Christmas Humbuggery

I'll bet you were expecting Bill O'Reilly jokes, weren't you? ha ha ha! No, this is about Johnny Damon, Traitor!

Well, you know. Actually, I have been wondering how much longer we could expect Damon to keep playing at the level he'd established the last couple years. (Since he took that horrible crack in the head in the 03 playoffs, then grew his hair - before that, the vultures were circling, wondering what the Red Sox could get for a washed up slap hitter with no arm. Even at the beginning of last year, before he settled down, there were moans and groans - he had a rather bad start in the field in 2004. People forgot that eventually.) Now I think I know the answer. The Yankees, in recent years, have developed an uncannny ability to acquire declining stars - A-Rod is a notable exception, and Matsui has worked out pretty well - but otherwise, they've been quite remarkable (rivaling the Mets, or the 90s Red Sox) in their knack for getting guys at peak cost after their peak value had passed. So - $52 million for 4 years? If you have that much money, more power to you - and if you're going to spend it on the last 2 years - more power to you! Sure, Damon isn't Bernie Williams - he's the Bernie Williams of 2 years ago. We know where that went.

In short - despite the gnashing of teeth about Damon's departure from the Red Sox, I don't see the point. Short term, it might help the Yankees and hurt the red sox - long term - meaning, by next year - if not by August - it doesn't hurt the sox, and won't help the Yankees all that much. Thgey'll score their runs. But so will Boston, and Boston seems more likely to prevent runs at this point. Now - it is up to the Red Sox organization to take advantage of saving some money and put the right people on the field. They are going to need to get a major league shortstop and centerfielder somewhere. Those are rare and precious commodities - though not so rare or precious as a quality starting pitcher.