Looking for a place to land
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Jan 29, 2010 
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A version of this post appeared on the blog for about four minutes on Wednesday, then the Randy Winn news broke and it became clear we would be talking about Johnny Damon, but not in this format.
Now that it’s clear the Yankees have moved on — and now that Winn has been discussed at length – where will Damon end up? New teams seem to be added to the mix all the time. The A’s were mentioned this weekend. The Rays were rumored on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Blue Jays admitted to internal discussions.
Here’s a list of all 30 teams. How many have an opening, and how many make no sense whatsoever? How many teams could get into the bidding if the price drops low enough? The field is fairly small.
Rumored targets (7)
Aside from the Yankees, seven teams have gotten most of the offseason attention in connection to Damon.
Atlanta Braves — The Damon-to-Atlanta rumors have been quiet for a while now, but the Braves still don’t have an obvious lead-off hitter, which is a running theme among these rumored teams.
Cincinnati Reds – No longer seems likely now that the Reds GM has said he doesn’t expect to sign Damon. Young Chris Dickerson – coming off a .370 OBP last season – is the likely starter in left field.
Detroit Tigers — The Tigers could rotate Damon, Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez between designated hitter and the outfield corners. Detroit could use a lefty hitter, and a lead-off hitter.
Oakland Athletics — The rumor of the weekend, the A’s have a lot of young outfield options but not many veteran hitters. They got aggressive with this week’s Ben Sheets signing.
San Francisco Giants – Might have fallen out of the mix with Mark DeRosa signed. In theory, DeRosa could move to right and leave left field for Damon.
Tampa Bay Rays — Carl Crawford is in left and Pat Burrell at designated hitter, but reports indicate the Rays might be willing to give Damon the bulk of the DH at-bats and leave Burrell as an expensive platoon player.
Toronto Blue Jays — Maybe they could put Travis Snider in right field, keep Adam Lind at DH and sign Damon for left. Damon could replace Marco Scutaro as the lead-off hitter.
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Could be an opening (4)
I don’t remember these teams being linked to Damon, and it most cases it’s a stretch to think there could be a connection, but it might be possible.
Cleveland Indians — Right now, the Indians have a pair of young outfielders — Michael Brantley and Trevor Crowe — set to fight for playing time in left field.
Minnesota Twins — The Twins have only four outfielders — plus Jason Kubel — on the 40-man. Delmon Young is hardly a slam dunk as an everyday left fielder.
San Diego Padres — They need a lot of things, including a left fielder. Damon seems highly unlikely, but I guess you never know with a team like this.
Washington Nationals — Fumored to be interested in trading left fielder Josh Willingham, and they did grab Adam Dunn late last winter.
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Would require a serious change of plans (6)
Indications are that these teams have absolutely no need for Damon or any desire to sign him.
Baltimore Orioles — With Luke Scott, Felix Pie and Nolan Reimold, the Orioles are set in left field and at designated hitter.
Chicago White Sox – There is already a corner outfield/designated hitter rotation in place. Jim Thome might have made more sense as a left-handed veteran.
Colorado Rockies — There are already a ton of left-handed hitters on this team, including three left-handed outfielders.
Los Angeles Angels – Signed Hideki Matsui to be their designated hitter, and already have Juan Rivera in left. Willing to eat most of Gary Matthews contract because they don’t need an outfielder.
Seattle Mariners — Taking a chance on Milton Bradley in left field, already have lefty Ken Griffey Jr. as their primary designated hitter.
Texas Rangers — Seem ready to move forward with Julio Borbon as their everyday center fielder, moving Josh Hamilton to left. Borbon, Hamilton and David Murphy are all left-handed.
———
Clearly heading a different direction (4)
Under different circumstances, Damon might make sense as an outfield upgrade for these teams, but it doesn’t seem likely this season.
Arizona Diamondbacks – When they signed Adam LaRoche to play first base, left field became the only place for Conor Jackson. Dumped Eric Byrnes, suggesting no desire for another outfielder.
Kansas City Royals — Signing Rick Ankiel probably completed the Royals outfield, which already has a left-handed hitter at all three spots.
New York Yankees — You know the story.
Pittsburgh Pirates — Seem to be working on their pitching this winter, content to take their chances on Lastings Milledge, Garrett Jones and Andrew McCutchen in the outfield.
———
No place to play (9)
Aside from some sort of injury, it’s almost impossible to imagine a scenario in which Damon ends up with one of these teams.
Boston Red Sox – Jacoby Ellsbury. David Ortiz. Both left-handed.
Chicago Cubs – Alfonso Soriano.
Florida Marlins — Chris Coghlan.
Houston Astros — Remember when they paid Carlos Lee a bazillion dollars to be their left fielder? They’re still doing that.
Los Angeles Dodgers — Manny Ramirez.
Milwaukee Brewers — Ryan Braun.
New York Mets — Jason Bay.
Philadelpiha Phillies — Raul Ibanez.
St. Louis Cardinals — Matt Holliday.
Randy W????
