Bonnie Bernstein said Damon wants Tigers and Reds in play also...probably to drive Yankee price up...
I'm all but certain the Yankees are out of the Damon sweepstakes. Even Girardi is saying that now. Actually, according to Girardi, when the team starts Spring Training, Granderson will be in left field, and Brett Gardner will be in center. Girardi also said Cervelli will be the backup catcher. Molina is out, even though he still remains unsigned.
You don't pay guys for what they did last year, or the year before that. That's a good way to field an old, shitty team. You pay them for what you think they'll do in the year(s) of their contract.
I don't think Cappy is saying he is. Cappy's right. You pay a player based on what you think he'll produce over the life of the contract. You measure their past performance and balance it with their age (in this case you assume some degradation of skills) and you offer based on that. Damon's problem was that he was greedy and the Yankees went elsewhere with the moves for Granderson and Johnson. Had he taken the more than reasonable $10M per year for two years, he'd be prepping for another stint in pinstripes right now. Personally, I value him at 2 years/$14M.
Yanks just signed Randy Winn to a $2 million dollar deal. Should end any chance of Damon coming back.
Couldn't they have just saved the money rather then totally throw it down the drain? Is there a law that says they must waste at least x million a year?
This is one of those times I wholeheartedly agree with you. This was a total nonsense move by Cashman. Seriously, WTF? You don't want Damon back? Fine. Bank the money. He didn't even get the right-handed hitter he claimed he was looking for. I defend a lot of Cashman's moves, but this one was just flat out stupid.
How bad this is depends on what role Winn plays. If he's the expected to be the everyday LFer, then I'd say it's ridiculously stupid. If he's a defensive replacement (for RF, I assume) or a role player, or a possible platoon for when facing a lefty (Winn is a switch hitter, Alio)... then I still don't quite get it, but it's not a big deal.
Oh, okay, a switch hitter. I only know what I saw from some clips on the news, and they were all from the left side. He hit .262 last year with a .671 OPS. Holy crap. What the hell did we take that guy in the Rule 5 for, if not to be a backup guy? And there have to be guys in the minors that could have filled in against lefties. Hell, if a platoon man for RF was the idea, why not just give the job to Duncan? I just don't understand what this deal was done for. The only thing I can think of is that Cashman wanted to state definitively that Damon was done in the Bronx, and frankly, that's a fucking douche move. Then again, he shit on Bernie Williams too, so maybe that's his thing.
One reason is probably because Duncan isn't on the team anymore. :smile: But I don't imagine the platoon would be in RF. I think the platoon would be in CF, if Granderson continues to struggle against lefties. Winn's not good, but he's not some AAAA chump, either. He has been a league average player for his career, who had a really, really shitty year at the plate last year... he's older, so we might be seeing age-related decline that he won't bounce back from, but Winn has always been a above average defender, including last year. Um, I don't think Cashman uses player signings on a limited 25-man roster to "send messages" or anything.
Oh. Wasn't aware of that. LoL. *shrug* I don't know. Okay, I still don't understand the need to spend $2M on him. Seems like a signing just for the sake of having signed someone. Cashman seems to bring in a WTF guy every year. I was just being a dick.
@ 36 yrs, hitting .265 last year in the NL West, "if they expect" is the wrong wording. I don't see how you can expect this guy to be a full time player.
Right, I don't expect him to be a full time player, either. Which is why I'm not gnashing my teeth about this one.
