Email Johnny Damon

[southsider2k5]

Band wagon fans when they are playing .600 ball. He is also an embodiment of Ozzie ball, grinder rules, etc (so long as he is the DH)

 

Johnny Damon is not about to to turn the Sox into a 97 win team.

[iamshack]

Johnny Damon's Website

After winning the 2004 World Series with the Boston Red Sox and achieving legendary superstar status in New England, Johnny signed with the New York Yankees in 2006 as one of the most highly sought-after free agents in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. An MLB star for 14 seasons, Johnny is one of the most outstanding players in the MLB and has the potential to receive Hall of Fame consideration upon retirement, as he seeks to join the illustrious 3,000 hit club in MLB.

 

Johnny is that unique star athlete who has remained truly humble in the face of overwhelming popularity He also has that rare free spirit, enabling him to leverage his all-star performance over the past decade to become one of the most recognizable and popular players in MLB A leader by example, Johnny is well-liked and highly-respected in the baseball community.

 

Johnny lives his life to the fullest, with his wife Michelle and four children. They spend time between New York and Orlando, FL. Johnny moved

to Orlando at the age of 5 and has loved every second of living in

central Florida.

 

He's like Patrick Bateman!

[southsider2k5]

Jesus, I am afraid of signing him simply for the shoulder surgery he is going to need from patting himself on the back.

[Quin]

Johnny Damon's Website

 

 

He's like Patrick Bateman!

 

My favorite part is how it claims he is still humble.

[zenryan]

Who in the heck buys tickets to see Johnny Damon???

 

 

Mr. and Mrs. Damon

[Reddy]

does anybody else get the idea from this website that Johnny Damon is just a big cock?

 

read his "about johnny" section. It's laughable.

 

EDIT: you guys don't bleep that out. note to self.

Edited February 1, 2010 by Reddy

[whitesoxlove]

yeah, I really needed to see that extreme close up on the "About Johnny" page. ugh.

[justBLAZE]

He might be an asshole but he let's talk about what he brings to the table.

 

He is way better option than Kotsay or Jones, you put him in DH or LF (we don't want both Pierre and Damon on the field at the same time), interchange him with Pierre, that's your decent 1 - 2 combo.

 

Pierre LF/DH

Damon LF/DH

Beckham 2B

Quentin RF

Konerko 1B

Rios CF

AJP C

Teahen 3B

Ramirez SS

 

[dmbjeff]

If you a guy like Damon, at this point, why wouldn't he just pull a Clemens and sit out until someone comes after him for a contract in May at the price he wants. There is almost always a team looking for an upgrade at that time, due to injury, under performance or a team who originally thought to not be good, breaks out and is looking for another piece to the puzzle.

 

I know last year there were alot of bargains to be had but none of those guys had Boras advising them to the best of my knowledge. He wants to make the most money for his client, period. He has gotten it wrong a few times before like with Varitek and ARod this last time, but usually he knows what he is doing. While teams aren't beating down the door with much more than a $6 million a year deal right now, they might come in May. It's all about supply and demand.

 

I sure hope we can get him for a Bobby Abreu-esque deal, but I don't think it will happen.

[witesoxfan]

If the Sox didn't sign Thome, why would they sign Damon? The Sox have enough outfielders on the roster (Pierre, Rios, Quentin, Jones, and Kotsay can all play the outfield in some fashion, and I'm sure Ozzie would have no reservations about throwing Nix into LF) so there's no real need to put Damon out there, and if you don't do that...well, s***, he doesn't offer anything that Thome didn't except maybe a little speed and a few more base hits. That doesn't seem to make him superior to the likely-to-be-higher OBP , more home runs (and just to stop anyone who mentions "but Damon hit 24 last year and Thome only hit 23!!!" - Thome played one less month in the AL as a starting player than did Damon, and thus played in considerably fewer games and had considerably fewer PA's), and money saved that Thome would have provided.

 

If the Sox sign Johnny Damon, I will be throughly and utterly surprised.

