White Sox GM Kenny Williams told Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald that he won't discuss his club's interest in Johnny Damon until Sunday. It's unclear what that means, but Gregor suspects it means Damon has chosen the Tigers.
Early in the day yesterday it seemed that Damon was moving slowly towards a deal with the Tigers. But the White Sox appeared to gain momentum as the day went on, though their $4.5MM offer is nothing spectacular. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times tweeted that the White Sox were going from long shots to frontrunners.
And we've heard lots about Damon's wife, but the outfielder says the decision is up to him.
Jeez….somebody just sign this guy already.
Jeez….somebody just sign this guy already.
I think if Damon was signing and wanted to sign with Detroit, he would have done so already. They are offering the most money, so I’m not sure what the hold up with the Tigers would be if he indeed wanted to go there. I believe he signs with the White Sox for around the $4.5 million be talked about, plus some additional money deferred.
I think if Damon was signing and wanted to sign with Detroit, he would have done so already. They are offering the most money, so I’m not sure what the hold up with the Tigers would be if he indeed wanted to go there. I believe he signs with the White Sox for around the $4.5 million be talked about, plus some additional money deferred.
I guess people are assuming that just because Damon not pick the ChiSox, he will pick the Tigers. Hello, Braves are in this too.
might not pick*
might not pick*
I guess people are assuming that just because Damon not pick the ChiSox, he will pick the Tigers. Hello, Braves are in this too.
he really is the best fit for the White Sox. they have a DH opening, but would want to platoon him somedays in right with Carlos Quentin DHing.
also by using him in the two-hole it allows them to see the power beckham and ramirez can hit for.
also by using him in the two-hole it allows them to see the power beckham and ramirez can hit for.
Damon in right field??? He can barely throw the ball to 3rd base from LEFT field, but now you think he has the arm strength for right field? If he was going to platoon with somebody it would be Pierre in left.
When TCQ is the dh they would slide rios to tight and damon to left while juan plays cf just my thought
thats what I meant. hed platoon will carlos quentin
Damon in right field??? He can barely throw the ball to 3rd base from LEFT field, but now you think he has the arm strength for right field? If he was going to platoon with somebody it would be Pierre in left.
he really is the best fit for the White Sox. they have a DH opening, but would want to platoon him somedays in right with Carlos Quentin DHing.
If I had to take a guess I would say that Damon signs with a team that comes out of nowhere.
If I had to take a guess I would say that Damon signs with a team that comes out of nowhere.
Haha sorry, no chance in hell he signs with Atlanta. He’s obviously not interested in that, hasn’t even been brought up in a week.
The fact that you strongly believe what you read speaks volumes about you.
And your self-righteous, paranoid reaction speaks volumes of you.
You must have read that somewhere.
LOL!
Haha sorry, no chance in hell he signs with Atlanta. He’s obviously not interested in that, hasn’t even been brought up in a week.
lol will Tiger’s fans embrace him now if he signs there.
Not this Tiger fan, EVER. You can take that to the bank. I hold grudges. His snobby wife can kiss my Lily white behind and so can he…
lol will Tiger’s fans embrace him now if he signs there.
If we lose out because we low balled him and end up stuck with Jones and Kotsay i will be really pissed
If we lose out because we low balled him and end up stuck with Jones and Kotsay i will be really pissed
The ChiSox DH position consist of two former Brave outfielders. Hmmm..
The ChiSox DH position consist of two former Brave outfielders. Hmmm..
Typical KW after signing a FA. Damon is gonna be becoming a member of the whitesox today or tomorrow
I hope you are right
I hope you are right
Typical KW after signing a FA. Damon is gonna be becoming a member of the whitesox today or tomorrow
So tired of Johnny Damon.
So tired of Johnny Damon.
Stupid. Can’t stand this nonsense.
Stupid. Can’t stand this nonsense.
If it were up to Johnny’s wife, he’d be enrolling in classes at the University of Hawaii, and accepting a walk-on spot playing for the Rainbow Warriors… Are they still called the “Rainbow Warriors,” or did their sexual insecurities get the better of them? The real question here is: Now that he’s no longer being held back by the Yankees stringent facial hair policies, will the beard be back? I hope so.
