Sportscolumn || Who will win the AL East

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Who will win the AL East

New York Yankees	5 votes - 62 %
Boston Red Sox	3 votes - 37 %

8 Total Votes

The Empire Strikes at the Heart of Boston | 6 comments (6 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Nice... (#1)
by Cellar Dweller on Wed Dec 21 2005 at 1:36 PM EST

I liked this, it was an interesting perspective. I disagree, though, with the impact you think it will have on Yanks/Sox history, and for the 'soul' of the Red Sox.

First, I don't think the signing will live in infamy. Damon's not Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, or Babe Ruth. He's not even close in caliber or impact.

Secondly, I don't think Damon's the heart and soul of the team. The heart is batting third (Ortiz) and the soul is batting fourth (Ramirez). The simple fact is Ortiz and Ramirez get the first two batters much better pitches to hit. Even with those two, Damon has a career on-base-percentage of only .353 (.366) last year.

And, at 32 years old, I don't think Damon's best years are in front of him. His stats shouldn't significantly decline this year because he'll be batting in front of Jeter, A-Rod, and Sheffield, but, I don't see 4 years of production.

If you plug any decent hitters in the first and second slots ahead of Ortiz and Manny, I think they can have as much, if not more, success than Damon did.

: Ok I agree with you but... (#2)
by Dcappello on Wed Dec 21 2005 at 2:29 PM EST

Your right I may have gone over board with the whole infamy thing. He definitely does not compare to Ruth or Clemens.
I also think you are right with saying Ortiz is part of the heart and soul of the team, but I don't agree with adding Manny in there. I think if you had to name a second player you have to say Veritek. He may not put up the numbers that Ortiz and Ramirez do, but he is the leader of that team and I think he is the most trusted player on that team.
Now I also don't think that you can just put anyone in his spot and it will be ok. New York may be the hardest place to play in, but Boston falls right in second place in my book. The fans there can be very hard on the players too. I think Damon adapted to that atmosphere very nicely and it helped in his success, but I don't think it will be that easy for someone new to just come in and replace a guy like Damon
Do I think they'll fix the problem, yes, but I do think it will be hard and I believe that there will be a decline in the teams hitting stats this year without him.

[ Parent ]
: When did Damon... (#3)
by BostonMac on Wed Dec 21 2005 at 5:16 PM EST

Since when did Johnny Damon become the second coming of Joe DiMaggio? Two years ago there was talk of dumping Damon because he was overpriced at $8.5 million a year.
Now, two years older, we're supposed to believe that the Yankees got a steal on Damon at $13 million a year for four years?
Yankee fans, have fun watching Damon become a left-handed Bernie Williams before your very eyes. For the record, this is nothing like Anakin Skywalker going to the dark side. This signing will be good for the Yankees and bad for the Sox in the short term, but how great will this look in 2009 when the Yankees are paying Damon $13 million to throw slow-pitch four-hoppers to second base and hit .275 with 5 HR's and 50 RBI.
Good riddance, Johnny. I'll settle for Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon, and Jon Lester (the new Big Three of Boston).

[ Parent ]

this is... (#4)
by jmorrill16 on Wed Dec 21 2005 at 6:39 PM EST

devastating to a lot of people, but its certainly not the end of the world. i will admit that the GM tandem for the Sox seems be going the same way it went down in Baltimore.

I'd be willing to predict that down the road, towards the end of the four years, that Damon will be like another Bernie Williams.

I also don't think this is as nearly as heartbreaking to Boston as Clemens and Boggs, in that Boston's already won their title.

He may be the next Bernie Williams... (#5)
by Dcappello on Thu Dec 22 2005 at 8:39 AM EST

Yea your right in a couple of seasons he probably will be the next bernie williams, but the beauty of this is that the yankees have no long term committment like they do with guys like Giambi.

If in 4 years he is batting .275 with 5 hr and 50 rbi's than the yankees can say to hell with him. This deal is one of the smartest deals i have seen the yankees make in a while. They get a good quality player with no long term committment.

: yep (#6)
by jmorrill16 on Thu Dec 22 2005 at 7:09 PM EST

can't argue with that. i'm usually really critical of the yankees, but you're right, he's got no long term committment plus they stayed in stride with their pledge to cultivate their farm system.
my beef is definately with damon and the red sox FO than it is with new york. i still believe they overpayed for him, but the yankees overpaying for somebody is hardly anything new. good piece if i haven't said it already

[ Parent ]

The Empire Strikes at the Heart of Boston | 6 comments (6 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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