Nick Johnson, Ted Lilly, Jose Tabata, and Ross Ohlendorf to name a few.

It's because of these trades that they have consistently had to fill needs via FA.
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Dioner Navarro was being blocked by Jorge Posada who has had several great years before being hurt last year AND despite being viewed as a failure Randy Johnson did serve his purpose of being a legitmate ace for the Yanks (two 17 game win seasons).

Juan Rivera has had 1 decent year and has never established himself as an everyday player.

Nick Johnson was blocked by Tino Martinez and Giambi, both who put up all-star caliber years. Johnson hasn't shown he can stay healthy enough to get 500 at bats year end and year out.

Ross Ohlendorf and Tabata are too early to tell.

"What I did find interesting were the stats with Boston compared to those with the Yanks."

You left out that Damon no longer plays centerfield. During the same time Damon was paid 52M to deteriorate in the outfield and even be forced to play DH a significant number of games (That wasn't just the logjam, that was also the injuries), Boston ended up paying about 15.5M for better defense from Coco and Ells. Not the same bat... but if we want to compare Ramirez and Bay versus the yankee leftfielder.

Though what I really find hilarious is the guy who wrote a book that acknowledges baseball is a business is now bashing business moves.

This is a joke.

Damon has to realize that the exact same front-office decisions being in made in Boston that he's lambasting are what brought them 2 championships since '04, and the exact same front-office decisions in New York that he's spraying his pants over are why it's been almost a decade since the Yank's last ring.
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Ok, you're blowing this waaaayyyyyy out of proportion. I would say that keeping the likes of Jeter, Mo, Posada, WIlliams and Pettite over the years have helped the Yanks STAY in contention rather than it being the reason they haven't won a championship. It's the lack of a better supporting cast, namely the pitching, that's kept the Yanks from winning more WS rings. Here's a fact...Posada, Jeter, Mo and Pettite are HELPING the Yanks much more tha they are HURTING them.

"What I did find interesting were the stats with Boston compared to those with the Yanks."

You left out that Damon no longer plays centerfield. During the same time Damon was paid 52M to deteriorate in the outfield and even be forced to play DH a significant number of games (That wasn't just the logjam, that was also the injuries), Boston ended up paying about 15.5M for better defense from Coco and Ells. Not the same bat... but if we want to compare Ramirez and Bay versus the yankee leftfielder.

Though what I really find hilarious is the guy who wrote a book that acknowledges baseball is a business is now bashing business moves.

Posted by: start_wearing_purple | May 04, 2009 at 01:06 PM
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I would agree that his defensive ability in CF has slipped and while he has good range in LF his arm is that of a wet noodle. However, he is still a fine offensive player regardless of where he plays. He is still a better overall hitter than Drew, Crisp or Ellsbury. And he certainly is more durable than Drew.

It's so funny how Boston fans are upset because Damon choose more money from a new team vs less money to stay a "Beaner". I wonder if Oakland fans are still upset because he choose to sign as a FA with Boston? hmmmmm..?

YFS78 -- I love the line about damons arm. "wet noodle" is hilarious

"It's so funny how Boston fans are upset because Damon choose more money from a new team vs less money to stay a "Beaner"."

Actually the reasons I'm upset"
1) He jumped teams in the rivalry. Now I know a lot of yanks fans who would say they wouldn't care less about that, but I remember the reception Wells got in 2005.
2) He was talking about team loyalty in off season of 2005... then he jumped ship. Early in the 2005 season he was fawning over his loyalty to Boston and the second the season ends he's saying he wants 7 years and 100M+.
3) Ever hold a crying 8 year old girl who's upset her favorite player is now the enemy?
4) To paraphrase metskicksrutgers, a man who's been a mercenary for his career has no right to talk about team loyalty.

Damon is a populist, he needs to be loved by whatever city he's with. If he doesn't get a new deal with the yankees he'll start fawning over his new team.

"It's so funny how Boston fans are upset because Damon choose more money from a new team vs less money to stay a "Beaner"."