If it were up to Johnny’s wife, he’d be enrolling in classes at the University of Hawaii, and accepting a walk-on spot playing for the Rainbow Warriors… Are they still called the “Rainbow Warriors,” or did their sexual insecurities get the better of them? The real question here is: Now that he’s no longer being held back by the Yankees stringent facial hair policies, will the beard be back? I hope so.
The drama for this guy is getting old. I was real excited when the possibility of him signing with the Braves came up, now I wish it was just over.
The drama for this guy is getting old. I was real excited when the possibility of him signing with the Braves came up, now I wish it was just over.
I have a feeling that Damon really wants to take less from the White Sox, but because he’s let his pride and ego mess up this entire process, he’s going to take higher offer from Detroit to save face for him and Boras…which in the end is one of the most ludicrous free agent negotiations in recent memory.
He will end up turning down playing for 2 teams and cities he wanted to to play for in the Yankees and the White Sox and force himself to play somewhere else so he doesn’t look foolish when he’s looked foolish this entire time.
It’s pretty unbelievable and if I were Detroit, I’d be worried about Damon if he really doesn’t want to play there, but chooses to do so for the face saving money they are offering.
He came to NY from Boston and in his first season contemplated retirement when the Yankees weren’t acting like Boston Idiots and had to be dealt with like he was a child.
He eventually warmed up to NY and all was fine, but there were bumps along the way and if Detroit isn’t where his wife wants to be, it could be a problem.
That said, if he takes 4.5 million from Chicago, at least he’ll have the satisfaction of playing at his 2nd choice to the Yankees. The money he’ll have lost though will sting and he’ll become a major cautionary tale.
I’m sure Abreu is secretly hoping he takes 4 million or so as Abreu misjudging the market last year will soon be forgotten and Damon would be the poster boy for it in that scenario.
Great post, those are my thoughts exactly.
Great post, those are my thoughts exactly.
If he didn’t want to play for Detroit, then why the hell would he come out and say all of these things about loving the Red Wings, loving Steve Yzerman and all? And don’t say that was just Boras spouting off because that was said in a short interview on ESPN radio syndicate. He is curiously wondering whether or not he would be happy in Detroit, that I will give you. But he will do the same thing that Pudge, followed by Magglio, and after that Miguel Cabrera did. He will get to Detroit, realize that not only is it not as bad as they thought, but one hell of a place to play this game. The fans are awesome and loyal and they fill the ballpark on most nights. Ask Justin Verlander, a kid from a small town himself what he thinks about playing in Detroit. He loves it! And someone like Jeremy Bonderman, he is from Washington state, he loves playing here and has nothing but great things to say about the fans and management (Although he should for what they are paying him to rehab!) I will agree with one thing though, he should be playing for the Yankees right now because that is where his heart really is. But in my opinion, once he stops dinking around on the Boras train, he will get here, love it and be really glad he chose Detroit over Chicago.
When he said all those things about Detroit and the Red Wings it was because the market on him was so depressed he was looking at 2 million dollar offers.
Then he praises Detroit to get Illitch to open the checkbook and all of sudden word of 7 million and 14 million dollar offers are out again.
I don’t think Damon wants Detroit. He would have signed already and stopped dancing with Chicago who won’t beat Detroit’s dollar offer.
That’s not a criticism of Detroit. I’m sure it’s a great place to play and the fans are great.
I’m just commenting on how Damon has played this whole off season. It appears if he takes a detroit deal, he’s going somewhere his heart really never was since he’s dragged it out past pitchers and catchers.
I want a job where making 4.5 million might sting.
I have a feeling that Damon really wants to take less from the White Sox, but because he’s let his pride and ego mess up this entire process, he’s going to take higher offer from Detroit to save face for him and Boras…which in the end is one of the most ludicrous free agent negotiations in recent memory.