Sherman’s tweeting that Yanks and Randy Winn (?!) have agreed to 1-yr deal
Randy wynn is a Yankee
Randy Winn is gonna platoon with Gardner.
Johnny should have taken the deal. Now, he won’t see any offers north of 4 million from anybody unless Scott chips in his own money to fill in the blanks.
Poor Damon, we talk about him 24-7, but as soon as post dedicated to him goes up there’s only Randy Winn talk!
Hope Randy’s a Winn-er. Okay lame, but at least I was the first!
m
January 27th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Hope Randy’s a Winn-er. Okay lame, but at least I was the first!
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LOL
Good move for depth. Had a down year at the plate last year, but still a .280 lifetime hitter and great corner defender.
Solid one year move, will play vs lefties presumably.
“Johnny should have taken the deal. Now, he won’t see any offers north of 4 million from anybody unless Scott chips in his own money to fill in the blanks.”
Would he actually do that? Seems like a bad precedent.
Wait, the Yanks signed Randy W?!?!?!
Might want to delete the old comments Chad.
Do we care so much where Damon ends up?
I find the Winn vs Gardner and Hughes vs Joba starting (and if the odd man out goes to the bullpen) conversations more interesting.
rodg12
January 29th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Wait, the Yanks signed Randy W?!?!?!
********************
LOL-I saw my name and was like “I didn’t post anything yet!!”
question for anyone:
did Cashman sign Winn instead of Reed Johnson, because Gardner actually hits LHP well, and doesn’t need a platoon partner (Reed Johnson) ??
Ha, ha! I was wondering why everyone was commenting on Randy Winn (again).
I missed this thread first time around.
The Yankees’ Winn!
vinny -
Everything I’ve read says Cashman signed Winn instead of Reed Johnson because he felt Winn was an all-around better player.
“did Cashman sign Winn instead of Reed Johnson, because Gardner actually hits LHP well, and doesn’t need a platoon partner (Reed Johnson) ??”
Probably not. 1st of all, there’s not a statistically large enough sample to say whether Gardner actually does hit LHP’s well. Even if we could say it, he’ll never hit them anywhere near as well as Johnson. Secondly, I believe Winn over Johnson is a reflection of the Yankees thinking Winn is a litte better player overall and, perhaps more significantly, a far more durable one. Johnson has had some injury woes in recent years, while Winn has averaged 150+ games a season the past 8 years.
Vinny,
They thought Winn was the better all around player, they were worried about Johnson’s back and Winn’s asking price was less than Johnson’s.
Damon really went off in that interview, but one thing i got from it is that he really wanted to come back to the Yankees and i think he cannot come to grips with the fact he let Boras walk him right out of there.
I’d think about moving Seattle up to the “Could be an Opening” category. The Mariners could leave Saunders in AAA one more year, and have musical chairs between LF and DH among Bradley, Damon and Griffey, with Griffey seeing most of the pine time and assuming more of an elder statesman role.
winn over johnson likely because of injury history and the fact winn can play cf.
I honestly didn’t know the old comments would still be here. I checked the post and was very confused!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201…mon/index.html
Quote:
No dollars were discussed in a meaningful way until Dec. 17, when both sides agree that Damon’s agent, Scott Boras, suggested Damon would return for $26 million over two years. Cashman responded by suggesting he could find a No. 2 hitter at half the years for less than half the price.
The Yankees thought that was way too high a price in a tight market for outfielders and by the very next day they were close to a deal for Johnson, an ex-Yankee. Boras, hearing through the media about this surprising turn of events, called Cashman in an attempt to resurrect things. So he asked Cashman what the Yankees would pay, and that’s when Cashman threw out the figure of $14 million for two years.
This is where things get tricky. Damon said he has no hard feelings and doesn’t really want to re-live the talks, but also suggested now by phone that his text message of Dec. 18 to the New York Times that the “Yankees offered 2 for 14” didn’t really tell the whole story. It was Damon’s impression that the $14 million offer was actually contingent on Johnson’s deal falling through. “The situation is, it was pending if Nick Johnson wasn’t accepting or didn’t pass the physical,” Damon recalled.
Cashman remembered things slightly differently. Cashman said he only told Boras he better hurry, because the offer would be off the table if Johnson said yes first, and certainly if Johnson had already called in with a message to accept. Cashman said the Yankees were prepared to retract their offer from Johnson, though not if he’d already left word with someone that he already accepted.
This point is mostly moot, except to the most inside of baseball people. Because, as Damon said by phone Thursday, “I heard that (my offer) was pending, but I really didn’t care too much. It wasn’t going to be taken. … I definitely wasn’t in the mode to take it. Taking a 40 percent pay cut just didn’t seem to be the right thing.”
Well, he’s going to take a cut, it just won’t be from the Yankees.
Winn is not going to platoon with gardner. for a platoon one has to hit better from one side than the other. winn was terrible as a righty last year. no way he plays against all righties. he is the hairston replacement and gardner will get his chance again this year to show he is worth something, if he is…
I find the Winn vs Gardner and Hughes vs Joba starting (and if the odd man out goes to the bullpen) conversations more interesting.
