Just hours after the New York Yankees agreed to terms with outfielder
Randy Winn, officially ending Johnny Damon’s chances of a return to the
Bronx, agent Scott Boras is trying like hell to save some face.

It
began earlier today with word that a clearly desperate Boras was trying
like hell to engage any team that would pick up the phone to listen on
Damon. Specifically, the Tigers and Braves were mentioned.

Now,
hours after Boras got nowhere with those teams – at least not anywhere
close to where he was hoping to go – Boras is making some public claims
about what the Yankees did NOT do for his client during the offseason.

“The Yankees never even made an offer to me regarding Johnny Damon during the entire process,” says Boras.

It
would appear Mr. Boras and his client are not on the same page. Just
last month, Damon himself told reporters that the Yankees had offered a
two-year deal for $14 million.

So why the discrepancy???

I’ll tell you why. Because Scott Boras screwed up BIG TIME
when he, seemingly laughingly, dismissed that offer from New York, and
now he’s trying like hell to save face (and maybe the loss of a client).

Additionally,
as GM Brian Cashman just reminded everybody, don’t forget that it was
Damon and Boras who very publicly and forcefully stated their
completely-out-of-touch-with-reality demands.

“On
Dec. 17, Scott’s exact words were that ‘he would not take a penny less
than $13 million a year for two years,’ ” Cashman said. “We believed
him.”

And Cashman didn’t stop there, throwing even more dirt in the face of Boras.

“Boras
told me I wouldn’t find a No. 2 hitter for less than $13 million,”
Cashman continued. “I found one (Nick Johnson) for half that.”

Now
Boras wants to play the role of victim, crying about the Yankees “never
made an offer,” and doing so in a way that suggests New York did not
want Damon back and was not interested in even trying to bring him back.

It’s all a bunch of classic Scott Boras C.Y.A. B.S.

It
would seem that Boras and Damon are poor poker players. All the betting
has been done. Everybody at the table knows they’re bluffing, and they
keep trying to re-bluff the same losing hand, as if they’re going to
convince somebody to pull their chips back.

and yes, I will miss Damon. =/

Tickets for Yankees’ 2010 Spring Training home games at George M.
Steinbrenner Field in Tampa go on sale today, Jan. 15 at 10 AM ET on yankees.com. The Yankees will play a 33-game Grapefruit League schedule including 16 home games.

In
addition, the Yankees will play a home exhibition game against their
minor league stars in their spring training finale on Sat., April 3, in
which all fans in attendance will receive a commemorative championship
ring. – New York Yankees

Y.E.onDOMReady(show_notes_initially);

For quite some time now just about every person who has anything to do
with covering the New York Yankees has held the same belief about the
chances of Johnny Damon returning to the team for the 2010 season.

Slim to none and slim is on its way out of town.

Not
so fast, says ESPN’s Buster Olney in his Sunday morning baseball
column. I’d post the link here but you have to be an “Insider” (that’s
a cute little term that means you have to pay ESPN money) to read it.

According to Olney, “Some executives with other teams are absolutely convinced that Damon will wind up back with the Yankees.”

Olney
points out that the Yankees have already made peace with the idea of
moving forward without Damon, which would be the source of all the
“Damon’s as good as gone” reports, by the way.

For that reason,
Damon would have to be the one to make contact and, of course, he would
have to concede to playing for the dollars the Yankees want to pay him.
At last check, that number was about half of the $13 million he made
last year.

Whether or not Damon ever gets to that point or makes
that call remains to be seen. Nevertheless, Damon has, reportedly,
already come to the realization that he is going to have to take a pay
cut.

Additionally, it does not appear that the signings of Jason
Bay and Matt Holliday have done anything to clarify the market for
Damon, which comes as a bit of a surprise. It figured that once the two
premier available outfielders signed, Damon would soon follow… Or at
least be drawing some interest.

However, Damon appears no closer
to signing today than he did two months ago, and there hasn’t even been
any significant talk tying the veteran to any other teams. Moreover, as
we write this, word is starting to leak that the San Francisco Giants
have signed (or are on the verge of signing) Aubrey Huff.

The
Giants are a team that has been loosely tied to Damon, more along the
line of speculation than anything else, but the signing of the
lefty-hitting Huff likely removes them from what appears to be a tiny
list of potential suitors for Johnny D.

