As a matter of fact Johnny, stay out of Boston altogether. When the Tigers come to play Boston, take a few personal days. Nobody wants you here.
As a Red Sox fan (and a former Damon fan, I actually got his autograph at Fenway while he was on the Royals), I was not exactly happy to see that the Sox claimed Damon off of waivers from the Detroit Tigers. Luckily for me, Damon was a coward and feared the wrath of the Boston fans too much to return — he utilizes his no trade clause to stay with the Tigers. He said that his “psyche” was “absolutely” hurt by Boston fans — as it should be. The man proved to be a complete coward, a complete sellout. Damon “loved” playing for the Red Sox, helping them win their first World Series in 86 years. He talked about it for hours on end. He wanted to stay. Boston was his home. Then he sold out to the Yankees for minimally more money. Are you kidding me? Get out of here and never come back. Stay in Detroit and hit .270 with your 7 home runs. You do a pretty great job of defining disloyalty and greed.
Now that I’m done with Johnny, let’s lay into Theo Epstein a bit. Are you kidding me Theo? You wanted Damon back? Are you that desperate? I have always defended you, and think you are just about the wisest GM in baseball. But how could you let Damon come back to the Red Sox after his betrayal? Fans will literally hurl batteries at him and boo him out of Boston. Sure, we’ve got all kinds of injuries in the outfield — but let’s not stoop this low. I’d rather than lose than have Damon help us. Have some pride, Theo. For a GM known for his patience, for once it looks like you might be panicking.
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This article defines why boston fans are awful. How about showing some respect for the guy who basically won you that world series. I respect the dislike toward him for selling out, but without his 2 home runs, including a grand slam, in game 7 in 2004, the sox may have never even won. Just cuz a guy sells out, and takes more money, you still have to appreciate all that he did for Boston. Have just a shred of respect for once Boston. Remember, it is a business, and as we all know for most of pro athletes, money is the driving factor for where they play.
It’s well and good if you say all along that money is the driving factor. Everyone appreciates what Damon did in Boston. But for him to go around talking about how much he loves Boston, then leave to go to the Yankees, that’s completely unexcusable. Why should we show Damon any respect when he basically showed us none? Get him out fo here. It’s nothing but greed, which is why New York fans are so awful. They are comfotable with with everything being a business, with it all being about money, with greed. Ridiculous.
I also was looking back at some numbers from that series — we won Game 7 by a score of 10-3, but all of the other games were close — which is neither here nor there. Ortiz homered in games 4, 5, & 7 of that series.
it is a business, if someone offered you more money to go to a different job you would take it no questions asked. I also take exception to calling Damon a coward, why would he ever want to go back if people from Boston act that way. Boston is notorious for loving everyone to death while they are there but as soon as they leave f-ck em. Damon probably didnt wanna go back because of the a holes that were going to boo and throw batteries. Dude got more money and won a world series, everyone would do that. I also think its funny how you see alot of Boston players come to the Yankees but hardly ever see the opposite. Could be the way the players are treated.
No, I wouldn’t necessarily take it if I loved my current job and already made tons of money. Damon isn’t a coward for not coming back to Boston, he’s a coward for abandoning his loyalty and happiness to go to the arch-rival for a bit more money. I still love Manny to death, and he left. It’s all about how Damon left. Damon also missed out on a World Series in Boston, so I’m not buying that argument. He said he loved it here, loved being an idiot, and basically went completely against his own words. Boston players go to the Yankees because they Yankees only business strategy is offer everyone way more than they are worth to steal them away from other teams. Many players in Boston don’t want to play anywhere else, because it is the best place in the world to play baseball.
As for Theo, he is a very good GM I think he is a little over rated. Getting really good pitchers is not exactly a revolutionary strategy. This year they spent more then any other team in the AL east combined and they are in third place, I know injuries, but the pitching and defense strategy based on saber metrics, what ever the hell that is, was almost buying into his own press.