 

 

[BaseballNick]

If the Sox didn't sign Thome, why would they sign Damon? The Sox have enough outfielders on the roster (Pierre, Rios, Quentin, Jones, and Kotsay can all play the outfield in some fashion, and I'm sure Ozzie would have no reservations about throwing Nix into LF) so there's no real need to put Damon out there, and if you don't do that...well, s***, he doesn't offer anything that Thome didn't except maybe a little speed and a few more base hits. That doesn't seem to make him superior to the likely-to-be-higher OBP , more home runs (and just to stop anyone who mentions "but Damon hit 24 last year and Thome only hit 23!!!" - Thome played one less month in the AL as a starting player than did Damon, and thus played in considerably fewer games and had considerably fewer PA's), and money saved that Thome would have provided.

 

If the Sox sign Johnny Damon, I will be throughly and utterly surprised.

 

You just explained to yourself why Damon is the better option. He's younger, healthier, more versatile, strikes out a lot less, and reaches base just as frequently as Big Jim. He's a much safer option, and a much better fit considering the design of the 2010 roster. I'd love for Damon to be part of the Sox' plans, but I kind of doubt it as well.

[witesoxfan]

You just explained to yourself why Damon is the better option. He's younger, healthier, more versatile, strikes out a lot less, and reaches base just as frequently as Big Jim. He's a much safer option, and a much better fit considering the design of the 2010 roster. I'd love for Damon to be part of the Sox' plans, but I kind of doubt it as well.

 

Younger? Damon's 36

More versatile? So he can put on a glove and stand in the outfield. Big f***ing deal. He's a liability in the field.

 

He also does not get on base nearly as often as Thome (Thome's OBP was higher last year while he was hitting .250 and Damon .280), and I would argue is a much more sketchy option. Damon's OPSs the last 4 years - .841, .747, .836, .854 (.915 at Yankee Stadium, .795 on the road); Thome's OPSs the last 4 years - 1.014, .973, .865, .847 (.864 in Chicago).

 

I don't think Damon is enough of an upgrade over even Kotsay to be worth even $3+ mill that would have to be guaranteed to him, let alone the $6+ it would take in all (even if some were deferred, which the Sox really don't do).

[Buehrlesque]

He might be an asshole but he let's talk about what he brings to the table.

 

He is way better option than Kotsay or Jones, you put him in DH or LF (we don't want both Pierre and Damon on the field at the same time), interchange him with Pierre, that's your decent 1 - 2 combo.

 

Pierre LF/DH

Damon LF/DH

Beckham 2B

Quentin RF

Konerko 1B

Rios CF

AJP C

Teahen 3B

Ramirez SS

I really like that line up. Too bad Ozzie is such a slave to R/L balance that we would probably never use that, even if the Sox did sign Damon (which itself I think is a long shot.)

[Lillian]

He might be an asshole but he let's talk about what he brings to the table.

 

He is way better option than Kotsay or Jones, you put him in DH or LF (we don't want both Pierre and Damon on the field at the same time), interchange him with Pierre, that's your decent 1 - 2 combo.

 

Pierre LF/DH

Damon LF/DH

Beckham 2B

Quentin RF

Konerko 1B

Rios CF

AJP C

Teahen 3B

Ramirez SS

 

Wouldn't it be better to place his left handed bat somewhere in the middle of the lineup? Why not bat him behind Quentin, and in front of Rios. I'd also prefer to separate the other two left handed bats, A. J. and Teahen.

How about this lineup vs. Lefties?

 

Pierre LF (he has actually been better vs. lefties over his career)

Beckham 2B

Quentin RF

Damon DH

Rios CF

A. J. C

Konerko 1B

Teahen 3B

Ramirez SS

 

I like Pierre leading off vs lefties, not only because he has an historically higher OBP vs lefties than righties, but also because he is capable of stealing off a Lefty. Damon would not be running vs a Lefty, at this stage in his career.

 

Against Right Handers:

 

Damon DH (Better OBP vs Righties than Pierre)

Beckham

Quentin

konerko

A. J.

Rios

Teahen

Ramirez

Pierre LF

 

That still leaves a void of a power left handed bat in the middle of the lineup. That might be one reason to just leave Damon in the clean up spot, although he is not your prototypical clean up hitter.