=======
Did i run out of co-sign options for the day?
I don’t think Damon wanted to return as badly as people are making it out to be…..He wanted the $$ more than he wanted to return. It’s his right, but he sounds bitter and his comments about the Jeter negotiations are stupid.
I
I’m guessing this was from his interview on WFAN.
Free agent oufielder Johnny Damon said Friday that he hasn’t ruled out returning to the Yankees, whether this season or in the future.
“I’m not ruling out not being in New York, whether it’s starting the season with them, (or a) trade at the deadline, (or if they) sign me next year. I love New York,” Damon said. The Yankees signed outfielder Randy Winn to a contract on Thursday and are expected to platoon him in left field with Brett Gardner this season. “Now I know (the Yankees) have a full roster right now,” Damon continued, “(but) I never say never anymore.” According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, he turned down a $6 million offer from the club last week.
I think he’ll be very lucky to get a 6mil/1 yr offer from any of those above teams.
This fiasco of sorts could the go-to account of “how not to handle a negotiation” for an aging player in a weak market for future sports agents.
Randy Winn, small investment that will yield a fine return…..People here will be quite pleased with Randy comE June…..This will take place after the ( positive )hysteria that will be Curtis Granderson ……Man Yankee fans are in for a treat….
“Did i run out of co-sign options for the day?”
Nah, I’ll still notarize.
Only reason why I think Seattle is a no go is because Jack Z in Seattle places great value on defense.
I don’t know if he thinks Damon will be an asset to him playing LF everyday.
Johnny did himself no favors in that interview.
The bottom line is, the Yankees offered him more money and years (with the 12/17 offer) than he got anywhere in the marketplace.
Now, today’s spin from their camp is, “I (Damon) would rather play for one year and 5 million (or less) elsewhere than sign for 2/14 with the Yankees in December or in a modified one year deal (that was put out there to their camp) this week”.
Ok, if that’s true, you now get your wish.
thank you to everyone, for answering my question (Winn, Reed Johnson, Gardner)
to be honest, mentioned it cuz i get confused when it comes to R/L hitters vs R/L pitchers. (Similar to the old skool SNL sketch, i am just a caveman and these ways confuse me)
Well, at least the Yankees come out of this looking good; I can’t say the same for Damon. Clearly Boras was acting as his client wished; this wasn’t Boras pushing his agenda on his client (not that I think he ever could).
Free agent oufielder Johnny Damon said Friday that he hasn’t ruled out returning to the Yankees, whether this season or in the future.
========
Uhhh. O.k.. Memo to Damon. If we didnt sign you now. Why would we sign you a year from now? Is there a real fountain of youth i didnt know about? Wheres Cashman with his daily PARTING WAYS quote when you need him.
After a thousand comments and several dozen newspaper articles, I’m where I started on Damon.
The Yankees never seriously planned on signing him. The wanted a pitcher first, leftover money for the LF/DH slots.
They threw the proposal out to Damon on the same theory as buying a lottery ticket, that it can’t hurt and might help, but IMO Cashman never really thought Damon would take it.
Cashman went straight to NJ and signed him, and didn’t want to take a chance on getting hung up negotiating over Damon’s salary and getting neither NJ or Damon, or having to break his budget to sign Damon.
The Yanks just didn’t want Johnny enough, they wanted a top flight starting pitcher more, and that’s what they did.
It’s really time to move on.
“Cashman remembered things slightly differently. Cashman said he only told Boras he better hurry, because the offer would be off the table if Johnson said yes first, and certainly if Johnson had already called in with a message to accept. Cashman said the Yankees were prepared to retract their offer from Johnson, though not if he’d already left word with someone that he already accepted”
So Cashman is saying 1st come, 1st serve. That’s a little different than saying “contingent upon whether Johnson accepts”
“Only reason why I think Seattle is a no go is because Jack Z in Seattle places great value on defense.
I don’t know if he thinks Damon will be an asset to him playing LF everyday.”
But he may also think Bradley can’t stay healthy playing LF every day, and want a better hitter than Griffey in the DH slot, and decide to take the defensive hit. Seattle is an outstanding defensive team so they might be able to afford the hit.
May also depend on how bad you project Damon to be in LF.
They wanted him. They just wanted him at their price and timetable.
Cashman doesn’t throw out phony offers. Did he think he would accept it? If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have made the offer because he did enough homework to know it was the highest offer to date.
Now, did they want him so much they were going to cave on his demands? No, they didn’t.
However, they did want him enough to carry this thing all the to Hal’s honeymoon to find a solution.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out and you go onto the next guy.
Does it matter, if Damon says he wasn’t going to take 2/14 anyway?
Doreen,
Unfortunately for Johnny, I think he still believed in December he was going to get an offer more in line with Scott’s reading of the market than Cashman’s.
Once that didn’t happen, their side has been in spin mode for that last few days.
