Damon Signs 4-year, $52 mil. contract with YANKEES

[stcjones]

I know this is a business.........

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/

December 20, 2005
Damon to Yankees
By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff

Johnny Damon’s days in Boston are over.

The free-agent center fielder agreed to a four-year, $52 million contract with the rival Yankees late Tuesday night. The agreement is contingent on Damon passing a physical.

Damon conformed the deal in an interview on Boston television station CBS-4 on Tuesday night.

"New York came after me aggressively and that's what sealed the deal," he said. "I'm headed to New York ... I'm very excited ... It's with mixed emotions ... Time for me to look forward."

Damon fills a double void for the Yankees, giving them a speedy center fielder who can cover ground and a leadoff hitter to top a lineup that includes Derek Jeter, Gary Sheffield, AL MVP Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui and Jason Giambi.

Bernie Williams' defense declined significantly over the past four seasons. And while Damon's arm is not much better, he does cover a lot of ground, which is important in Yankee Stadium.

Agent Scott Boras had been seeking a seven-year contract for Damon. The offer Damon accepted was essentially the same as the deal Matsui agreed to with the Yankees last month.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

But what an a-hole this guy turned out to be......in his first interview, minutes after becoming a stankee.....he says "WE are going to be tough to beat this year........WE have a great lineup" .......Hey jacka$$....how about waiting until the blood dries....how about uttering that crap a week from now at least.....not mere minutes after signing....what a d-bag........

Either way, I am not really all that bummed out....other than "one of our own" becoming a traitorous STANKEE......but to be honest, I think they overpaid........Damon is a decent centerfielder, with NO arm, a great base stealer, and a hot and cold "Pull" hitter........Let's see what the sox can pull off to replace him in center and hopefully find the same in a hitting replacement.........If and when Manny goes, or if Big Papi were leaving, I would be SERIOUSLY bummed out........because it would be A CATASTROPHIC loss...........I don't put Damon even close to that category....he is a decent player that CAN be replaced.....he is NOT a vital part of this team......Go cut that hair Johnny and shave that beard......and remove any individuality and character from you.....and become one of the stankees.......f'in traitor!!!!!!!!

 

[stcjones]

ha ha ha

"I was shocked. He signed to play with the Devil."

That was Damon's reaction to A-rod going to the Yankees. :snob:

great quote dig up....that is hilarious....what a sellout.....but hey take the money I guess.......He was not worth it.....

 

[stcjones]

Amen Bro,......

How is the red sox FO the laughing stock of baseball? How is this a disaster or a joke? They still hav ea lot of time to address their needs. They were supposed to be in shambles when Theo walked but they went out and got Beckett, lowell, loretta. They still have work to do of course, but they aren't going to overpay for a CF on the downside of his career. They should have a very solid pitching staff this year and they will have enough offense to make a run for the playoffs.

I dont see Manny going anywhere. I think judgement should be saved until the season actually starts and we know what the team is going to actually look like

"I dont see Manny going anywhere. I think judgement should be saved until the season actually starts and we know what the team is going to actually look like"

Amen....great great points here. Josh Beckett was a GREAT signing.......Lowell has the POTENTIAL to be a huge offensive threat here......Loretta has been hot and cold and injury prone hasn't he? Not sure on that one......getting Rent-a wreck out of town was a GOOD move,.....the guy looked like sh## when we faced him in the world series,.....he was perhaps the worst DEFENSIVE SS we have had in I don't know how long....and damon is a decent ball player.....but by no means a STAR,.....or an IRREPLACEABLE part of this team......so, so far I don't think we have done too badly........Losing that SS prospect to the Marlins was unfortunate.......someone talked about losing Mirabelli as a bad move.....lets face it....all this guy could do is catch a knuckle ball.....he couldn't hit for sh**, and stepped up to bat each time either like he couldn't give a sh**, or with a scared deer in the headlights look......good riddance......