Moreover, both lineups leave Jones out of the equation entirely, and that may not be realistic

[BaseballNick]

Younger? Damon's 36

More versatile? So he can put on a glove and stand in the outfield. Big f***ing deal. He's a liability in the field.

 

He also does not get on base nearly as often as Thome (Thome's OBP was higher last year while he was hitting .250 and Damon .280), and I would argue is a much more sketchy option. Damon's OPSs the last 4 years - .841, .747, .836, .854 (.915 at Yankee Stadium, .795 on the road); Thome's OPSs the last 4 years - 1.014, .973, .865, .847 (.864 in Chicago).

 

I don't think Damon is enough of an upgrade over even Kotsay to be worth even $3+ mill that would have to be guaranteed to him, let alone the $6+ it would take in all (even if some were deferred, which the Sox really don't do).

 

In honor of it being Super Bowl week, I'm going to give you a "C'mon Man" for your argument. Yes, Damon is younger by about four years, but he plays like he's ten years younger. He can play a position (not well) but Jim can't even pretend to play one anymore - heck he can't even DH on a full-time basis. Jim's OBP was 0.001 higher than Damon's last year, so yes, when I said Damon nearly reaches base as often as Jim, that wasn't inaccurate. My argument about Damon not striking out as often as Jim still stands as does him being a much better fit with the design of the team because he can still run and he's a heads-up baserunner. It's all a moot point with Jim signing to be a backup DH/pinch hitter, but I truly think Damon can be a tremendous asset to this team.

[iamshack]

In honor of it being Super Bowl week, I'm going to give you a "C'mon Man" for your argument. Yes, Damon is younger by about four years, but he plays like he's ten years younger. He can play a position (not well) but Jim can't even pretend to play one anymore - heck he can't even DH on a full-time basis. Jim's OBP was 0.001 higher than Damon's last year, so yes, when I said Damon nearly reaches base as often as Jim, that wasn't inaccurate. My argument about Damon not striking out as often as Jim still stands as does him being a much better fit with the design of the team because he can still run and he's a heads-up baserunner. It's all a moot point with Jim signing to be a backup DH/pinch hitter, but I truly think Damon can be a tremendous asset to this team.

The point remains though, if they didn't sign Thome at $2m, I think something would really have to change for them to sign anyone else at this point.

[SouthsideDon48]

If the Sox didn't sign Thome, why would they sign Damon? The Sox have enough outfielders on the roster (Pierre, Rios, Quentin, Jones, and Kotsay can all play the outfield in some fashion, and I'm sure Ozzie would have no reservations about throwing Nix into LF) so there's no real need to put Damon out there, and if you don't do that...well, s***, he doesn't offer anything that Thome didn't except maybe a little speed and a few more base hits. That doesn't seem to make him superior to the likely-to-be-higher OBP , more home runs (and just to stop anyone who mentions "but Damon hit 24 last year and Thome only hit 23!!!" - Thome played one less month in the AL as a starting player than did Damon, and thus played in considerably fewer games and had considerably fewer PA's), and money saved that Thome would have provided.

 

If the Sox sign Johnny Damon, I will be throughly and utterly surprised.

I actually think Kotsay should be used as strictly a back-up 1st baseman instead of letting him see more time in the outfield in the speculative scenario of the Sox getting Damon.

 

So that would make the Sox outfield look like this: Pierre, Rios, Quentin, Damon, with Jones on the bench. Which would put the Sox in a similar outfield situation as the Angels last year, which I prefer.

 

Also, having Damon would allow the Sox to give Quentin more time at DH while not having to give too many at-bats to Kotsay. So it can be Quentin at DH, Pierre at LF, Damon at CF, and Rios at RF since I think Rios has a better arm to throw to 3rd base from RF than Damon does.

 

Having Damon would give the Sox so much flexibility, it'd be awesome.

 

I can think of all these different scenarios for different days when various players have days off:

 

DH: Quentin, LF: Pierre, CF: Damon, RF: Rios. Day off: Jones, Kotsay.

DH: Damon, LF: Pierre, CF: Rios, RF: Quentin. Day off: Jones, Kotsay.