First, it was Cashman “never making an offer to him”. Then, when Cashman went public and talked about making TWO offers (on in December and one this week) to him, its now, “I wasn’t going to take the December offer anyway”.
Either way, its all moot now. The Yankees have moved on, Johnny is still looking for a job, and for the second year in a row, Cashman correctly read the market re: a veteran player.
Seattle would make a lot of sense for Damon. I know they may not want to take the defensive hit playing him everyday but if they’d rotate him between DH and LF like Wave said, that’s a pretty good add for Seattle. He’d look mighty good in their line-up in the 2-hole between Figgins and Ichiro.
Damon said that he believes the 2 yr / 14 mil offer was real. As long as he thought it was real, that’s all that matters.
Too bad Chad went through all this trouble. Twice!
I can’t see any team ponying up more than the last presumed offer of $6m (with half the money deferred.)
Damon sits out. Until the Red Sox need offense. Or a contender needs a finishing piece. Whichever comes first.
No offense, but Damon should really stop talking about how HE’D do this and HE’D be open to that.
They’re just not into you so much anymore. “The book was closed a long time ago, actually”
IMPOSTER ALERT!!
Doreen writes more than 1 liners.
The Jays have contacted Boras about Johnny?
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....8;c_id=mlb
“Cashman doesn’t throw out phony offers. Did he think he would accept it? If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have made the offer because he did enough homework to know it was the highest offer to date.”
This is a unresolvable, and IMO ultimately pointless, argument. The proposal, or offer, or whatever you want to call it, wasn’t “phony”, but at the same time IMO Cashman didn’t think Damon would be interested as he knew the sides were miles apart and Cashman wasn’t interested in negotiating.
Whether the offer to Damon was “contingent” on not signing NJ, or was a simple “first across the finish line” offer we’ll never know, and because of the fact that both Damon and the Yanks had their minds made up isn’t a useful distinction anyway. because back in December, at least, Damon wasn’t interested in coming down anywhere close to Cashman’s price, Cashman knew or strongly suspected that, and never intended to hang around negotiating with Damon.
And is he telling other teams with his comments to not bother calling if they can’t beat the Yankees deal?
And Yankee fans were feeling sorry for him until he started talking about money.
It seems odd that not a peep has been heard (or quoted) from Michelle Damon.
“And is he telling other teams with his comments to not bother calling if they can’t beat the Yankees deal?”
If he is then he might as put his phone on airplane mode and hop the first flight to Fantasy Island.
SJ44 -
What I’m saying is that the parsing of the situation, “he said/he said/he said” doesn’t really matter if Damon wasn’t going to take a pay cut at the time. I have a full understanding of what I believe to have occurred (pretty much the scenario you have painstakingly presented a few times). It’s really a shame that such a large miscalculation took place. And I do agree that Johnny didn’t see any urgency at the time. I remember a quote of his to the effect that he had signed late in December every time he was a free agent. I think he thought it would all work out nicely. And I believe he thought a paycut to $11 mill per year was a huge compromise on his part. Not easy to see that your market value has gone way down when you’ve just had one of your most productive years. In that, I sympathize with him.
At any rate – I absolutely agree that the entire situation is moot, and I, for one, have made my very last comment on it.
I saw something from Gammons. Something about waiting to comment until she knew what city they’d be living and shopping in.
S.O.S.
No, that was me.
I started to write more, but deleted it before submitting.
But good to know you’re on alert!
“And Yankee fans were feeling sorry for him until he started talking about money.”
I think that people are forgetting the financial bind that Johnny got into last year with that Stanford crap. He may be broke and a new contract is his only opportunity to get back in the black again.
That being said, I’m shocked that he turned down $6M from us last week. Dumb move on his part. If he really wanted to come back, he would have taken it. I would have.
Hate to see it, but Damon would be a great fit for the Rays. If they don’t pursue him, they’re being foolish.
There will be no Boras drama next winter. Any Yankee targets for 2011 are not represented by Boras.
Hal’s honeymoon ?
I didn’t even know he got re-married.
I wonder if Bruney was invited to the wedding?
Put on your reception raincoats, Brian is making a toast!
Serious question. Do the NYYs take Damon back if he calls and agrees to a 1 year $3 mil plus $3 mil deferred. I would think that NYY would want to carry more than 1 spare outfielder.
12 pitchers
2 catchers
4 infielders
1 DH
3 outfielders
22 players
2 outfielders and 1 utility infielder
or
2 utility infielders and 1 outfielder?
Does anyone else ever get a “looks like a duplicate” response when you post a comment? I do sometimes even though it isn’t a duplicate post, and it seems like once the filter decides something’s a duplicate it will never allow it. Frustrating…
DT – OPPC member
January 29th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Hal’s honeymoon ?
I didn’t even know he got re-married.
I wonder if Bruney was invited to the wedding?
Put on your reception raincoats, Brian is making a toast!
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LOL I still say that’s what did Bruney in.
Cash is on espn 1050 with mkay
“Hate to see it, but Damon would be a great fit for the Rays. If they don’t pursue him, they’re being foolish.”