One more thing on Damon, he has no reason to go to the red sox, they probably won’t make the playoffs and the fans are gonna treat him bad, hes not a coward just smart. But I do want to thank Boston for keeping him from the rays
I don’t think getting very good pitchers is a revolutionary strategy either. However, I do think it is the right strategy. I think it’s fair to say that with a reasonably healthy team the Red Sox are easily up there with the Yanks and Rays, if not ahead. I have also said all along that I think the Sox needed one more big bat this year, and given all the injuries they sure did. As for the Red Sox spending, well as usual you are losing this argument — It’s still 206 mil for the Yankees to 162 mil for the Red Sox. They literally have been missing all of their best players except Ortiz and Beltre for a huge portion of the season. Youkilis, Pedroia, Martinez, Jacoby, Beckett, Bucholz, you name it. It’s pretty amazing to me we are as close as we are givent the fact we are routinely starting 2 or 3 guys that would otherwise be in Triple A and a bunch of backups.
As for keeping Damon from the Rays, I think that was smart for both of us. Just to reiterate, for those of you who have forgotten, I did pick the Yankees before this season to win the World Series — and I’m standing behind that pick.
I am pretty sure Damon was pretty happy in New York as well because he wanted to stay. Believe it or not alot of players love playing in New York, I know everyone is so evil, the fans are heartless and everyone is soooooo greedy. It is possible to be very happy and satisfied and then be more happy, Damon loved being and idiot but he loved being a Yankee more. If the Yankees got him off waivers hes not saying no. As for many Boston players dont want to play anywhere else, Pedro, Manny, Damon, Clemens, Lowe, Garciapara all Red Sox greats of the last 15 to 20 years all gone and played for other teams. None came back. I would say playing in New York, getting paid more, and winning would make it a better place in play but we all know Boston is by far the best at everything ever.
Who are you to say Damon was more happy in New York? He burned a bridge in Boston, he did not in New York — so of course he wasn’t going to come back to the Sox. Getting paid more would certainly be nice, but up until last year New York hadn’t won anything in quite a while, so that argument doesn’t really work.
since 2000 the yankees have won more games, divisions, and been to the world series more than the red sox, they are tied in world series wins. That my friend is winning more in every sense
Oh god, you’re bringing up things that happened a millenium ago — back when the Yankees were a legit team that didn’t have to spend 40% more than any other team in baseball — all to win one world series. Seems like the definition of a pourly managed team in my book. Maybe one day they will be a legitimate team again — or MLB will force them to be by controlling spending more effectively.
No I am bring up things in the last decade, how recent do you want me to be. Last year the Yankees won the division and the world series. Since 2005 they have won more games and more division titles. When did the Yankees spend 40% more than any other team? Cry cry cry about money thats all you got.
Think of it this way — in a competitive market, if one business spent 40% more on employees than the next highest spending company, it is logical to think that they would dominate the market and be far and away the best business. The Yankees have managed to accomplish this, without having nearly the amount of success they should have had given there spending. Which shows that they are a wasteful, inefficient team.
show me one time where the Yankees spent 40% more than everyone
How about 5 times? Payrolls by year:
2004 Yanks $182mil 2nd highest (Sox) $125mil Yanks 46% higher
2005 Yanks $208 2nd highest (Sox) $123 Yanks 69% higher
2006 Yanks $194 2nd highest (Sox) $120 Yanks 61% higher
2007 Yanks $195 2nd highest (Sox) $143 Yanks 36% higher
2008 Yanks $209 2nd highest (Detroit) $138 Yanks 51% higher
2009 Yanks $135 2nd highest (Mets) $135 Yanks 49% higher
Needless to say, something needs to be done to regulate spending in baseball. It’s scary to think if they had intelligent management with access to that much money how much damage they could have done. One championship in those years is absolutely pathetic.
hate to tell you bud the red sox have access that much money, they are just cheaper
No, no, that’s another popular misconception. Yankees fans are so quick to defend the revenue the Yanks pull in with a big stadium, the Yes network, etc, then in the next breath say the Red Sox have just as much money. That’s not even close to true.
