Damon Prefers To Stay With Yanks
Sing it Johnny…
New, York, is where I’d rather stay…
I, get allergic, smelling hay.
I, just adore a penthouse view…
Dah-ling I love you, but give me Park Avenue.
I’m starting to see A.J. Burnett as Fred Ziffel and Nick Swisher as Arnold the pig…
Via Tyler Kepner -
Before the season, there was a sense that the Yankees would allow [Johnny] Damon to move on and turn over his left-field spot to a prospect like Austin Jackson or a younger free agent like Matt Holliday. But Yankees officials seem to understand Damon’s value on the field and in the clubhouse, and now they would like him to return. When the Yankees want to keep a player and the player wants to stay, that is usually what happens.
“I don’t know where else I would want to go to,” Damon said. “Obviously, that’s not the right thing to say when you’re about ready to approach free agency, but I’m very happy with playing in New York, and my family’s happy I play for New York. There’s no bigger place to go. If you play well here, you’re going to get paid. New York has the resources.
“But we also have the chance to win every year. I don’t want to attempt to go make more money elsewhere, for more years, with a chance to be out of the race by the first of June.”
“I don’t want to attempt to go make more money elsewhere, for more years, with a chance to be out of the race by the first of June.”
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Every Yankee fan should use their photographic memory and remember this line right here. At some point, with Scott Boras being his agent, Johnny will try to get as much money and as many years as he can. It’s inevitable, and exactly why you employ a man of Boras’ skills, and I have a feeling this quote will come back to bite him somehow.
I will buy everybody the first round of drinks at a WasWatching social event if Johnny in fact takes less money and less years from the Yankees without pulling an Andy Pettitte move this offseason.
And we remember what happened to Andy Pettitte? He took a nickel and dime incentive laden contract instead of not being being respected. Even when a Boras client like Arod blows him off, he still makes 27 mill a year! Boras was also Bernie’s agent too. Bernie took much less money to stay with the team after his mega contract ended. Damon will probably want much more but the Yanks will probably pony up the cash and keep him around. Funny, if Theo and Co in Boston made a run at him again…..
butchie22 wrote:
That’s the difference between dealing with Hank Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman.
NoMass also added this gem of a quote from Johnny back in 2005:
“There’s no way I can go play for the Yankees, but I know they are going to come after me hard. It’s definitely not the most important thing to go out there for the top dollar, which the Yankees are going to offer me. It’s not what I need.”
I wouldn’t exactly give into Johnny’s word yet…him taking less years and less money from the Yanks doesn’t seem exactly plausible to me yet.
I’ve been a Damon fan since KC and still am. I hope something can be worked out for a couple of years.
Would the Mets make a run at Damon?