DH: Jones, LF: Pierre, CF: Rios, RF: Quentin. Day off: Damon, Kotsay.

DH: Jones, LF: Damon, CF: Rios, RF: Quentin. Day off: Pierre, Kotsay.

DH: Konerko, LF: Damon, CF: Rios, RF: Quentin, 1B: Kotsay. Day off: Pierre, Jones.

DH: Konerko, LF: Pierre, CF: Rios, RF: Quentin, 1B: Kotsay. Day off: Damon, Jones.

DH: Konerko, LF: Jones, CF: Damon, RF: Rios, 1B: Kotsay (sunday lineup?) Day off: Quentin, Pierre.

etc, etc, etc...

 

This is exactly how I think the DH position should be utilized, and the possibilities would be endless.

[NorthSideSox72]

The point remains though, if they didn't sign Thome at $2m, I think something would really have to change for them to sign anyone else at this point.

I don't think they balked because of $2M, I think they balked because of this odd idea that flexibility is somehow better than production.

 

[iamshack]

I don't think they balked because of $2M, I think they balked because of this odd idea that flexibility is somehow better than production.

That's what I was saying.

 

Thome is clearly worth more than $2M, and if the peanuts it required to add his bat to lineup wasn't enough to cause them to change their minds, it will take a big change of some kind to cause them to sign someone else.

[witesoxfan]

I don't think they balked because of $2M, I think they balked because of this odd idea that flexibility is somehow better than production.

 

And Johnny Damon doesn't offer any flexibility that the Sox don't have. Oz obviously loves Kotsay, so he's going to stick with him as a big part of the platoon, and Kotsay has the capability to play the OF.

 

For what it's worth, the Rockies, Indians, and "some other American League team who is not the Twins" also has interest in Orlando Hudson. He supposedly had a contract in place with the Nationals with a $3 mill base plus incentives. It could be 11 other teams, but I figure it's worth mentioning.

[shago]

And Johnny Damon doesn't offer any flexibility that the Sox don't have. Oz obviously loves Kotsay, so he's going to stick with him as a big part of the platoon, and Kotsay has the capability to play the OF.

 

For what it's worth, the Rockies, Indians, and "some other American League team who is not the Twins" also has interest in Orlando Hudson. He supposedly had a contract in place with the Nationals with a $3 mill base plus incentives. It could be 11 other teams, but I figure it's worth mentioning.

 

The Indians...

[NorthSideSox72]

The Indians...

um... it said an AL team OTHER THAN the Twins, in ADDITION TO the Indians and Rockies. So the mystery team is someone else.

 

I'd be all for the Sox going there.

 

[shago]

um... it said an AL team OTHER THAN the Twins, in ADDITION TO the Indians and Rockies. So the mystery team is someone else.

 

I'd be all for the Sox going there.

Completely agree with you, love that guy -- also a great guy, but according to Hot Stove, the Indians are going to sign him. Would have been more interesting to sign him, keep Beckham at 3B and not have done the trade for MT, but...

[witesoxfan]

Completely agree with you, love that guy -- also a great guy, but according to Hot Stove, the Indians are going to sign him. Would have been more interesting to sign him, keep Beckham at 3B and not have done the trade for MT, but...

 

Rotoworld says he's close to a deal with the Nationals, which leads me to believe there are people leaking rumors all over the place.

 

Hudson would allow for interesting match up possibilities, but I'd still prefer the last guy on the bench to be a power hitter. Hell, I'd take Hank Blalock right now and I've been opposed to adding him all offseason. Just sign someone with a bit of pop in their bat.

[iamshack]

Rotoworld says he's close to a deal with the Nationals, which leads me to believe there are people leaking rumors all over the place.

 

Hudson would allow for interesting match up possibilities, but I'd still prefer the last guy on the bench to be a power hitter. Hell, I'd take Hank Blalock right now and I've been opposed to adding him all offseason. Just sign someone with a bit of pop in their bat.

Hudson supposedly has a standing offer from the Nats and many of their players are openly courting him.

 

The Indians are said to have absolutely no money, and are planning on rebuilding, so I don't know what the allure would be for Hudson there.

 

I'm really drawing a blank on who the mystery team could be...