He will end up turning down playing for 2 teams and cities he wanted to to play for in the Yankees and the White Sox and force himself to play somewhere else so he doesn’t look foolish when he’s looked foolish this entire time.
It’s pretty unbelievable and if I were Detroit, I’d be worried about Damon if he really doesn’t want to play there, but chooses to do so for the face saving money they are offering.
He came to NY from Boston and in his first season contemplated retirement when the Yankees weren’t acting like Boston Idiots and had to be dealt with like he was a child.
He eventually warmed up to NY and all was fine, but there were bumps along the way and if Detroit isn’t where his wife wants to be, it could be a problem.
That said, if he takes 4.5 million from Chicago, at least he’ll have the satisfaction of playing at his 2nd choice to the Yankees. The money he’ll have lost though will sting and he’ll become a major cautionary tale.
I’m sure Abreu is secretly hoping he takes 4 million or so as Abreu misjudging the market last year will soon be forgotten and Damon would be the poster boy for it in that scenario.
I can’t recall an agent/client that have handled negotiations any worse than Boras/Damon have during this offseason. Last year, it may have been understandable because the depth of the financial crisis was unforeseeable to some people, but they have had a year to survey the market, and they still haven’t been able to adapt their strategy accordingly.
I can’t recall an agent/client that have handled negotiations any worse than Boras/Damon have during this offseason. Last year, it may have been understandable because the depth of the financial crisis was unforeseeable to some people, but they have had a year to survey the market, and they still haven’t been able to adapt their strategy accordingly.
I don’t believe Damon for a second. Any married man knows the decisions are never really up to them.
I don’t believe Damon for a second. Any married man knows the decisions are never really up to them.
I guess here’s where I am at this point as a devout Tiger fan: when the rumors started, I was very opposed to the idea of Damon coming to Detroit. After awhile, once the rumors started heating up, and it looked like Damon was a fan of the Red Wings and wanted to play in Detroit and all that, I was thinking maybe Damon wouldn’t be a bad thing, and part of me began to like Damon and want him to be a part of the Tigers. Now, with all the White Sox rumors, I could care less where Damon signs, the Tigers really don’t need him, nor do the Chisox. My senses tell me he goes to Chicago, but when he does, I garuntee DD and Boras will not be on good terms. Just another situation where Boras spurs one team into a market while attracting other teams now that one team has interest only to leave the team he was originally negotiating with in the dust. I like a positive UZR Raburn in left field better, to be honest. Raburn/Jackson/Ordonez is a much better defensive outfield than Damon/Jackson/Ordonez.
Another reason Damon to White Sox would sour the Tigers on Boras: Didn’t Boras actively engage Detriots ownership?
To my way of thinking, it’s part of the process to game GM’s against one another. But when you reach out to OWNERSHIP and pull them into the game, you’re just begging for bad blood. I’d think GM’s are much more forgiving about “agents being agents” than an owner being played.
An excellent point. Which I guess gives us more reason to believe Damon will sign with Detroit. That said, also reading a source told me the Tigers have an empty locker in Lakeland which is presumably supposed to be for Damon. As long as it’s the one-year deal, I’m okay with Damon signing with the Tigers.
I guess here’s where I am at this point as a devout Tiger fan: when the rumors started, I was very opposed to the idea of Damon coming to Detroit. After awhile, once the rumors started heating up, and it looked like Damon was a fan of the Red Wings and wanted to play in Detroit and all that, I was thinking maybe Damon wouldn’t be a bad thing, and part of me began to like Damon and want him to be a part of the Tigers. Now, with all the White Sox rumors, I could care less where Damon signs, the Tigers really don’t need him, nor do the Chisox. My senses tell me he goes to Chicago, but when he does, I garuntee DD and Boras will not be on good terms. Just another situation where Boras spurs one team into a market while attracting other teams now that one team has interest only to leave the team he was originally negotiating with in the dust. I like a positive UZR Raburn in left field better, to be honest. Raburn/Jackson/Ordonez is a much better defensive outfield than Damon/Jackson/Ordonez.
