Damon

[woundedmonkey]

As a Yankees fan, I am very excited about Johnny Damon becoming the new centerfielder for the New York Yankees. As most of you know, yankees have made few transactions this off-season. But with The centerfield position covered, all they really need to worry about is pitching. But honestly, did you think that Bubba Crosby would be the starting centerfielder for the entire year? I figured they would pick someone up, but I wasn't really expecting Damon. Any thoughts?

[seanman99]

Weak arm, not that much power, a little over-rated. Anyways awhat about the fact that he's a ship jumper. From the Red Soxs to the.... YANKEES!??! Man it doesn't get much lower than that in my books. But again money speaks.

[Red Stripe]

What do you mean they haven't made many moves, have you seen the new bullpen? New pitching coach? What else do we need, first base.

I'm not excited about Damon at all, he's an average fielder at best with an awful arm. He's a very good lead off hitter and he's a good runner. Well see what happens when the season starts, I wonder what the fan reaction will be though and he'll have to prove himself real quickly as a Yankee.

[robo2448]

If he produces, the fans won't care that he was a Red Sox. If not, he'll be booed out of town. We better hope he produces because if he doesn't he's untradeable. I think he will though. He's a very solid hitter with great speed. He doesn't have great patience but he makes up for it by fouling off a lot of balls and putting the ball in play. Good lead-off guy. In the field, he's a huge improvement over Bernie. Yes he throws like a girl, but he still has a better arm than Bernie. He has great range, gets a great jump on balls, and isn't afraid to dive for balls.

Is Damon a 13 million a year player? No. He's not that good. But we didn't really overpay too much. That's what we had to offer him to have a shot, and Cashman bullied Boras around and refused to increase the offer. When Boras realized he had no other options, he probably advised Damon to sign with the Yanks. I'm thrilled Cashman's got control, if George's was negotiating, he would have given Damon like 6 years at 15 million per. So the salary isn't as bad as it could have been.

The Yankees have not made many moves this offseason, at least compared to last season. They have revamped the bullpen, but they've done it quietly. Damon was the first big name guy they've signed and they've kind of made some small moves that I think will work out very well. Cashman has also managed to cut 25 million off the payroll.

[ekajsk8er]

Weak arm, not that much power, a little over-rated. Anyways awhat about the fact that he's a ship jumper. From the Red Soxs to the.... YANKEES!??! Man it doesn't get much lower than that in my books. But again money speaks.

And the thing is, he's only making $3 million more at the yankees until his contract expires. I know it seems like much to us, but when hes getting 14 million a year already, 3 isnt that much in the long run.

[Red Stripe]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/051223
Pretty good read. Yeah I posted it in the Offseason thread also.

[seanman99]

And the thing is, he's only making $3 million more at the yankees until his contract expires. I know it seems like much to us, but when hes getting 14 million a year already, 3 isnt that much in the long run.

3 million smeems small compared to his 14 million salary but on a closer look its a 21% pay increase. Thats not a bad pay rise.

[woundedmonkey]

he does have a weak arm, but he'll run down any ball in centerfield, and he'll steal any base you need him too. he's a lifetime 300 hitter. the arm is the only problem

[Against Miik!]

I've been thinking about this, and honestly, I don't blame him. The Red Sox on going downhill, and Damon is probably reaching the end of his prime, so he can't really carry them. New Yorks offer was exponentially better than Bostons, and New York showed real interest in him. Everybody wants to be needed. The only thing I really don't like is the haircut. He kinda abandoned himself just so he could fit into the Steinbrener social club.

[Red Stripe]

I've been thinking about this, and honestly, I don't blame him. The Red Sox on going downhill, and Damon is probably reaching the end of his prime, so he can't really carry them. New Yorks offer was exponentially better than Bostons, and New York showed real interest in him. Everybody wants to be needed. The only thing I really don't like is the haircut. He kinda abandoned himself just so he could fit into the Steinbrener social club.
Eh, he had to get a haircut, it shouldn't have been front page news though, Damon was signed that was front page news, next day, Damon gets a haircut, front page news, WHY?

[DuckinFutch]

It's weird...

I never heard about any of this when Wells went to the Red Sox, and he was a real Yankee...

Granted I guess Damon really opitimized the Red Sox more than Wells opitimized the Yankees (that's for Jete), but still, there have been plenty of moves between the two teams in the last few years...

Oh well, it's still good for the Yankees, I'm happy...

[robo2448]

Damon looks retarded with short hair. But I think I'd cut my hair too for 52 million.