At $5M, he’d be the 4th highest paid Ray.
That would be an interesting budget move for them.
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/.....ayer_news/
.
Amazing
“I don’t think Damon wanted to return as badly as people are making it out to be…..He wanted the $$ more than he wanted to return. It’s his right, but he sounds bitter and his comments about the Jeter negotiations are stupid.”
ABSOLUTELY agree Betsy. Mercenary Johnny would have followed the money. He said as much when the season was over and he said if he didn’t return to the Yankees he was sure there was some other club he could help win a ring (paraphrase).
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Wave – we’re in agreement.
“Cashman doesn’t throw out phony offers. Did he think he would accept it? If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have made the offer because he did enough homework to know it was the highest offer to date”
Just playing devil’s advocate of course,
if Boras had already drawn a line in the sand, anything lower could justifiably be seen as a “phony offer.”
And about Cashman throwing out phony offers, I roll out as Exhibit 1 the Jeff Nelson offer; Exhibit 2 the Mike Stanton has 15 minutes to make a decision offer; and of course, Exhibit 3, the Joe Torre offer.
Now if you want to get into hard-core realities, whose offer is it anyway? Cashman’s? Hal/Hank Steinbrenner’s?
So is it accurate to say that it is Cashman that doesn’t throw out phony offers? Or is it accurate to say that Cashman throws out the offers he is told to throw out?
Oh I don’t know, but it’s been fun!
Correction, 5th highest paid player
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/.....layer_news
.
and this is just silly, by Johnny. He will NOT get more than 6mil from any team that has ANY inkling to sign him
Wow, back to the future.
Is it live or is it Damonex?
It’s live! And for those of us who aren’t immersed in it in any heavy definitional sense, it’s a lot of fun!
I have to think this Damon story is getting more press than the Arod opt out story.
in all honesty, is there a team willing to pay/sign him?
he might have to crawl back to the yankees
I think the salary dye was cast when Mike Cameron inked his deal with Boston, wasn’t it 2/13 ????…As I stated last night, although The Yanks may have wanted Damon, it was certainly at a defined set price as it reflected the market sonewhat…..However they didn’t like him enough for a compromise…..Basically a hardball approach as this wasn’t a Texeria type of love affair……So in a way Tricia and Hat do have an arguement about their lowball concept…..Once again, you have to give Tellum and Matsui kudos, as they took the 6.5 mil without looking back…..The handwriting was on the wall once Cashman plucked All-Star centerfielder Curtis Granderson from Detroit……However 2/14 was a good # for Johnny Damon to take….I do think he has a tick in overall value when compared to Cameron
B-Money loves to talk geeez
Upstate, light press days, Boras involved, Yankees involved, Boras’s client out in the cold, light press days – there you have it!
Trish-
spring training can’t come soon enough!
“The handwriting was on the wall once Cashman plucked All-Star centerfielder Curtis Granderson from Detroit”
Pat M, thought the same thing as soon as it happened.
GreenBeret7
January 29th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Serious question. Do the NYYs take Damon back if he calls and agrees to a 1 year $3 mil plus $3 mil deferred. I would think that NYY would want to carry more than 1 spare outfielder.
12 pitchers
2 catchers
4 infielders
1 DH
3 outfielders
22 players
2 outfielders and 1 utility infielder or
2 utility infielders and 1 outfielder?
————————————————————
GB, I’d think that Johnny’s time is done. Would they accept him at $3MM? Maybe. But $3MM AND $3MM deferred, probably not.
5 SP: CC, AJ, Andy, Javy, Hughes/Joba
7 RP: Mo, Marte, Aceves, Robertson, Melancon, Logan (ugh!), Gaudin
3 OF:The Law Firm of Gardner, Granderson & Swisher
4 INF: Tex, Cano, Jeter, A-Rod
2 C: Posada, Cervelli
1 DH: Johnson
1 INF Utility: Pena
2 OF Utility: Winn, Hoffmann
Damon instead of Hoffmann? Maybe, but I just want this nightmare to end.
Cash clearly would have liked to work something out with Damon – you can tell just listening to him. What can you do? The team and Damon had different opinions on his value; it’s not the first time this has happened to a team and player and it won’t be the last.
Pat M, thought the same thing as soon as it happened. At that point total control shifted to the Yankees. Amazing that Boras didn’t see that.
DaSaint007
January 29th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
3 OF:The Law Firm of Gardner, Granderson & Swisher
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LOL
Love it
Upstate – I’m with ya!
I am very very very very excited about watching our 2010 guys! May I present the 2010 World Series champs!
Here is a prediction. Not saying what will cause it (I have a guess but I’m not putting it out there since I’m superstitious), but look for Chad Gaudin to get a lot of starting time.
Let’s pretend that Gardner is a starter.
What’s your alignment? Back it up, please.
“GreenBeret7
January 29th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Serious question. Do the NYYs take Damon back if he calls and agrees to a 1 year $3 mil plus $3 mil deferred. I would think that NYY would want to carry more than 1 spare outfielder.”