He’s a tiger by Saturday , Sox were playing along trying to get him to sign for less money & Boras’s thinking is to keep holding out hoping the Sox will up there offer and hope KW is bluffing. Damon taking less to go to the White Sox is stupid , if he wouldn’t take less to go to the yanks why would he take less to go the sox who weren’t even a .500 team last year ? Writers are just looking to make a story of this. End of story Damon camp waits until Friday night , Sox say for the third time they do not have the payroll and Damon joins the Tigers.
He’s a tiger by Saturday , Sox were playing along trying to get him to sign for less money & Boras’s thinking is to keep holding out hoping the Sox will up there offer and hope KW is bluffing. Damon taking less to go to the White Sox is stupid , if he wouldn’t take less to go to the yanks why would he take less to go the sox who weren’t even a .500 team last year ? Writers are just looking to make a story of this. End of story Damon camp waits until Friday night , Sox say for the third time they do not have the payroll and Damon joins the Tigers.
It is obvious he doesn’t want to go to Detroit so only time will tell if the Sox can get an offer on the table that he likes
but he likes octopus and Steve Yzerman
Yeah, that comment was pretty silly. Basing your employment on a hockey team preference would be like leaving 9.5 million dollars on the table based on on the notion that — for instance — your wife might want to go to a nice museum twice a year.
The only thing that is obvious at this point is that the media finds the “Damon doesn’t want to go to Detroit” angle compelling. While his delay in signing with Detroit makes this idea possible or maybe even likely, we don’t have any comments from Damon himself to this effect.
Who ever signs Damon is going to get an average, at best DH. Check out his stats away from Yankee Stadium last year.
Sometimes the best trades are the ones you didn’t make.
Sometimes the best free agent move you can make is simply taking a pass.
Average?? Check out his stat line from Comerica over the last 3 years friend! He is hitting at a .363 clip, has an OPS of .961 and is slugging .560 so if that is average I only wish that some of the current Tigers on the roster could be so average as well!!
Say it with me, friends: small sample size!
Its not just about that small sample. If you have watched a few games in your life and actually understand what players pros and cons match up well to the surroundings that they will have for 82 games that season, you would see that Comerica is a perfect fit for someone with the skillset of a Johnny Damon. He loves to go to right center and if he does that well (like he has in the past at Comerica in a “small sample size”) he will lead the AL in triples. And he is a good enough hitter that if the CF starts to cheat him that way, he can push the ball into left center and get extra base hits that way. And also, with a pure hitter like Miguel Cabrera hitting behind him, he could be in the top 5 in runs scored as well. So if Scott Boras was a good agent at all (which we are clearly learning that he is not), he would be telling Damon to sign the 1-year deal with the Tigers, post some damn fine numbers, and sign a multi-year deal next year worth more than the $7 million he is earning this year. Instead, Mr. Michelle Damon is concentrating on the economics and “non cosmopolitaness” of downtown Detroit!! I should’ve been an agent!! LOL
I have a problem with people shouting this out. Yes, his power will likely go down, but you have to understand that his stats in Yankee’s stadium were inflated due the park and the home field advantage as well. Most of the time, people play better when people are cheering for them. Just look at football.
I’m not saying not to look at those stats, I’m just saying that he would likely do (slightly) better than what his AWAY stats from last year provide.
You can look for what you want in a leadoff hitter, it’s not a spot I like to look at OPS…If Pierre hits .280 or over with a solid obp and 30-40 steals I, along with most sox fans, will be happy. Pods and Pierre are similar, but pierre is faster, better contact and better outfield defense. Gimme Pierre any day of the week over Pods.
