Yanks Expose Red Sox With Damon Deal

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

Tempting as it is to risk blasphemy in describing Johnny Damon’s decision to join the Yankees – it seems that about 12 million pieces of silver helped the former Boston savior to make up his mind – it’s probably best to stick to the facts as they are, which tend away from biblical metaphors and more toward Brooklyn ones.


Some of you may know the term “curb-stomping.” It’s when you make someone get down and bite the edge of a curb, then kick them full-force in the back of the head. That’s what the Yankees just did to the Red Sox. It’s not that Damon is a great player (he isn’t), that this was a great bargain for the Yanks (it isn’t), or that the Red Sox won’t be able to replace him (they will). It’s that in a single stroke, the Yankees exposed the Red Sox’ aspirations to perennial contention to be fraudulent.


Two days ago, the team with the second-highest payroll in baseball didn’t have an ace, a closer, a shortstop, or a first baseman; now it doesn’t have its rock star center fielder. Teams without shortstops and center fielders don’t win, and the Red Sox aren’t going to win this year. That’s to be expected from a team that doesn’t even have a general manager, which leads to things like your beloved leadoff man signing with your most hated rival without giving you the courtesy of allowing you to make a last offer. Boston’s pretensions are exposed, and the team deserves derision and ridicule.


Back in New York, talk of a new Murderer’s Row is all about town, with some justification. The worst hitter in this year’s lineup, assuming the team can scare up a decent bat for the designated hitter spot, will probably be Robinson Cano, who provided league average offense at age 22 while playing a competent second base, and would thus be considered a rising superstar on any other team.


Still, for all his charisma – Damon has about the best rock star name of all time, a flashy game to go along with it, and an undoubted knack for the dramatic, as Javier Vazquez and Kevin Brown know – the man isn’t a great ballplayer. Last year he hit .316 BA/.366 OBA/.439 SLG while stealing 18 bases in 19 tries and playing a decent, though unspectacular, centerfield. All of this makes him a fine player, but not much different from Milwaukee’s Brady Clark (.306/.372/.426, worse baserunning and better defense), Texas’s Brad Wilkerson (.248/.351/.405 in Washington’s brutal pitcher’s park) or Dave Roberts (.275/.356/.428). Oddly, considering his fame, celebrity status and glamorous air, Damon’s best attributes are his consistency and durability.


In a decade in the majors, Damon has never been on the disabled list and never played less than 145 games in a season. He’s scored 100 runs in eight straight seasons, and is a solid lock to do this year exactly what he always does – hit .290 with 15 home runs, draw 60 walks, steal 20 bases, catch what he’s supposed to catch, and show up to play every day. This last virtue is hugely underrated. When you have Johnny Damon, you don’t have to worry that Bubba Crosby is going to end up starting 40 games.


For all that, talk of how he’s going to ignite the Yankee offense with his small-ball skills and peskiness is a lot of bosh. Damon is one of the three or four best leadoff men in the majors, but the Yankees already have the best: Derek Jeter. Jeter has more power, hits for a higher average, walks more, and is an even better baserunner and situational hitter. Damon improves the Yankees not because he’ll allow Jeter to exhibit his skills at hitting behind the runner, but because he’s a good player in his own right. It must be admitted, though, that the prospect of watching three baserunners as sophisticated as Damon, Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez atop the lineup is a delicious one for fans of the inside game.


In all, what to make of this deal? It’s a fantastic one for the Yankees, because it leaves the Red Sox exposed, because it fills the team’s worst hole, because all it cost was money, and because any team whose best player is ARod can always use some more personality and charisma. True, in 2008, as Damon is hitting .270 and rolling the ball in from center, the idea of paying him $13 million might not seem so appealing; but then, the Yankees rightly light cigars with $100 bills anyway, as the only reason to be fiscally prudent is if you need to be.


Damon’s salary won’t prevent them from replacing him in a few years if he needs to be replaced. In the meantime, he makes it likelier that they’ll win a championship or two in the next stretch. You can’t ask for more from a deal than that.


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use