Serious answer. I don’t think there is anyway Damon returns in 2010 unless DH Nick Johnson gets a injury where he is out long term. (ie: Nady in 2009)
“3 OF:The Law Firm of Gardner, Granderson & Swisher”
How about the law firm (read posse) of Gardner, Granderson, Swisher, and Winn?
Tricia…..Arrogance , both Boras and Damon….As there remarks indicated that the deal had no barring on them …Then came the Vasquez deal and it must have had a renewal of blind faith….Nick Johnson was the coffin nail it appears
DaSaint007
January 29th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
GreenBeret7
January 29th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Serious question. Do the NYYs take Damon back if he calls and agrees to a 1 year $3 mil plus $3 mil deferred. I would think that NYY would want to carry more than 1 spare outfielder.
12 pitchers
2 catchers
4 infielders
1 DH
3 outfielders
22 players
2 outfielders and 1 utility infielder or
2 utility infielders and 1 outfielder?
————————————————————
GB, I’d think that Johnny’s time is done. Would they accept him at $3MM? Maybe. But $3MM AND $3MM deferred, probably not.
5 SP: CC, AJ, Andy, Javy, Hughes/Joba
7 RP: Mo, Marte, Aceves, Robertson, Melancon, Logan (ugh!), Gaudin
3 OF:The Law Firm of Gardner, Granderson & Swisher
4 INF: Tex, Cano, Jeter, A-Rod
2 C: Posada, Cervelli
1 DH: Johnson
1 INF Utility: Pena
2 OF Utility: Winn, Hoffmann
Damon instead of Hoffmann? Maybe, but I just want this nightmare to end.
————————————————————
Losing Hoffmann would cost the Yankees $25,000 (half of the Rule 5 waiver fee). By all accounts, the Yanks were going to DFA Bruney anyway (for whatever reason, I don’t know). Still don’t know which they’ll carry…the extra utility infielder or the 5th outfielder. I don’t really care as long as whatever decision they make helps the team win.
DT – OPPC member
January 29th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
“GreenBeret7
January 29th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Serious question. Do the NYYs take Damon back if he calls and agrees to a 1 year $3 mil plus $3 mil deferred. I would think that NYY would want to carry more than 1 spare outfielder.”
Serious answer. I don’t think there is anyway Damon returns in 2010 unless DH Nick Johnson gets a injury where he is out long term. (ie: Nady in 2009)
———————————————————–
Maybe Damon is counting on Johnson getting injured. Damn.
And yet the Yankees’ offer to Damon came after the Granderson trade, didn’t it? The writing on the wall after the Granderson trade was that the Yankees had all the leverage in any negotiations with Damon.
What seems clear to me (once again), is that Cashman placed a value on Damon as a DH who could also play the field. He made a legitimate (heck, generous) offer which happens to be the best offer Damon has gotten as of January 29.
Damon/Boras wanted to play games and Cashman quickly moved on.
I won’t even get into this so-called $6M one-year discussion Cashman and Damon were supposedly having more recently. More Cashman pranking.
Pat M – arrogance absolutely. Nick J as the nail, and STILL they didn’t see it.
*****************
I have to tell you that you are one of the more influential posters on this forum, though you don’t seen to have the need to prove it or hear it. How do I know that – other than the fact that you manage to show serious objectivity in your posts (and I mean that)? Despite the fact that my screename is “trisha”, you still call me “Tricia” and now have two or three others doing the same thing!
I think it’s sweet.
GB-do you think that there’s a chance the Yankees would only carry only 11 pitchers out of camp? With Aceves and Gaudin sloted in there and no viable 2nd lefty (unless they do go with Logan) wouldn’t it behoove the Yankees to maybe have another bat-Miranda perhaps-on the bench?
GB,
I have no expectation that Hoffmann stays on this 25-man roster for the season. If he did, THAT would be the surprise of the season, not the Yanks winning the WS.
That said, obviously the $$ associated w/Hoffmann is negligable. That’s Cash’s petty cash (funny). I think that Damon has hurt his credibility, no marketability with his comments today. If I were another GM, knowing what he said today, there’s no way I offer any more than $3MM. And frankly, I’m not giving him No Trade protection. If he’s willing to accept $3MM, then sure, I think Cash would consider it. Shoot, he may even try to spin Johnson if that were to happen.
Just getting home from work and would like to comment on the last post concerning Old Timer’s Day.
It was absolutley a special day and I was lucky enough to attend a few. The 2 most memorable was in 1970 and in 2001.
OTD in 1970 honored Casey Stengel on his 80th birthday. It was the day they retired his number and dedicated his Monument Park plaque. I still have the poster and program they gave out that day. Nobody can recall Yankee history better than Marty Appel and here is something he wrote about OTD and includes a great Stengel story. http://www.appelpr.com/ARTICLES/A-oldtimer.htm
OTD in 2001 was special because Jim Bouton hosted a group of us from the youth baseball league that I have run for the last 23 years. Regardless of what you think about Ball Four and it’s revelations about greeies and groupies, I can tell you that Jim Bouton is one fine human being.