I truly hope that every kid that was drafted this year or is coming up in the next few years and is in need of representation is watching this whole thing unfold, what a cluster****!!! This absolute moron goes from saying that his client loves Detroit, loves Steve Yzerman and even as far as saying he loves eating OCTUPUS to yesterday slipping up and letting the cat out of the bag that Damon doesn’t want to come to Detroit at all! The real sad part about this whole thing is that most GM’s (Kenny Williams) or owners will not have anything to do with him and skip his clients in the draft all together. Dave Dombrowski and Mike Illitch have done several deals with his clients over the last few years and whats more suprising is that they really have worked out for both sides (2006 pennant and Magglio’s ridiculous amount of options that are still vesting). After this whole debacle, even if Damon does indeed sign in Detroit, Illitch should block all incoming calls from him and sever all ties to this relationship, because the truth is Boras used Illitch and the Tigers as a bargaining chip and like everything else he has tried in this soap opera, it has failed and failed miserably. I was so excited to see Damon in the Old English D, but now thanks to Boras I could really care less if I see it or not. I would almost rather see Raburn or Clete Thomas!
I know the Damon drama has dragged out longer than anyone could have imagined but save all the criticism on Scott Boras until an actual contract is signed. It is easy to hate Boras but he is one of the best at what he does as evidenced by his cliental list. If Damon signs with the Tigers for 2 years 14 million which would at least match his highest offer. Yes they misjudged the market and he missed out on signing with his number one team but agents have done a lot worse for their clients ala Washburn and Branyan.
Also all this talk about Damon choosing the White Sox because they are a “championship” caliber club has got to stop. Yes they look better on paper than the Tigers and should contend for the division title but the Twins have to be looked at the favorites after winning 5 of the last 8 division titles and adding some nice pieces in the off-season. Then even if the White Sox do win the division, the AL Central is possibly the worst division in all of baseball. The White Sox are nowhere near the class of Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Phillies who are real “championship” caliber clubs.
lol the Sox are “not in the class of the Rays” hahahahahahah, you are an AL East homer
You aren’t the favorite in a division because of past success
I won’t completely disagree with you here, but really what makes the Sox a contender even in the AL Central? There pitching staff is deep and very talented, but who is to say that Peavy stays healthy or Buerle has a good year or that the shaky bullpen doesn’t blow leads all year? And that’s just the pitching. Let’s take a long look at the offense. Konerko is now officially old, not just “getting old”. I doubt he stays healthy and I see him on the DL at some point this year. But even more than that, Juan Pierre? Andrew Jones? Mark Kotsay? Really?? The only surefire offensive weapon you have is Gordon Beckham (Stud), because even Ramirez is iffy at best. This team better hope and pray for ALOT of 3-1 and 4-2 wins this year, because if they are going to contend it will take a ton of them!
Honestly I think you can make your argument against any team. What if a couple of the Twins pitchers go down, what if Boston loses Beckett or Lester. We can round and round when it comes to making preseason predictions. People here act like the twins are going to me greatly improved because they signed Orlando Hudson, the guy that got benched for Ronnie Belliard, yet act like the Sox lineup is mediocre. There is a lot of talent on the Sox roster on paper if they stay healthy.
I don’t understand the Hudson love either. It’s not like they signed Jeter.
i think twins fans are just really excited to see less of nick punto and his head first slides into 1st base
I am actually a Tigers fan and no the White Sox are not in the same class as the Rays. If the Rays played in the AL Central they would easily win the division with about 95 wins while the AL Central winner this year will most likely have around 87 be it the Twins, White Sox or Tigers.
You really are clueless the Sox were 6-2 against the Rays last year, Buerhles perfect game came against them as well. Get a clue
Eight games? Well that proves it.
Dear lord.
More proof than he offered, and it was pretty one-sided
“More prove than he offered”
That’s called tu quoque, my friend. Countering a bad argument with another bad argument does not make it any more logical.
All I have to work with is head to head matchups, he provided nothing other than mindless wankery
All you have to work with is the 155 other games that both teams each played. The Rays had a better record than Chicago last year, and had to primarily play the AL East rather than AL Central. I know what that suggests to *me*, but it’s your call.
He stuck his foot in his mouth and got caught it is as simple as that
Oh I forgot that Mark Buerhle threw a perfect game against the Rays last year. Your right that makes the White Sox much better than the Rays this year.
Don’t give me that condescending crap, you know you look silly.
