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The Empire Strikes at the Heart of Boston

By Dcappello, Section MLB
Posted on Wed Dec 21 2005 at 3:25 PM EST Printer Friendly Page
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The holidays are here and everyone is eager to go out and buy their loved ones gifts that they will enjoy.  People go out to the malls in both Boston and New York looking to get the baseball fan in the family a nice new jersey.  In New York hot sellers are a nice Derek Jeter jersey or maybe an Alex Rodriguez one.  For people in Boston they probably go out and buy a nice David Ortiz jersey or Johnny Damon one.  Oh wait! This just in, the Johnny Damon jersey's are coming off the shelves today, and new ones are being put up on New York shelves.  Why do you ask? Well the New York Yankees are proud to offer their beloved fans a new gift idea, a new blue and white pinstripe Johnny Damon jersey!

December 20th 2005 is a day that will stain this years holiday's for Boston Red Sox fans.   The poster boy of their world championship team, Johnny Damon, has left the city that has loved him like a son.  He and his agent, Scott Boras, have decided to take an offer of 4 years for $52 million to go to the one place no Red Sox fan will ever be happy to see a player go, the New York Yankees.

The man the media debs the "Evil Emperor", George Steinbrenner, has roped in another Boston great to add to a collection of all-stars.  Now with the addition of Damon to the Yankee lineup the Yankees seem to have a monstrous advantage in the AL East.  

With Damon leading off in front of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez the Yankees will have a much greater scoring advantage than any other team.  Now the Yankees will have five of the Al's top 12 run-scorers in their line up.  This is something nobody in Boston wants to see.

So how could the Red Sox let such a vital part of their team slip away to their hated rival?  Well the lack of a steady GM probably did not help the situation much, and the team's owners John Henry and Larry Lucchino seem clueless without Theo Epstein calling the shots.  All Damon wanted was a fifth year offer by the Red Sox.  That is all that was needed to get the all-star centerfielder back in a Red Sox uniform.  Unfortunately for them they messed up and the Yankees came in and took advantage.

Supposedly the Yankees called Scott Boras and told him that they needed a decision by midnight or they were moving on after someone else.  Well with the Yankees taking their offer off the table Boras knew that there would be no pressure on the Red Sox to go for a bigger deal.  With this being the best deal on the table Damon sucked up his love for the Red Sox and spit in their fans faces.  

It may be a long season for the fans up in Boston, and the reaction of this loss will definitely not favor the Red Sox management.  The thought that the Yankees have acquired one the AL's best hitters and run scorers will definitely leave a sour taste in their mouths.  So where does this leave the Red Sox now?

The Red Sox are now right where the Yankees were a few days ago, without a center fielder.  Now they don't have a guy who can get on base for their big sluggers Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz.  Hopefully their newly acquired pitchers, like Josh Beckett, have a great year because against the Yankees they are going to need it.

It is going to be a dark Christmas up in Boston now that they have heard this news.  It is going to be hard for Red Sox fans to wear their Johnny Damon jersey now that they know their will be New Yorkers also wearing one with pinstripes on it.

For people who are not fans of either team than it will be interesting to see how Damon looks once he steps out of the dugout onto the field at Fenway Park with short hair and a whole new look.  The question soon will be how long it will take fans to run out onto the field and crucify him for this ultimate betrayal?  For people in Boston this is as big as when Star Wars fans found out Anakin Skywalker joined the Dark Side.  Just when people thought this rivalry couldn't get any better the two teams still manage to surprise us.    

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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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