An Assortment of Random Thoughts

Johnny Damon is getting so much grief. He is doing what every single other free agent does – he’s trying to get himself the best deal possible. The Yankees never offered him 2/14 – it was merely a hypothetical proposal based on the condition that they were unable to sign Nick Johnson. If the Yankees were anything more than luke-warm about bringing Damon back he’d be a Yankee right now. I don’t know what you guys expect. Was he supposed to run crying into Brian Cashman’s office “Please I want to be a Yankee so badly! I’ll play for whatever you offer me!”

That just doesn’t happen. What Damon is doing is the same thing he did when he left the Red Sox to join the Yankees and when he left the A’s to join the Red Sox. It’s exactly the same thing that every free agent the Yankees have ever signed has done.

I would rather had Johnny at 2 years/$7MM per year contract than Nick at $5MM plus incentives & injury prone history. Johnny did not want our offer so we moved on and took Nick. If he stays healthy, he will deliver.

I think Monterro should work hard on his catching skills in the minors and we should focus him on being the eventual replacement for Posada. It makes no sense at first base(Tex is there) & OF where we are focusing on speed & defense plus maybe Crawford at some point

He is a catcher till proven otherwise. Does anyone remember Elston Howard. Yes Yankees put him in left field. Then put Yogi out there. So still looks like he is a candidate to see time out in the outfield. This is a trend the Yankees have long pursued.

Just makes a lot of sense for Montero to have a back up plan. Yes I think there is nothing wrong with him working out at first. But my god give him another option that will get his bat in the Yankee starting line-up. Yes he can DH but at his age he need to develop in the field. So the corner outfield position seem to be a good option. Surely he want be any worse than Damon. Maybe even better with his strong arm.

It’s time we all move along little doggies (line from a song, nothing personal folks).
Johnny Be Good and Matsui are not walking thru that door..and Spring Training is upon us….Yep Johnny, you managed to become the Manny of this offseason talk, now I am done with the offseason, let’s go!

Nice post, Brandon. I can’t believe all this huffing and hyperventilating over Montero, Damon, Hideki etc.

My pinstripe brethren shouldn’t get too attached to Jesus. Like Austin Jackson, Montero will see some spring game time and perhaps some early season ABs to showcase his progress. And then he will surely return to the minors for more seasoning and then dangled as trade bait come the July deadline for either a needed pitcher or catcher, or kept in the bait well until the off-season and the next great free agent feeding frenzy where his future positives will make the difference in securing another key dynasty puzzle piece. (Remember we’re targeting Crawford next year, and the Rays need a permanent catcher solution badly!) Suggesting he’s going to take a single meaningful rep away from All-Everything Tex or anyone else this year is simply silly.

As for Damon, he is done like dinner, and I’m getting fed up with all the ill-informed Yankee bandwagon jumpers whining and crying here and elsewhere about our Matsui/Damon geezer dump.

Bottom line: The Bombers jettisoned a cripple (Matsui) and an overrated paycheck player who throws like a girl (Damon) and traded in their bloated paychecks for a healthy young speedy All-Star stud with a bigger bat than either of them who’s all upside (Granderson), a #2 hitter whose 2009 on-base percentage was only topped by the NL and AL MVPs (Johnson) and a #4 starting pitcher who came in 4th in NL Cy Young voting last year (Vazquez), along with some very helpful support players that give Joe G and Cash lineup options and roster flexibility down the stretch.

The myth that Damon is still any kind of speedster is pure fiction perpetuated by casual fans, out of town writers who didn’t watch him play every day and Boras the Liar, his agent. Gardner had to cover left center all season for him. He only had 12 steals all last season — just two more than Melky who batted at the bottom of the order — and his infamous two-bag theft in the Series was the result of a double error; first a bad throw from the catcher and then the pitcher’s failure to cover third with the shift on. (His replacement Grandy had 30 HRS and 20 SBs last year anyway, btw)

Without the sweet right-field porch in the new Yankee Stadium and Arod and Tex protecting them in the batting order, neither Johnny Spoiled Rotten nor Hideki are going to see another season in MLB after this one, let alone another post-season. And their replacements will slot into their lineup spots just fine.

For even more Yankee fun, check out “Joe’s Job – The Ballad of Terry Francona” at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvVZQnELQ9s

It’s a must-see for Yankee and BoSucks fans alike! Go Yankees! 28 in 2010!!!

There certainly is precedent in Elston Howard’s career in giving Montero time at both 1B and LF. Howard did the same before Yogi was spent as a catcher and went to LF near the end of his career. I do not know whether Montero has the speed to play LF — and certainly not in Fenway! But it does make some sense.

Give the kid a third baseman’s glove too..Do nanes like Torre, Inge, Zeile, come to mind.
(Sorry for last entry, Mets faithful).