Oddly enough, the whole Johnny Damon situation does have some effect on the Mariners. For a few weeks now, the M's have reportedly been in talks with the Red Sox about a Jeremy Reed for Matt Clement or Bronson Arroyo trade. If the M's were to make this trade, it would create a hole in the outfield, but the non-tender list includes the likes of Eric Byrnes - formerly of the A's, Rockies, and Orioles. Byrnes didn't have his best year in 2005, but getting traded twice - ultimately to the wasteland of motivation and morale in Baltimore - probably didn't help. But take a look at 2004: Byrnes hit .283 with 20 homers and 17 steals, and he plays plus defense in centerfield. I think he'd be an adequate replacement, should we loose Reed for a pitcher.
But what if we keep Reed and still want to add another pitcher. Obviously, Kevin Millwood is out of the question, and Jeff Weaver is probably too expensive at this point too. Where to look? Go back to the non-tender list. Names like Josh Fogg, Wade Miller, Victor Santos, and Joe Mays are all there - in addition to existing free agents Pedro Astacio and Jason Johnson. Certainly none of these guys will make big headlines, and any one of them could be a total bust, but each one of them could also find themselves in a situation to win 15 or 16 games, and do so without breaking the bank.
Now, Johnny Damon. I'm neither a Yankee fan, nor a Red Sox fan, but I just have to weigh in on this one. For the Yankees, this could be the single best player acquisition they've made in the last 10 years. I could detail my thoughts on the additions of A-Rod or Randy Johnson, but I'll leave that for later and just tell you that everything about the Damon signing is perfect.
1) The Yankees needed a centerfielder. Red Sox nation is trying their best to say that Damon really isn't that good, including but not limited to defense, and particularly, they pick on Damon's reportedly below average arm. But really, the Yankees haven't had a good arm in centerfield in a long, long time - certainly not in from 1995 to the present. Obviously Damon is better than Bernie Williams now, but I would guess that Damon plays better defense than Williams ever played. Furthermore, Yankee Stadium is an easier centerfield to play. Damon is not Torii Hunter or Andruw Jones, but if the only question is whether or not the Yankees made a significant improvement in their centerfield defense, the answer is a resounding yes. Whatever he brings to the plate, which is considerable, is gravy. The defense was the issue, and the Yanks did what they needed to do in that regard.
2) The price was right. $52 million over four years is perfectly reasonable in the current market. That's $13 million a season. Five years ago he would have gotten $18 million a year, and probably that over at least six years. I think you could argue that the price might even be a little low. Rafael Furcal got $13 million a season (only for 3 years). The Red Sox offer of $40 million for four years is absolutely laughable. How is it that the Sox can make an offer that is well below market value and then be indignant when it's not taken? And the typical Yankees as the Evil Empire argument just doesn't work this time. In years past, when the Boss wanted somebody, he sent his Italian manager out to make them offer they couldn't refuse by making the dollars offered so high nobody could compete. But not this time. The Yankees paid a fair price, for a premier free agent, at a position they needed. And it was a huge victory for baseball in general, which leads to the next point . . .
3)Brain Cashman 1, Scott Boras 0 Boras has become the most powerful, and evil, sports agent of the era. Some teams will not even consider talking to a player if he's represented by Boras. He does all he can to create a media frenzy around his clients, he plays teams off one another, he grievously takes statistical evidence out of context, and places makes statements about his player's level of value that the average person could hardly make while keeping a straight face. And somehow, it usually works, but not this time. Boras was sure his client deserved a 7-year deal. To those that suggested a 7-year deal was too long, Boras mocked that the poor fools must be looking at age chronologically,; what fools! Nevertheless, the Yankees said we're only interested in a 4-year deal, and then called Boras to say that they had to know by that night, and Boras blinked. Hopefully the rest of the league will take note.
4)The move absolutely kills the Red Sox. Not only are the Yankees better, but the Red Sox are worse. In their quest for another division title, the Yankees functionally added two studs to the team by adding one guy to their own roster, and taking him from their chief rival. Boston's front office brass insists they'll spend the money offered to Damon to repair the holes on the team, but how? All the free agents are gone. Well not all of them - if you're a Boston fan, would the signing of Preston Wilson and Alex Gonzalez make you feel better? They could have traded Bronson Arroyo or Matt Clement for Coco Crisp or Jeremy Reed, but guess what - the price just went up. The Twins aren't going to trade Torii Hunter for cash. Maybe cash and Andy Marte, but if they trade Marte, then all they got for Edgar Renteria is a $4 million bill for the each of the next three years. Things could be very bad in Boston this year. I would be absolutely dumbfounded if they can make any kind of move that would lead people to believe that they are contenders for even a wild card spot in 2006. And really, would Boston finishing in last place be such a far-fetched idea? Imagine this: Schilling and Beckett can't pitch more than 15 games apiece this year, David Wells is gone, Clement or Arroyo is gone, and Tim Wakefield is your best starting pitcher. Jon Paplebon and Kevin Youkilis just can't handle the pressure, Mark Loretta can't come back from his injury, and Mike Lowell and Keith Foulke are just through. Manny becomes even more disgruntled, but the Sox can survive all this, right? They've got David Ortiz and Jason Varitek. If half of the above happens, Ortiz will leave as a free agent at the end of the year, and Varitek will demand a trade. Maybe Theo Epstein knew more than he let on when he walked away from the Boston front office.
I don't think there is any way you can argue that the Red Sox are a better team than Blue Jays. At least Boston can look south, to that great train wreck that is Baltimore, and be fairly certain they are not a last place team.
Posted by: Deacon Blues at December 22, 2005 11:33 AM