Jim opologized because the Yankee locker room was so full, but we got to walk down the tunnel the players walked though and peeked in. He then got us into the visitors dugout. I don’t know who’s eyes lit up more when we saw the view of Yanke Stadium from the dugout, the adults or the kids.He then took us through the bowels of the Stadium and we came out in Monument Park. Wearing his Yankee uniform Jim gave us a guided tour. He topped it off by sending me personalized autographed copies of his just re – issued Ball Four. It was a day we’ll never forget. Jim Bouton is a genuinely good man.
Billy Beane will hold his annual mid-summer flea market sale, and that’s where you’ll find Ben Sheets, Johnny Damon, and an assortment of late season trinkets for clubs gearing up for the stretch run……That’s The New Billy Ball in Oakland
GB7–I think the question of a fifth outfielder or another infielder is a good one. AROD will need to rest, and Pena is the only fill in.
If Damon could be the OF additon, I’d be all for that. If it is Hoffman, I’d look for an who can play 3B and 2B, if needed, with some pop.
Pat M -
What do you think he does if by some miracle of miracles the team he puts together is actually contending or in 1st? (I mean, PECOTA and all? )
trisha, I too called you tricia and I apologize.
And, you are right, it is all Pat M’s fault. He was my thought leader on that, I thought if Pat M did it it was OK.
Wave, seriously I think it’s sweet. A few others have done the same thing. And it’s all because of Pat M. You have to acknowledge that man as a leader.
(It reminds me of when I was in law school and my criminal defense prof. referred to me as “Patty.” I had never been called Patty in my life. From that day on, all of my classmates called me Patty!)
Dye turned down the $3.3m the Cubs gave Nady!
About Damon getting a contract with the Ys – while anything is possible, Joe Girardi told the press the day Winn was signed that he told Damon he wouldn’t be returning to the Yanks.
Tom in NJ
January 29th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
GB-do you think that there’s a chance the Yankees would only carry only 11 pitchers out of camp? With Aceves and Gaudin sloted in there and no viable 2nd lefty (unless they do go with Logan) wouldn’t it behoove the Yankees to maybe have another bat-Miranda perhaps-on the bench?
————————————————————
Tom, 10-15 years ago, I’d say that the Yanks would only carry 11 pitchers, but, not so much any more. The game has changed that much. I’d be shocked if that changes anytime soon.
Is it even possible that this Damon saga is not over?
Pena can play 3B and SS. Don’t know if he plays 2B. He has had some time in the OF last year in Scranton. A-Rod will need a day every couple weeks. Jeter probably a day a month. Cano maybe 2 days all season. Johnson or Swisher can back up Tex when he needs a spell, and Winn or Gardner can play RF for Swisher in that instance.
If Johnson goes down, Miranda probably gets called up, or Hoffmann takes over RF and Swisher becomes the DH. If Hoffmann isn’t on the team, Winn plays RF while Swisher DH’s.
If Pena goes down, Yanks have depth in AAA.
Speaking of an extra OF, did you all forget that the Yankees signed an OF right before signing Winn? Did you think that was for giggles? I definitely saw that as a “shoring up the OG” move.
Also shoring up the OF…
Randy Winn has worn No. 2 throughout his career. He’ll be happy to be issued No. 22 as a Yankee. Nick Johnson will get No. 12.
Curtis Granderson has No. 14 already.
Take No. 35 and issue it to Javy Vasquez. The one year hiatus is over for Mussina.
Hold No. 55 and No. 18 until 2011.
“DaSaint007
January 29th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Maybe Damon is counting on Johnson getting injured. Damn.”
If someone goes Gillooly on Nick Johnson’s knee, I hope Erica has a good alibi.
DaSaint,
What would Damon’s role be? He’d be a perfect bench player (only because of his defense and NJ is the DH).
I can’t see him accepting that low of terms or role.
I mean it could happen that the Yankees sign Damon to be their LF, but that’s a pretty big divide to bridge.
DaSaint007
January 29th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
GB,
I have no expectation that Hoffmann stays on this 25-man roster for the season. If he did, THAT would be the surprise of the season, not the Yanks winning the WS.
That said, obviously the $$ associated w/Hoffmann is negligable. That’s Cash’s petty cash (funny). I think that Damon has hurt his credibility, no marketability with his comments today. If I were another GM, knowing what he said today, there’s no way I offer any more than $3MM. And frankly, I’m not giving him No Trade protection. If he’s willing to accept $3MM, then sure, I think Cash would consider it. Shoot, he may even try to spin Johnson if that were to happen.
————————————————————
Not sure what the rule is on trading FA signings any more. It used to be that they had to stay with the signing team until 1 June, i believe. i like Johnson, but, I’m not real comfortable with him staying healthy. Hopefully, he surprises like Burnett did. Keeping a glove off of his hand as much as possible should help.
Erica – step away from Nick Johnson!