Here some more numbers to disprove your claim that the Red Sox have just as much money. The Yankees franchise is worth $1.6 billion. The Red Sox? $870 million. That being said, that’s a pretty bad measuring stick of how much a team can spend. Let’s look at 2010 revenues thus far. Yankees = $441 million, Red Sox = $266 million. It’s not even close, so enough with the they can spend the same amount talk.
the yankees make about 100 mil more a year then the red sox and they do not spend 100 mil more. I would take this money argument alot more seriously from someone with a small payroll, instead of the top 5 every year, its just sore loser crying
No there is no crying, this is just a facts based discussion. Look at the numbers. You’re a sales guy, look at it from a business point of view. The Yankees spend 50-80 mil more per year. That’s wild. I feel just as much, if not more, for the smaller market teams. My whole point in this is not booo hooo Red Sox (we’ve managed to do quite well despite this gap, a testament to good management), it’s that the parity in baseball could be much better. For all teams. The Yankees spend 100% more than almost all but a few major league teams, every single year. That’s absurd. And it’s not the Yankees fault, it’s MLB’s.
“It’s pretty magical. The fact is, you go out there and play hard and the fans always respect that, they cheer you. They welcome the Red Sox into their homes every single night. You just don’t do that. Boston fans, from kids to grandparents and housewives, we’re a part of their family. That they welcome us like that is pretty awesome.”
“[Could Johnny Damon envision himself in Yankees pinstripes?] I know what I mean to the Red Sox, and I would love to end my career here…”
“I’m looking for five plus (years). And I’m looking for a lot (of money).”
-Johnny Damon
I’m so glad he isn’t coming back, first he isn’t that good anymore (.272, 7 HR, 41 RBI’s) second he sold out and left. If Jeter left the yankees in 2003 for minimal money to the red sox how would you feel about him??
i disagree with your statement about loving Manny to death though Geoff. He was my favorite player by far but then he quit on the team which is completely unacceptable to me. At least when Damon was there he played 100% every play
You raise good points, both in Manny quitting and in Johnny Damon’s desire to play for the Red Sox. If Jeter had left earlier in his career for the Sox, every Yankees fan would flip out.
I understand why Damon went from Boston to NY, but that’s simply the culture in sports right now. Rivalries are on rivalries on the playing field. It’s an unfortunate situation, but its reality.
It may be reality, but that doesn’t make it right. It’s in baseball’s own interest to real in spending, narrowing the gap significantly between the rich and the poor. That would, 100%, provide for a more competitive league.
Dont hate the player hate the game.
I would cheer Jeter and welcome him back if he came back. I would not throw batteries, bitch and moan. I respect what he has done for the organization, which is alot, and thank him for is effort. Its called being a good rational fan and not a cry baby
Not if the Yankees offered Jeter a 4 year deal, and the Red Sox offered him one worth a bit more and he accepted it. After talking all season about how much he loves the Yankees and wants to stay. It’s got nothing to do with being a cry baby, I’m not crying over Johnny Damon. He revealed the type of person he is, and he’s not one I want on my team based on his actions. I do respect what he did while he was here, and he’s a valuable player there is no doubt about it. But I have no repect for him since he chose to leave, nor should I.
Lets put this simply. Baseball is a business. To be successful you must A. win championships, B. Produce revenues, and C. Use those revenues to reinvest in your team to make it better. The yankees do this 10000% percent better than any other team. Its not their fault MLB has no salary cap. It comes down to having a great owner, Steinbrenner RIP, who does all these things to the highest level. Look at the Mets who have one of the highest payrolls in the league but do not reinvest their revenues properly and this suck every year. Its all about business whether your a player, coach, owner, and you cant hate on anyone for capitlizing on opportunities. No I would not hate Jeter if he left the Yanks for the red sox for less money, but that makes no sense, cuz no one would ever go somewhere with a less chance of winning for less money.
It didn’t bother anyone in the Red Sox organization as much as it bothered you, they were the ones who actually got “stabbed in the back” and left behind for more money. Theo would welcome him back, so would Ortiz and the team captain who called him to ask him to come. So to the people who it actually mattered to they did not care and took it as the business decision that it was.
The thing is, these are not the people that matter — without fans there is no league, there is no millions of dollars. The Red Sox organization was very bothered by it, hence the “fall out” between the front office and Damon. I have no idea what Theo’s thinking was in regards to this move, nor does anybody except for Theo. As for the players wanting him back, Damon was certainly part of a great team chemistry and is a good player — of course they want him back. These are also players making millions, who have been desensitized to the business of baseball as they are making millions of dollars of their own. That being said, I guarantee you Ortiz and Varitek were both suprised and disapointed in Damon’s decision to leave in the first place.
yes but they got over it and saw that he might benefit a team that is trying to make a play off push. They are the people that matter, they are the ones that are personally involved. I know the game means alot to all fans but this is their lives. If they really thought Damon was such a bad guy and a coward and should never even come back to the city then they would not want him back. Damon has been back plenty of times to Boston and I have never seen this article. The venom comes because Boston grabbed him off waivers, Damon didnt ask to go back, he actually didn’t want to.
