Come Knocking on My Door...

Johnny Damon to the Yanks, or, J.D. to the Yanks sounds a little better. Damon leaving the Red Sox for the Yankees is the equivalent of Brad Pitt leaving Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie. Ok, well, not exactly. But it would be if Pitt left Jolie for Aniston. After all, Jolie is more on the dirt bag side, Aniston is more of the classier one. But you get my point. But I thought I was drunk when I read the head line “DAMoN the Yankees” last night. I truly believed that J.D. would end up back with the Saux. He said a few weeks ago that he would not sign with the enemy. And also said that it isn’t about the money. Oh really? Well, 0 for 2 right there. If it wasn’t about the money, then why wouldn’t he sign the deal with Boston? Boston offered 4 years, just like the Yankees. But they offered him $10-$12 less than their bitter rivals, New York Yankees. I’m sure it wasn’t 100% about the money. But the money did play a role in his decision, no question. But lets take a look at 3 other determining factors for J.D. skipping out on the Saux.

• Theo Epstein --- Damon stated that he was unsure and uncertain about the new executives on board in Boston. With Theo, he trusted what he was doing, and all the moves he would make, and had made. Every move and transaction was to benefit the team, and make them into a championship team. Not to cut payroll and try to make some extra money solely for the organization.

• Manny Requesting Out --- I am tired of hearing “Manny being Manny”. Manny wants out. Yes, Manny has a chemical imbalance and says things without thinking. And he has said he has wanted to be traded, then days later, makes proclamations that he wants to remain with the Red Sox. But enough is enough already. Once you demand a trade every year, then he must be unhappy. But if Damon stayed, it would have been more likely for Manny to be traded, because of the big raise Damon would have commanded, and received, which would have forced out one of their big contracts. And if Manny goes, so does the chances of another Boston Championship. And I truly do believe J.D. wants another championship…really bad…which leads me to…

• Johnny Damon believes the Yanks have best chance of any team in baseball to win the World Series. And isn’t that most important when signing with a team as a Free Agent? Johnny Damon has enough money. The contract that he signed with the Yankees is more per year, than what he was commanding, 7 year/$80 mil. He just wants to play the game. He just wants to win. He is what you call a gamer.

So now the question is, did the Yankees really need to sign Johnny Damon? My answer: Certainly Not. The Yankees have enough bats in the lineup offensively to supply their starting pitching staff with 5 runs/game, and that is with Crosby in the lineup. The Yankees could have used this $13 million/year for 4 years on pitching, which is the one area they needed to address. You think Ron Villone is going to cut it? The man has had only 2 seasons in which he had an ERA under 4.08. And he has been pitching since 1995. Octavio Dotel is coming off Tommy John surgery. Mike Myers is a good left handed specialist, but they are relying on Kyle Farnsworth to set up Mo’. Yes, I like Farnsworth, but will he be able to handle New York? I am going to question that every day until the opening day. Yes, he performed in Detroit and Atlanta last season, but those are low-key markets. I mean, the Braves can’t even sell out a playoff game. But Farnsworth couldn’t excel, like scouts and player personnel believed he would, in Chicago. Chicago is a big market, bit media city. The fans and media in Chicago, especially for the Cubs, take baseball to heart. So if he couldn’t make it there, what makes you think he can live up to expectations in New York? And one last note, Bubba Crosby was adequate enough out there in CF, and someone who might even be better defensively. He did a nice job at the end of the season in ’05 and in the playoffs, so why not give him a shot full-time?

My last question is, was this a good move by the Yankees? My answer: Yes. After rethinking it through, I believe it was a good pick up for the Yankees. Here are a few reasons why:

• They finally get themselves a true leadoff hitter, and one of the top 2 lead off hitters in the game today. And that’s not knocking Jeter, because he was very good in that leadoff spot, but Jeter is finally going to be and should be utilized in the 2 hole.

• 3 of the top 4 players in the league in Runs Scored are now in the Yankee lineup (and will probably bat 1-3, and that isn’t including Matsui, who was 11th in the AL in that category). You can guess the Over/Under for Runs Scored by those 3 could possibly be set at 375 alone. That’s a lot of runs.

• The Yankees also improve themselves defensively. They upgrade in CF with Damon taking over the helms for Bernie Williams. It isn’t a significant upgrade, but it is an upgrade none-the-less. Damon’s arm is just as weak as Bernie’s, but Damon is quicker, faster and gets a much better read on the balls.

• Damon is going to change the way opposing teams pitch to the 2006 version of Murder’s Row. With Damon and Jeter at the top of the order, you will have to pitch to both of them. Can’t pitch around them, which most likely means whoever hits 3rd, whether it be A-Rod, Sheffield or Giambi, will have either Jeter or Damon on base.

• Damon is also a very good base runner. He will take the extra base, go from 1st to 3rd on weak arms and slow balls to the OF, score easily to balls in the outfield when on 2nd base. He will guarantee you 100 runs and 30 doubles (which he has done for 8 consecutive seasons).

• It’s only a 4 year contract. He is only signed until he is 36 years old. By that time, his skills will be diminished. But that’s all they signed him for. They didn’t meet his agent, Scott Boras’ demands of 7 years.

Whatever the Yankees had decided to do, pass up on Damon and signed pitching help instead, or do what they did, sign Damon, it would have been a good decision. But thinking about it over and over, signing him was probably better for the team. They have unlimited resources. Relievers come cheap. They can trade Pavano or Wright or both for a mid level Starting Pitcher or a top quality relief pitcher like Mike Gonzalez of the Pirates. They always find a cheap pitcher to fill in holes where they need, like Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon did last season. But a player like Damon, they aren’t on your doorstep so often. So when they are, and they want to contribute to winning a World Series, you better take him in. And that is exactly what they did.