Comments on: REPORT: The Tigers may save Damon and Boras' bacon: 2 years/$14 million

By: Nasty Boy

Nasty Boy — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 18:54:50 +0000

I totally agree. What in Gods name are the Tigers thinking ? I liked Damon for his bat, but he scared the hell out of me in the outfield.I think he was scarring the Yankee’s too.

By: fred

fred — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:49:11 +0000

Could have had that money and the opportunity to repeat as world champions, as well as endorsements opportunities in the big city. Beam me up Scottie!

By: Koz

Koz — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 06:24:58 +0000

You are right on the mark, ‘cept his throwing description….he throws like a girl…really like a girl!!!

By: JFK69

JFK69 — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 16:24:41 +0000

Who cares where Damon ends up. The Yankees will have have Crawford in left after this year.
Finally they get it and don’t end up like the NY RANGERS paying for talent based on previous accomplishments and long past its prime. That goes for the Knicks as well. I wouldn’t pay Damon any more than 3 million plus incentives and that is for the DH spot.

By: Norman Dyer

Norman Dyer — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 23:28:58 +0000

I have heard this rumor for the past month, making Carlos Guillen a full time DH is a great career saving move on their part. Way to Go Tigers, even with signing Damon you still could lose 100 games….

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:48:01 +0000

Which crap? I can't respond with any kind of precision to such overgeneralized interrogatories.

By: Aquaman

Aquaman — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:31:29 +0000

Honestly, where do you come up with this crap?

By: Nissan

Nissan — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:32:05 +0000

Damon is a decent bat, but he does not have a strong throwing arm. The Tigers home field (Comerica Park) has huge dimensions. Tiger outfielders need to be fast and have strong arms. Apparently, the Tigers are only interested in his bat…hope he delivers.

By: Church of the Perpetually Outraged

Church of the Perpetually Outraged — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:24:23 +0000

What, in his batting record, suggests to you that he is washed up? His OPS+ in 2009 was 126 (which would have ranked him second on the Tigers). It was 118 in 2008.

This was also a career high for him. How many 36 year old OF’s have career highs and then repeat it the following year? Also, Damon was a huge beneficiary of YSIII. Here are his H/R splits:
H – .279/.382/.533
A – .284/.349/.446
Now granted YSIII suppressed doubles and triples, so the Tigers should expect those numbers to go up, but I’ll eat my hat if he hits 24 HR’s again (tied career high).

By: Curious George

Curious George — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:42:39 +0000

“Damon is washed up and should thank Boras for getting him anything at all”
.
What, in his batting record, suggests to you that he is washed up? His OPS+ in 2009 was 126 (which would have ranked him second on the Tigers). It was 118 in 2008.
.
Do you even know what washed up means?

By: Phil

Phil — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:59:38 +0000

I know I wrote my response in English and that gives me an unfair advantage when dealing with a certain subset of Yankee fan. You said, “…hopefully everyone can quit nagging about the yankees “paying for the best team in baseball.” let’s all get over that bs please.” In 2009, the Yankees paid their players, right? At least, I didn’t read of any of them contributing their skillspro bono. In 2009, the Yankees were the best team in baseball. Therefore, in 2009 the Yankees paid for the best team in baseball. QED. I was merely responding to exactly what you wrote.
In fact, it’s fair to say that the Yankees at least attempt to pay for the best team in baseball every year because their stated goal at the outset of each season is winning the World Series. In those years they actually do win the series, they have paid for the best team. That would be true even if their payroll was less than other teams, as it was in 1996 for example. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to maximize your ROI, which is all paying for the best team implies.
It’s clear from your response that you wanted to make a different argument – that money doesn’t necessarily buy championships. I happen to agree. However, if that’s the argument you wish to make it’s incumbent on you to state that argument clearly by using the correct words to frame that argument. You failed to do this. I merely called you on it.

By: To Phil, from rss

To Phil, from rss — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:03:49 +0000

did you watch baseball before 2009? how about 2008, 07, and the few years before that? if they paid for the best team in baseball, they would have won the world series every year for the past decade. the phillies are an excellent club with a much lower payroll and were right behind the yanks in 2009. has nothing to do with ball players salaries, their skill set and team organization that last several years previous to 2009 proves that easily.

By: Breeze

Breeze — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:28:37 +0000

If he goes for that much, it’s a shame he didn’t take the Yanks offer. Boras is an a.. He’s perfect for the new Yankee stadium but not worth what he was asking. It takes a SMART agent who thinks more about who he’s representing than himself to see that.