They are personally involved because the fans allow them to be. Without the fans, there is no league for them to play in an no contract to put food on their tables. Of course this article comes out now, because there was a situation where he might rejoin the team. I’m glad he didn’t, and trust me, he gets booed every at bat in Fenway. Can you name me a worse betrayal in baseball history? Sports for that matter?
LeBron James
that was too easy
way too easy
Lebron did not go to the other team in arguably the biggest rivalry in sports. Lebron did not really even go to a rival. Lebron did not help his team end an 86 year championship drought. Lebron did not leave a championship team to go to a rival. Damon’s is worse because he had no reason to leave, except a bit of money, to go to a bitter rival. And he did. Lebron didn’t go to a rival, and was not already on a championship team.
you are honestly going to argue that Lebron James going on national television to leave his hometown after stringing them along to leave for less money to play with his friends is worse then Damon. You need to get your ass out of Boston. I know people think that New York thinks the world revolves around New York but if you think what Johnny Damon did is in any way comparable to Lebron James is insanity.
But Lebron left to have a better chance to win, and didn’t go to a rival. That’s my point. The way Lebron did it with TV and all was obviously ridiculous.
yes but when damon left the city did not crumble economically behind him, damon wasnt born in massachusetts and he also wasnt the only star the city had
Good points.
im kevin youkillis, all i do is make good points and grow sick goatees, get used to it
occasionally i dominate on the diamond aswell
You are so fine, i love when MLB players comment.
one could argue. and giving the time frame and the teams inbetween, this argument is quite the stretch but i was just thinking of the recent move from shaq to the celtics.. lakers/celtics is arguably just as big a rivarly as sox/yankees.. its just another point at how dominate boston really is they are in so many conversations for greatest teams and rivalries across the board.. and no i dont wanna hear about the knicks
except for football of course, pats suck. go birds
Ehhhh that’s a pretty big stretch. Shaq never really belonged to a team the way Lebron did.
absolutely it is a big stretch, i was just bored in class trying to think of big name players that played for rival teams
Youkilis you are fine player. I agree with howigit Damon is a jerk. The Yankees are an abomination…all they do is throw money at people and for most of the aughts it didnt work. the past couple years there were good free agents available that they again threw money at and got. this strategy will stop working eventually and theyll go through another slump. another contract like carl pavano would do the trick…and when CC puts an all you can eat buffet out of business and hits 400 lbs with all the years left on his contract
I just think of it this way — imagine how much more competitive the league would be if the Yankees hadn’t spent half a billion dollars getting the 3 best free agents in baseball last year? If 3 different contenders each got one of those players, the league benefits that much more.
Yes the Yankees spend money and yes it did not work in the for most of the decade in terms of world series, they won 9 division titles and were in the playoffs 9 times so I dont know how that is deamed a failure.
The signing the three free agents is the complete bs and I am tired of hearing it. They signed all that but they got rid of more
Lost contract
Giambi- 23,428,571
Abreu- 16,000,000
Pettitte went from 16,000,000 to 5,500,000
Mussina-11,071,030
Pavano- 11,000,000
total- 82,999,691
Burnett- 16,500,000
Tex- 20,625,000
CC- 15,285,714
Total-52,410714
The Yankees in 2009 dropped 8 mil from their payroll. The Phillies added 15. How’s that taste Tim. They didn’t buy shit they were just smarted about what they did.
This is true. But the first problem you should notice is that you were paying Jason Giambi 23.5 mil? Pavano 11 mil? Are you kidding me? And regardless of what they did, signing the top 3 free agents in any given year is a bit our of control.
Pavano was a complete disaster and Giambi was off the juice which isnt really fair. But I am not gonna argue that it was not smart spending in the decade. If you lose that much money, drop payroll by almost 10 mil while signing those three, what do you want them to do. No it wouldnt be fair to spend less money and get the best available? All the whining about those three is just that whining, there is no basis behind it other than they signed the best three and won. No extra money, no dirty tricks, no bad trades.