GB,
I BELIEVE the rule is that the player must stay on the team until June, unless he gives permission for the trade.
Now as you know, I’ve advocated for bullpen help, so if Cashman were to swing Johnson (with his permission) for someone…
Then that last move would have been made before ST.
Trisha–I was so glad to hear the OG is being shored up. One can never have enough of that.(I’m now carefully proofreading this post-a rarety for me)
austinmac
January 29th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
GB7–I think the question of a fifth outfielder or another infielder is a good one. AROD will need to rest, and Pena is the only fill in.
If Damon could be the OF additon, I’d be all for that. If it is Hoffman, I’d look for an who can play 3B and 2B, if needed, with some pop.
————————————————————
Yeah, I’m not sold on Hoffmann, but, if he stays, I hope he contributes.
Not sure who’s available to play both infield/outfield, but Jerry Hairston didn’t thrill me. I’d prefer Scott Hairston of the two. Of course, Ben Zobrist and his loaded bat would be preferrable to either one.
I just flipped my NYY calendar at work, so it will be all ready on Monday, and just wanted everyone to know that February is officially Joba Chamberlain month. Carry on.
DaSaint007
January 29th, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Erica – step away from Nick Johnson!
*************
Not funny
DT – OPPC member
January 29th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
“DaSaint007
January 29th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Maybe Damon is counting on Johnson getting injured. Damn.”
If someone goes Gillooly on Nick Johnson’s knee, I hope Erica has a good alibi.
************
Not funny
DaSaint007
January 29th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
GB,
I BELIEVE the rule is that the player must stay on the team until June, unless he gives permission for the trade.
Now as you know, I’ve advocated for bullpen help, so if Cashman were to swing Johnson (with his permission) for someone…
Then that last move would have been made before ST.
————————————————————
Forgetting Damon for the time being (you know the subject will stick around like old bubblegum on your shoe), I’d go for Kiko Calero as bullpen help.
“Trisha–I was so glad to hear the OG is being shored up. One can never have enough of that.(I’m now carefully proofreading this post-a rarety for me)”
And let me tell you why they’re shoring up the OG. OG, of course, stands for Old Gove, as opposed to Gold Glove! Cashman knew cold that Damon had become the poster child for OG, not to mention OG sub 1, which would be the Occassional Game! So in his offseason negoations and acquisitions, he decided that that he needed players who could go away from the OG and head more toward the GG! And then in terms of the OG sub 1, he decided he needed players who could go away from the OG sub 1 and head more toward the CG bar none!
At that point, he knew his song had to move away from “Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye” to “Johnny We Knew Ye too Well.”
The rest is history, if you catch my grift, er, drift.
“Old Gove”–Trisha, does GB7 know of your evident genetic connection to him?
LMAO – sorry GB. You know I love you.
If Damon had anything upstairs he would have parsed his comments and, better yet, not have had the interview. He is a foolish man.
trisha – OPPC forever – (new lucky picture from last day at the old Stadium) BRING ON THE GHOSTS!
January 29th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
LMAO – sorry GB. You know I love you.
————————————————————
No problem, Trisha. Just remember, I’m keeping track of all the trash talking from you guys. All I can say is “You’ll never know when I’ll strike.”
I’m disappointed that Joba Chamberlain has not arrived in Tampa for early workouts.
Just 20 days until pitchers & catchers have their first workouts.
Sorry Erica.
GB – but I’ve never initiated any GB trashtalk! Remember that. I’m just giddy today, you know. It happens every time I think the Yanks OF defense is starting to look credible!
Mauer and Twins talking extension.
You know, Mauer could probably sign a 10-year contract with the Twins for a ‘discounted’ $200MM, with an AAV of $20MM/year. Could have a clause that guarantees him $X over any other player’s AAV on the team, to keep him as the highest paid player should he be so interested.
If the Twins don’t sign Mauer, the face of their franchise, they don’t deserve to have a team.
trisha – OPPC forever – (new lucky picture from last day at the old Stadium) BRING ON THE GHOSTS!
January 29th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
GB – but I’ve never initiated any GB trashtalk! Remember that. I’m just giddy today, you know. It happens every time I think the Yanks OF defense is starting to look credible!
————————————————————
I’ve been taking a beating from you guys for months over one little typo….ONE LITTLE TYPO!!!! My heart is breaking over the treatment. Ya’ll just don’t realize how sensitive I am.
Not guilty!
Erica – always OPPC – Is done with Brian Cashman!
January 29th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
If someone goes Gillooly on Nick Johnson’s knee, I hope Erica has a good alibi.
************
Not funny
Like all good comedians these days – I blame Jay Leno.
There’s a place in the WWE. Damon should look for a job there. There he can get his big bucks.
from the Ny Post, “Damon said he turned down a two-year offer worth $14 million from the Yankees earlier this offseason, money he likely is not to see as his job search continues” Damon has no one to blame but himself. He is not worth more than cashman offered. Damon will really have to look in a mirror when he finds himself somewhere else making less then the yanks offered.
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