To quote Kevin Spacey in “Superman Returns” WRONG! Leads the league in runs and 4th in steals.

These are the outfielders we’ll have under contract:

1. Melky
2. Gardner
3. Swisher

Then come the free agents that we currently have:

1. Damon
2. Matsui
3. Hinske
4. Nady
5. Hairston

I’ll be honest … I like Swisher, but he’s maddening at times. I’d like to see the Yanks give Hinske the full-time job for a week in right as an experiment … something tells me that Hinske will do a better job than Swisher, particularly in the field. If you take a look at their stats, they’re similar, with Hinske having a higher .BA. They have nearly identical OBP, so Hinske will prolong a few more innings rather than Swisher does.

I think Melky deserves a starting job, and I’d leave it up to Gardner, AJax, and Hinske to battle it out for the last two outfield jobs.

In addition, with Jorge becoming 39 next season, and the emergence of Francisco Cervilli, I think it makes sense to let Jose Molina go, and have Cervilli and Posada split the catching duties, with Cervilli getting the lion’s share of the starts, and having Posada DH when he’s not catching.

Not signing Damon allows the Yanks the luxury of keeping ARod and Jeter in the lineup as the DH when Posada catches for the irregular half-day off.

Plus, I think they want to cut the budget, and not signing Damon allows them to cut at least 10 million from the budget.

Give him two years. He is a good hitter; an adequate fielder, and an excellent team player. Johnny is a decent, and unselfish person. I know he’ll be 38-39 in two years, but if he takes care of himself, the Yankees will get the right productivity from him.

One year max to DH. Any more in years cuts too much into our flexibility down the road. I wouldn’t mind letting him go

My preference would be to let all the free agents except Andy and Hairston go and I would sign either Rafael Soriano or Mike Gonzales of the Braves to set up Mariano with the possibility of following Mariano as Yankee closer if Mariano ever gets old.

Posado, Cervelli
Texeiro, Cano, Jeter, Arod, Pena and Hairston
Jackson, Gadrner and Melky with Swisher as DH

Rotation:
CC, AJ, Joba, Andy and Hughes
Gaudin as the long man
Mariano, Soriano, Acevas, Cook, and three from Albaladejo, Bruney, Ramirez, Robertson, Melancon Marte and Kroenke

of one more year for 5 mil ill do it but if he wants more than one year or double digits i would say no

If they win the World Series you can’t expect any real significant changes

I think the biggest question regarding Damon is “When is Jackson ready for the bigs?” Assuming Melky and Gardner don’t end up in a trade somewhere, both should be considered full time, or at least in a three way platoon between CF and RF.

The DH is going to be Posada’s spot more and more in the next few years, so don’t count on Damon or Swisher or anyone else filling that bill. With a few young catchers in the minors seemingly ready to step in, this seems like a foregone conclusion (but a good one for the team as well)

I agree with the comments about Swisher’s intangibles. He has been a good pickup for many reasons and I see him fitting in for the next few years, either as a fourth outfielder or in a RF platoon situation with Melky. (Incidentally, compare Swisher’s numbers to Paul O’Neill’s before he came to the Yanks, I think there is still room for him to become a beloved regular on this team)

As for Damon, I see him in LF until Austin Jackson is ready, at which point Melky or Garnder slides over and Jackson takes over CF. So one year or two for Damon might be the perfect fit. Beyond that he’ll have probably lost a step or two, and Ajax will be ready to step in.

Abreu , while I do not know if he would come back. I like bobby hitting second and being a DH or left fielder. As long as he is mostly a DH.

is such a smart hitter. He’s adjusted to the stadium better than anyone. Just like anyone at his age he’s lost some bat speed (the homer he hit off the 98 mph fastball last night was a down and in pitch that would speed up any left-hand hitters bat) but he looks for pitches to pull in certain situations. He’s good enough to cheat on one pitch but adjust to another if he gets it. He’s maximizing his value by altering his approach just a bit and it has really paid off. He isn’t swinging for the fences and abandoning a solid all-around approach at the plate. He’s made an adjustment that few guys can make. He’s looking to pull in certain sitautions and looking for certain pitches in certain situations. He hits according to the situation. He gets on base a lot, fouls off pitches, plays hurt ans steals bases. His agent is Boras and I get the feeling he’ll look to to get maybe two or three years guaranteed at about 11 mil per. That I would not do. If they can come up with a one-year deal with an option, for about say 7 million guaranteed, I’d do it. He’s been a great Yankee and is noting but a positive influence.

Why does everyone refer to Damon as LF/DH, and say “we need to dump Damon to free up our DH spot”? Did anyone notice that Damon has been playing pretty much every day in left field? When Matsui is not the DH, that spot has been going to Posada, Jeter, or A-Rod. Damon never takes the DH spot anymore. He’s shown he’s still got great range in LF, and his noodle-arm hurts him less there than it did in center. Damon is showing more power as he gets older, with a possibility of jacking 30 this year. Because of the short porch, he’s more valuable to the Yankees than to any other team. He is also very likeable, a team player, always hustles, and is great with the media. If we think we can let him go for someone younger and better, we’ll be sorry very soon. Just like the Red Sox let him go for “younger and better” Coco Crisp. How did that turn out?