Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Why Would Johnny Do It?

So, Johnny Damon is coming to town.

So much for all of Brian Cashman's faith in Bubba Crosby. Guess George got in the way, huh? After Kyle Farnsworth couldn't get the Yanks on the back page, the Yanks had to make a splash. So George got his guy in Damon.

So I don't wanna hear anyone complaining about the Mets, or the Blue Jays, or any other team overspending. And I don't want to hear Brian Cashman crying poverty. The Yanks are still the Yanks, after all.

This one sucks, it really does. I said in an earlier post that I was glad the Yanks didn't get Nomar. But now, I'd be happier if they had taken Nomar instead of Damon.

And the Sox need a center fielder. And a shortstop.

A bad day for Yankee-haters. But hey, there have been days like this before. A big Yankee press conference, a big sigh in Red Sox Nation.

And yet, Mike Mussina has been unable to bring this team back to a championship. Neither has Juice-on. Not Shemp. Not Contreras (though a few years later....). Not Sheffield. Not Flush Gordon. Not A-Schmuck. Not Tanyon Sturtze. Not Kevin Brown (ha!). Not Pavano. Not the Big Unit.

So here's hoping Johnny Damon joins the club.

UPDATE: It sucks even more to see Damon's face on the back of all the New York papers. It won't take away from Damon leaving, but Boston has got to get Dave Roberts back. How about trading him straight-up for Wells? Boston needs a link to the '04 magic, and badly. Roberts provides just that.

And that other team from the '04 World Series isn't doing too well, either. First Looper, now Ponson? Has Walt Jocketty jumped the shark?

-- Another thing: if Yankee fans think Damon will steal 40 bases a year like Chuck Knoblauch, well, they've got something else coming. He only stole 18 bases last year, his lowest output since '97. And with Damon's weak throwing arm, Shemp bobbling the balls in left and Sheffield getting a little closer to the big 4-0, the Yankees outfield will be a mess defensively. And, by the way, Mark Loretta has a better career OBP than Damon. But it still stinks too see him go.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm still not sure what to think about this whole fiasco. Does it make Boston immediately worse in 2006? Probably. But does Damon make the Yankees a completely unstoppable force? No. But it does make them better, at least in the short term.

The big question is, which team will be hurt the most by this deal, the Sox or the Yanks? Three years from now, we'll have our answer, and I'm 90% sure that the Yankees will be the ones regretting this deal.