I would step lightly about signing top free agents the Red Sox were not exactly slackers this past off season, when they said they were rebuilding.
“Giambi was off the juice which isn’t really fair.” — I feel so terrible about that. I’m not going to step to lightly. Mike Cameron is pretty awesome. Lackey was expensive, sure, he was a big contract signing. Beltre is a clown and honestly not a pick up I was that excited about, he’s just played way beyond anyones expectations. Scutaro? You mean Scu-ta-scrub? That’s a howiGit original baby.
so if burnett, cc, and tex didnt pan out it wouldnt be a problem, but because they won its not fair?
Nooooo, not at all. Just compare Mike Cameron, Marco Scutaro, Adrian Beltre, and John Lackey to AJ Burnett, CC, and Tex………….Lackey aside, they are not the same caliber of player. Not even close.
oh you censored me again, that was a celtics quote i think it should stay, or atleast let me change it because i dont like hows that taste tim.
Keep it PG-13 homie.
that was pg-13, they had it on sportscenter
I agree that it is not the same caliber or player, however if you throw in Victor Martinez who I believe they had to sign, they added 48.5 mil. Which almost equals what the yankee three made.
I also noticed that Lackey makes more then CC which is crazy.
I think they signed Victor when they got him last season, but I’m not positive……..CC makes 24 mil this year tho to Lackey’s 18 mil. Lackey is now the Sox highest paid player. The Sox have 5 players making 10+ mil, the Yankees have 11.
So your 4th starter is the highest paid player?
In other news I am very interested to see what happens with Jeter this offseason.
That’s exactly right. Jeter will be resigned to the Yankees for a few years, for a reasonable amount of money. It won’t be a complete handout contract, as he’s still a very dangerous hitter. But if it’s a longer term deal, the money won’t be amazing. But Jeter knows this and will accept, as he’s not a complete ass ala Johnny Damon.
Oh i know he will be back, i am curious about the money, i can see something like 10 years and maybe back load the end, but i could also see a shorter one. Will be interesting
10 years? You kidding me? That’d be kinda absurd.
I dont think he will play it out, I think they probably want this to be the last one so they arnt handing out 1 years and seeing how much hes worth. If they give him ten he might retire in maybe 6. If they give him 6 and he is a few hits away from records then they have to start giving crappy one year deals.
You’re insane. The little bastard is 36 already, he’s won everything he ever could, and he’s already slowing up a bit. He won’t be in the league in 6 years.
He could make a run at Pete Rose so I think he might stick around for a little while
He has no chance of catching Pete Rose. Zip 0 none. He doesn’t even have 3,000 yet, let alone 4,000. Keep dreaming.
he would need to play about 6.5 more seasons at his current hit rate per season to reach the record, not out of the question
At his current rate, with 0 injuries, from ages 37 to 43.5. Not happening you crazy bastard.
There is also a half a season buffer because its 6.5 if he plays 7 more years but misses some time or declines there is a chance, it is not 0.
Ok, maybe it’s not 0, but it’s such a slim chance it’s not worth discussing. I guarantee you this is not something Jeter even considers.
Jbone theres a big difference between resigning a player and just going out and throwing money at the top free agents every year…
yes and when you lose 85 million in salary that means you can go out and throw money at those free agents. That argument against those three is the biggest sore loser argument ever, they spent less money and got those three.
Geoff give me odds on Jeter and that record.
I’ll bet you $200 bucks he doesn’t break the record, and give you 2:1 odds.
Jeter will break that record the year Stephen Curry plays his senior season at Davidson.
you are giving me two to one odds on something you said has 0 chance of happening, not taking that.
$100 bet, 3:1 odds?
I make bad bets all the time and I will not take that. You told me no chance ever and said it was insane
$20 bet, 5:1 odds?
lol you are making it worse and worse, making the odds better and dropping the price isnt going entice me at all. again you said 0 percent chance and are giving me odds that most super bowl contenders get.
I’ll bet you a steak dinner at a fine restaurant versus a milkshake that it never happens.
you are on
Virtual handshake……shake.
shake
i spat on my hand
Ditto.