By: Phil

Phil — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:01:17 +0000

I’m curious why the signing of Damon by the tigers for 2/$14MM should eliminate discussion of the Yankees’ spending habits. I’m further curious how it’s “bs” to say that the Yankees paid for the best team in baseball since they (a) won more regular season games than any other team in 2009, (b) won the World Series and (c) had the highest payroll by far. Elaborate, please.

By: jason

jason — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:55:28 +0000

I’m amazed the Yankees let this guy go for utility players no one has ever heard of. Yes, he’s older. Yes, he’s lost a step. He’s also a winner, and a player with a great attitude. His steal of third in the WS was crucial. The Yankees blew this one.

By: Grant

Grant — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:47:04 +0000

I’ll bet he’s happy with the deal. The he’ll be able to grow his hair long and a beard again.
Who cares. These guys are businessmen now, not ballplayers in the true sense. That’s why I much prefer to go to a good Little League game than a MLB game…even if it is my beloved Braves.

By: rss

rss — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:46:11 +0000

if it happens, hopefully everyone can quit nagging about the yankees “paying for the best team in baseball.” let’s all get over that bs please.

By: yep

yep — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:35:14 +0000

Margarita…what are you smoking!!! Damon is washed up and should thank Boras for getting him anything at all…I live in Detroit and I can not belive that they would make this type of a move…oh wait…yea I can. I forgot…Lions, Tigers, Pistons….they are trying to get rid of their teams and move the entire city elsewhere. What a sad state of affairs.

By: bob mills

bob mills — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:31:36 +0000

Johnny’s stroke was perfect for the new Yankee Stadium. 350-foot fly balls to straight away right field are home runs there, and the ball carries to right field in a jet stream. Detroit is a different animal. How much is an outfielder worth if he hits .280 with 15 home runs and can’t throw? Not $7 million a year, for sure.

By: Margarita

Margarita — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:02:17 +0000

I think that Johnny Damon is a very good player.He was the leadoff man until last year,when the Yankees put him on the second spot because Jeter,as good as he is,was batting for doubleplays a lot.We all know that he doesn’t have a great arm.He never did.But he can hit any pitcher.Granderson is a very good outfielder,but he can not hit left hander pitcher.So,what about when the game is tied and the pitcher is a lefty?No problem with Damon.I think that the Yankees are going to miss him.As a Yankee fan,I will.

By: frug

frug — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:13:58 +0000

Way to go Tigers! You managed to overpay a guy even that no one else was actively pursuing. Scott Boras deserves credit for getting Detroit to shell out this contract even though they were more or less bidding against themselves.

By: RobRob

RobRob — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:49:24 +0000

Thank God I’m not a Tigers fan.

By: Big Ford

Big Ford — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:44:38 +0000

Matt Millen has got to be working for the Tigers!

By: myron krouse

myron krouse — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:40:08 +0000

great for him, but i think he would have been better off taking the yankees offer a long while ago for the same money. he should go and fire Boras fir ill advising him earlier.

By: Charles Gates

Charles Gates — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:28:09 +0000

Humperdink, Humperdink, Humperdink, Humperdink, HUMPERDINK!!!

By: old vet

old vet — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:17:27 +0000

Best comment of all Phil; I concur.

By: Curious George

Curious George — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:13:53 +0000

“$7 mil for an injury-prone 36-year old outfielder who can’t throw?”
.
Damon has averaged missing 20 games a year for the past 3 years. While he’s no Pete Rose in terms of durability, I’d hardly call him injury prone. In fact, if you look at the entirety of his career, he has NEVER once missed more than 21 games.

By: Jonny5

Jonny5 — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:11:42 +0000

I wouldn’t be suprised if Boras didn’t fork out his own money to the tigers to make this deal happen. Either that or the mop on Ilithc’s head fused into his cortex and he plain forgot why he dumped Granderson.

By: ecp

ecp — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:10:14 +0000

See? It really would have been premature for Jon Heyman to put Damon on the “free agent losers” list!
(I can guarantee that your wife will not approve of you redecorating the den.)

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:09:47 +0000

Craig – and you probably want to slug Ilitch in the kazoo the way Marcia Gay Harden flattened Gabriel Byrne in the ladies’ room at Leo’s speakeasy in Miller’s Crossing too.
.
The bottled city of Kandor and Charlie Kane’s den in the same blog. Need I tell you how much I loved that? The question now is, will Ilitch rub Dombrowski’s nose in Damon the way Kane had poor old Jedediah Leland pull a Jon Heyman for Susan Alexander? But in this case perhaps the more appropriate metaphor would be that Horton coughed it up to keep the hyenas from splattering Whoville.