But also as a Tiger’s fan, I don’t completely agree either. In the AL Central, you are going to normally have a division winner that will generally win between 85-92 games give or take 4 or so. But also what you need to look at is that their really isn’t an easy win in the division anymore either. The Yankees and Red Sox gobble up a ton of talent with their checkbook and administer a beat down to the Jays, Orioles and until the last 2 years the Rays. If you look at it closely, what team is an easy win in the Central this year? You can argue that every team got better in some way except for the Indians and they have a TON of youth on the farm that will be very frightening in the next 5 years and you will see some of it this year. The Royals picked up some nice pieces (for the Royals!) and the Sox big piece was added last year with Peavy (Although I hated that deal because of what they gave up). The Twins did get better this year when they added Hudson, but also because they got Thome. He still has a ton of bat speed and can hammer mistakes over the plate against any pitcher! So in my honest opinion, I don’t think the Rays would even win the Central, let alone win it with 95 or more wins. The Central is just more of a dogfight because it is more closely grouped, which also means better baseball. Some people might say its the worst division in the game, I think its the best due to the competition, and the Red Sox and Yankee rivalry to me gets old by May. Give me Tigers at White Sox any day of the week baby!!!
Thome isn’t going to be a factor for the Twins. He’s a bench DH.
Yes, I like how the White Sox are supposed to be magically better this year despite having a weaker lineup and almost the same pitching staff. But, oh! Mark Teahen will sock 15 dingers!!!
yeah, losing podsednik totally made the white sox weaker!
what a clown
…Really? On a team that lost Thome and Dye, you focus on Podsednik?
Yeah, he was exactly who I was talking about. Besides, the Sox have a whole new Podsednik to work with now.
you’re right, that lineup the white sox had last year with betemit, fields, brian anderson, and wise was MUCH better than the lineup they have now. maybe if we lived on “strike outs and errors produces runs” island i’d agree with you, but we don’t. also, the pitching staff is not “almost the same.” a full year of peavy & garcia/hudson is a LOT better than a full year of contreras and colon/AAAA starter
regardless of this silly comment, i do agree white sox fans are way too optimistic about how good the team is this year. the tigers will definitely be contending for the division title, along with the twins and white sox. but no matter who wins the division, chances are they will get slaughtered by whoever wins the AL east.
Hey, I’m not arguing that last year’s lineup was *good*, just that this year’s isn’t better(though, to be fair, hardly anyone you named was a regular).
Several pitchers are different out of a twelve or thirteen man staff. If that’s not “almost the same,” it’s close enough for jazz, since Colon vs. Garcia is a wash.
Incidentally, why do White Sox fans feel comfortable predicting better things for Teahen in a hitter friendly park (btw, what the heck do they think Kaufman is?) but ignore the fact that Peavy is going to this hitter friendly park (from Petco, no less) as well?
Garcia vs Colon is not a “wash”…Garcia looked much better at the end of the year than Colon looked at any point
Well, lord forbid I argue with how you think he looked in a handful of starts. I guess we’ll just have to disagree on this one: Colon was a 4.19 ERA pitcher last year, and I figure Garcia is anywhere from 4.10 to 4.30 for this year.
I meant to say “more HR friendly” since we were talking about HRs. Oops.
Wise/Anderson was a regular in CF before Rios was acquired in August. Fields was the starter at 3rd base for about 2-3 months. Betemit did enough to scar me for the whole season. So yes, I suppose none of them were really there for the whole year, but that was still 3 months of some really bad baseball. The team now is much better… they’re still not great, but not weaker than last year as you said in your initial post.
BTW mark teahen hit 12 HRs last year, and 15 in ’08, so i don’t think it’s crazy that he will hit 15+ playing more games at a hitter friendly park. not that i buy into this “mark teahen is going to turn into an all-star” type talk going around, but i enjoy his dog’s twitter posts so i will stick up for him in this argument.
Wow.
Almost the same pitching staff? I would say the addition of Jake Peavy is a pretty damn significant move. And the back end of that bullpen with Putz, Thornton, and Jenks isn’t too shabby either. The White Sox have a top 5 pitching staff this year.