Some Boston fans are simply upset that he left. I think most fans simply don't respect him because of what he said on May 1, 2005:

"There's no way I can go play for the Yankees, but I know they are going to come after me hard," Damon said. "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." (Source: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050501&content_id=1034754&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos)

It's the disingenuousness and complete lack of self-awareness that offends most people's sensibilities... not where he ultimately landed. People scoff when Teixeira does his "waxing poetic" routine for essentially the same reasons. Sure, he will be labeled greedy if he takes top-dollar to sign with the Yankees. The "greedy" label was a foregone conclusion the day he hired Scott Boras and began lamenting the unfairness of the amateur draft system. However, the moment a player tries to explain away the mad dash for the cash in terms other than dollars and cents, he is guilty of a far worse crime than greed -- he is guilty of coming across as a phony.

Damon's sin (at least for Boston fans) is that he said one thing and did another. If he had kept his mouth shut and gone to the Yankees, the disgust might have been less severe. I, for one, stood and applauded him in his return to Fenway, because I understand the nature of the business and appreciated the way he played the game. However, I can't defend him against anyone who wants to call him a hypocrite, because his free-agent decision was hypocritical.

Somehow all conversations of this nature turn into a Boston vs NY thing. I could careless who a player plays for prior to becoming a Yankee. And IF the Yanks lost a player because they showed semi-interest then what reason would I have for being upset at the player vs the team ownership? If Abreu or Giambi became Red Sox players this year I would hate them but I would hate them JUST the same as if they came from the Pirates.

As for Damon, he probably should shut up about the V-tek situation and I didn't know about the statements he made prior to becoming a FA with regards to "I would never sign with NY". However, more so then being a jerk, Damon seems like the kind of guy that says whatever is on his mind. Almost as if he doesn't have filter to sort thru what should and shouldn't be said when a mics in his face.

With regards to his statement about wanting to be a Yankee, I think it's genious to make it public that he wants to stay and is willing to take a 1 year deal. Certainly can't hurt him.

"With regards to his statement about wanting to be a Yankee, I think it's genious to make it public that he wants to stay and is willing to take a 1 year deal. Certainly can't hurt him."

That will cease and desist the moment he is not offered arbitration and the Yankees offer him in the area of 5M like Abreu signed for.

"I think Damon is still a great lead off hitter. We know about his arm and the fact he can't play center anymore, but this guy just delivers from the leadoff spot every year. I would look to bring him back if I was NY. Let Nady and Matsui walk, sign Manny, you can rotate him with Jorge in the DH spot, let him play some LF, and let Damon play CF when Manny plays left. Let Ajax platoon in CF or let him stay in the minors for one more season and let Melky and Gardner work in CF when Damon is in LF."

If the Yankees were willing to shell out that kind of money, then I would definitely agree with that scenario. A lineup of Damon, Jeter, Manny, A-Rod, Teixeira, Posada, Swisher, Cano and Jackson would be simply brutal.

Overall though, I agree with you that Damon is still a great leadoff hitter and a guy that the Yankees should look into bringing back, unless Jackson just goes freaking nuts this season.

He's been pretty consistent the past few years, posting OBP's between .351 and .380 in each of the past five seasons, while also posting ISO's between .123 and .197 over the same five year span. He's also a solid baserunner that's good for 20-25 steals each season. And the guy has 53 home runs in the past three seasons, so there's some HR pop in there as well.

That's some high quality production from a top of the order hitter.

am hesitant with JD, he has decent range in left, but hate his arm. and I would want dh to be of the Manny/Vlad/Miranda

secret three team trade to get Crawdaddy from TB as they'd never trade him to us

That's funny coming from Damon, since HE is the one who left Boston, where he was loved by the fans, for more money from their archrivals. He is in no position to talk about loyalty, especially since the Yankees won't even be bringing him back next year. He's just a fool who can't even throw a ball and break someone's nose with it.

If the Yankees extend Damon itll be for less than half of what he is making now, there's no ifs ands or buts about it.

They could trade him but they wont but I also dont think theyll let him hit free agency without at least an offer.

But, will he accept the offer is the question? The most the Yankees should offer him is 2 years at 6MM per season. if someone else comes around with 3 years at maybe 8MM per season I can see him taking it over staying with the Yankees.

What a knucklehead! How's that 'loyalty' signing of Posada working out for ya?! Jeter has been slipping too, his range is laughable. It'll be interesting to see how the Yanks handle his future..