The fleecing of Damon from the Red Sox is another feather in the hat of Brian Cashman this off season. After signing to be the Yanks GM again, he seems to have out played Scott Boras at his own game. Joel Sherman:
About three weeks ago, the Yanks told Damon's agent, Scott Boras, they were willing to move from a three- to a four-year deal, but they held firm that it would never be five years, and certainly not the seven-year pact Boras was insisting he had to have. In the past 48 hours, the Yanks let Boras know that if Damon did not sign immediately, they were going to jump on a lower-level center fielder such as Corey Patterson or Luis Matos. It probably was a bluff, but not one Boras could risk.
We all remember how Boras took the Dodgers to the cleaners with Kevin Brown and had them bidding against themselves which added up to about 40 million extra duckets in Brown's pocket. I'm not saying that we got Damon cheap, hardly, but Cashman's forcing the issue hijacked any chance that the Red Sox had in retaining his services. I'm really surprised that Boston let him go since he is such a fan favorite. How will he look with a hair cut and no beard?