Weaker lineup? Sure, they lost a couple of big boppers, but they are also a lot more balanced and won’t be relying strictly on the home run, something that’s plagued them over the past few years.
I’m not saying that the White Sox are the best team in baseball, but I think they are being underrated by many coming into this season.
Who cares if they won a division title 8 years ago? The White Sox just made the World Series in 2005, and Tigers in 2006. I’m sure they’d much rather have those appearances than 5 division titles in the last 8 years. What’s the Twins record in their last 6 post-season games again?
My point was that the White Sox aren’t a championship caliber team. While I think the Twins are the best team in the AL Central I could see the White Sox still winning the division. However, winning what I think is the worst division in baseball be it the Twins, White Sox or Tigers doesn’t make you on par with the truly elite teams in the baseball which i think are the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and Phillies. I was using the Twins winning 5 of the last 8 division titles to show that the White Sox aren’t a lock to win the division like many are posting.
The White Sox are a lot stronger with a healthy Peavy on board, a stronger bullpen, and a lot faster line-up. Adding Damon would only bolster the offense and add another sure-handed bat into the line-up. I am not sure how people can say the Chi Sox are a weaker offensive team. Yes, the offense is different, but not necessarily weaker. I also think the AL Central winner gets 90+ wins, especially with KC and CLE being so weak.
Damon will be a Tiger by Saturday if he listens to himself and not that clown Boras!
Not sure why anybody would think that any of the central teams are powerhouses. Sure the Royals and Indians both will almost surely finish 4th and 5th respectively. I say the Tigers are probably a third place team but still in decent contention. I think if they stay in the thick of it around the All Star break and make a good trade they could get in the playoffs. I would like to say with certainty that the White Sox are going to run away with the division. But I cant say for sure. Not because of Orlando ” my wrist hurts” Hudson or Jim “I cant run to get out of my own way” Thome. More of because they have the second best hitter in baseball (Joe Mauer) and one hell of an RBI machine in Justin Morneau. I dont buy into that outfield at all besides Denard Span. I think Delmon Young is a “potential” player not an actual player. Cuddyer is someone who just sticks around and ends up a mainstay. J.J Hardy is a crappy hitter with streaky power. Their pitching is suspect although they may have a break out year like the Rangers did last year. I think the White Sox made some brave moves this year getting Teahen, Pierre and moving Beckham to second base. Getting Rios last year along with Peavy… Yeah all of this may not work out the way its suppose to but its better than going with the old plodders of last year.
White Sox still waiting on Damon decision
February 18, 2010 7:01 PM | 1 Comment
By Mark Gonzales
PHOENIX — There were no “Welcome Johnny Damon” signs in front of Camelback Ranch on Thursday, and no media access to players will be allowed Friday.
It’s business as usual for the White Sox, as they didn’t seem waiting at the edge of their seats for a decision by the free-agent left-handed hitter.
The lack of suspense seemed to indicate that the Sox believe they will fare nicely even if Damon signs with Detroit, which has a greater need for an established top-of-the-order hitter like Damon and reportedly is offering more money.
Catcher A.J. Pierzynski said he saw Damon, a high school teammate, on Wednesday but didn’t talk to him.
“He’s just got to make a decision,” Pierzynski said Thursday from his Orlando-area home.
Pierzynski understands why Damon is weighing all considerations, including the chance to stay home during spring training if he chooses Detroit.
“He has four kids, and two are already in school,” said Pierzynski, describing his Monday golf outing with Damon as “the most publicized golf tournament.” “That’s an extra six weeks at home. But I don’t know all that’s going on.”
Throughout this off-season, the Sox were committed to using an array of designated hitters. The acquisition of Damon would erase that plan unless he played left field, currently occupied by Juan Pierre.
Meanwhile, the Tigers need to fortify an offense depleted by the trade of Curtis Granderson and free-agent departure of Placido Polanco.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Dammit! Would it be wrong if I give Damon a nice Bronx Cheer when he steps to the plate in an old English D? bagh