That all having been said....so far these two CO-GM's look like a bunch of immature, befuddled goofballs that don't even know how to respond to a question with any savvy. At least Theo APPEARED confident and sure of what he is doing....and I think he made some good moves while he was here....the kid was/is sharp. These two co-buffoons usually start by saying "Ummmm...what did Larry say? Did you ask Larry that question. Let's ask Larry"......unreal.........let;s hope theo comes back......

 

[qmjhlpei]

I bet Damon is going to do horrible with the Yanks

 

[FloridaPatsFan]

"I dont see Manny going anywhere. I think judgement should be saved until the season actually starts and we know what the team is going to actually look like"

Amen....great great points here. Josh Beckett was a GREAT
That all having been said....so far these two CO-GM's look like a bunch of immature, befuddled goofballs that don't even know how to respond to a question with any savvy. At least Theo APPEARED confident and sure of what he is doing....and I think he made some good moves while he was here....the kid was/is sharp. These two co-buffoons usually start by saying "Ummmm...what did Larry say? Did you ask Larry that question. Let's ask Larry"......unreal.........let;s hope theo comes back......

What I have been wanting to find out is has Lucchino ever been a GM? I mean if this guy is running the day-to-day operations (as the Pres/CEO) which are usually reserved for the GM, what are his qualifications? I have read that as a contract negotiator he was tough, and his baseball connections go back many years but I see a lot of Dan Duquette in Lucchino in the way that we are losing FA's and trading away top prospects from the minor leagues. From the day Theo took office, he had a plan and that plan was working....but now I get this feeling that we are now re-acting to MLB moves and the vision of what Theo was putting together is completely lost.

If I have one wish for Xmas, Please Santa, get rid of Lucchino and bring back Theo.

Happy holidays to ya all.

 

[patriotspride]

What I have been wanting to find out is has Lucchino ever been a GM? I mean if this guy is running the day-to-day operations (as the Pres/CEO) which are usually reserved for the GM, what are his qualifications? I have read that as a contract negotiator he was tough, and his baseball connections go back many years but I see a lot of Dan Duquette in Lucchino in the way that we are losing FA's and trading away top prospects from the minor leagues. From the day Theo took office, he had a plan and that plan was working....but now I get this feeling that we are now re-acting to MLB moves and the vision of what Theo was putting together is completely lost.

If I have one wish for Xmas, Please Santa, get rid of Lucchino and bring back Theo.

Happy holidays to ya all.

i think like alot of people your over reacting.remember theo is the guy who signed rent a wreck and small balls clement .im reserving judgement until i see what the team looks like in spring training.

 

[FloridaPatsFan]

i think like alot of people your over reacting.remember theo is the guy who signed rent a wreck and small balls clement .im reserving judgement until i see what the team looks like in spring training.

Your probably right. It's just the sitting around and watching other teams improve themselves while we have gotten weaker thats killing me.....I should put the Sox about #38 on list of things to think about this time of year but I can't help but get the feeling that we have taken a huge step backwards in the last couple of months.

Hope this bad gut feeling that I have goes away.

 

[mtbykr]

Well

I can't blame him for going. I mean the yankers gave him a 4 hour window to decide--the sox didn't want to talk to him (way to call the bluff lucky), and didn't seem interested in him that much to begin with. Couple that with the fact that it looks like the FO of the sox is cleaning house and has no direction--and it's a move that he had to make. I hate it, but I understand why he did it.

As far as clement, rent-a-wreck, ect....i will give theo the benefit of the doubt as lucky was still pulling all the strings from behind the scenes. (this may have been part of the reason that theo left---didn't have control to do what he wanted) I also thought it funny that Theo did what he wanted when he got O-cab (who i wanted to keep, but that's another thread) and o-cab played great. Then for some reason they overpay to get rent-a-wreck---you know the same guy that John Henry had in Florida and loved. ( i am not saying it had anything to do with it, but seems funny)

Bottom line is i would feel a whole lot better if theo came back tommorow and lucky didn't have anymore control of baseball operations! (or if he was gone completely :rocker: )