I am aware of Bill James's arguments against the impact of batting order.  I believe it has a lot of validity.  But I also believe that not everything can be represented by stats.

Without getting into speculation why, Johnny's number's have been falling even before his ill-advised signing with the Yanks. 

I'll also refrain from commenting on Damon's desire, except to say that his "demeanor" has been much more subdued in his NY tenure, as opposed to his time with Boston, Oakland, and KC.  I know "joy" is not quantifiable, but my impression is he has a lot less of it.

It's early, so his numbers for this year fall into the "small sample" arena for stat crunchers.  But regardless of size, they aren't good.  His numbers last year were his worst, almost across the board, in a full decade( under 100 runs, under 150 hits are the two stats that stand out to me). 

Johnny's poor performance at the plate has flown under the radar since he's been in the Bronx.  His fielding garnered the most criticism and a proper on-field response.  It's time to apply the same scrutiny to Johnny's hitting. 

I'd like to see Melky in the lead off spot.  I heistate to say it, because I don't have the stats to back it up, but Melky gets around on the fastball much better than Johnny at this point.  Damon's shoulder issues, that killed his throwing arm, seem to have robbed him of his bat speed as well.