This bobble head almost makes everything better. He's literally on his knees begging us to like him. Well, my fellow Damon fans, the sad fate we knew we were likely facing has come to fruition. The Yanks signed fellow - but much cheaper - veteran Randy Winn today for $2 million to be their fourth outfielder, shutting the door on any hopes of a Damon return. Joe Girardi confirmed the news on Mike Francesa's radio show tonight, saying he called Damon to wish him well and that he "is going to be missed".
As I explained last week, with an already incredible lineup and Brett Gardner available to play left field, investing in a pricey free agent like Damon really didn't make much sense. For just $2 million, Randy Winn actually fits the bill for the Yanks pretty well. He's a switch-hitter with a career .286 batting average (although he had a wretched 2009 - let's hope that was a fluke),, can run okay, and will almost certainly mis-play 90% fewer balls than Damon.
And if he sucks, Gardner will still be there.
In short, signing Winn was a generally wise move: why pay big bucks for a star when others are available to do 70% as good a job for 20% of the price?
What a pleasant surprise to see you're blogging again. Welcome back -- I've missed you. Like you, I wanted to see Johnny come marching home again, but it's not to be. Instead, we'll win with Winn. -- Rob, a Yankee fan in Texas
ReplyDeleteI'm really going to miss those one-handed wrist-flick homers into the short porch in right field.
ReplyDelete*sigh*
Farewell to my favorite Yank.
Damon has always been one of my favorite players, even when he was in Boston. I was thrilled when we signed him in the offseason of 2005. It was a great four years that ended with a championship and I wanted him to return but unfortunately he let his agent and ego get in the way. No hard feelings though, good luck to him whereever he ends up If he's back at Yankee Stadium some day, hopefully the fans give him a nice ovation.
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