And it’s not as if this
would be the first time a Scott Boras client went crawling (for lack of
a better expression) back to the Yankees after it appeared he was done
in New York — see Alex Rodriguez.

Time will tell, but for the
first time in a long time it seems at least possible that the Yankees
could get Damon to agree to their number.

Let me get straight to the point. I don’t like the moves Cashman has
made this off-season even though I have been in Cashman’s supporters’
camp. It seems everyone likes his moves. Not for me. Those moves make
Yankees better on paper. However, I have a hunch that those moves may
come back to bite us. As a diehard Yankees fan, I hope I am wrong about
my prediction.

I also start wondering whether Cashman has the
ability to make good signings or trades in order to improve his team
when he can’t throw money at the problems.

I believe Cashman
makes those decisions based on the numbers. I am pretty sure you guys
get tons of analyses like that. You are not going to get one from me. My
opinion is more based on my observation.

I believe chemistry can
affect the team performance. I believe some players can perform better
under the pressure or at the clutch time than others. I also believe the
team overall performance can be better when some players play with
certain players.

From this point on, barring some surprises, two
things are more likely happening in Yankeesland. First of all, Cashman
may add a second-tier left outfielder. Secondly, he may add one bat off
the bench. So, it will be a great time to review what Cashman has done
this off-season?

Well, he basically replaces Johnny Damon, Hideki
Matsui, Melky Cabrera and numbers of no.4 starter(Joba chamberlain,
Chad Gaudin, Sergio Mitre, etc) with Curtis Granderson, Nick Johnson,
Jamie Hoffmann and Javier Vazquez while he almost empties the depth of
minor league system except catching department.(P.S. You can’t count
Joba and Hughes because they are already major leaguers.)

Of
course, I don’t count players don’t contribute that much this season,
such as Bruney, Nady, Wang,etc. I also don’t include the possible impact
of losing Molina, Phil Coke, etc.

Because I already commented on,
what I think regard of Curtis Granderson trade. I am not going to repeat one more time. But, in short, you can say it
is a push when it comes down to Johnny Damon vs Curtis Granderson
because Johnny Damon is a contact hitter with more speed who can put
together more good at-bats and Curtis Granderson is younger with more
power.

As for Nick Johnson deal, let me make one point clear. I
understand Yankees don’t bring Matsui back due to age and injury
concerns. The days he plays on the field are gone, it makes Yankees very
difficult to rotate DH spot for Jeter, A-Rod, Teixeira and Posada. But,
why bring into a younger version of Matsui? I know there is slight
difference when Nick has high base percentage and Matsui has more power.
But, he also can’t stay healthy and will be our full time DH with
occasional first baseman.

These analyses above are rational.
Irrationally, I rather have Damon and Matsui than Nick and Granderson
because I trust them more to delivery at the clutch time. If I were
Cashman, I would trade for Granderson and sign Damon back.

Of
course, I don’t have problems with Nick instead of Matsui if Yankees
spend over their budget they claim they have again and end up with
getting Damon back in the end.

If Cashman ends up with a
second-tier left fielder(not Damon) along with Nick and Gradnerson after
trading Melky, I am afraid of this experiment may not end too well.

There
are just too many players in the lineup we are not sure what we can
get. Don’t forget A-Rod has a hip surgery that requires second surgery
originally. Don’t forget Swisher actually perform better than most
people expect. Let alone Posada stays healthy while Jeter plays well. On
top of that, we actually have Melky and Gardner platoon for center
fielder. I am not sure what we can get from Gardner when he plays
everyday.

As for Javier Vazquez trade, it is a good deal if the
only thing we ask him to do is pitching behind CC, AJ and Pettitte. If
one of top 3 gets hurt that is high possibility after the workload they
endure for 2009 season and we ask the other guys pitch at the spot they
are not supposed to be along with a uncertain no.5 starter, I can see
the disaster waiting to happen.

I just don’t feel too comfortable
with the combination of three-year workload of CC, injury history of
AJ, age of Pettitte and uncertainty of Joba and Hughes. That is why I
don’t like the trade for Javier Vazquez.

I know Javier Vazquez
has a nice track record of durability. But, it doesn’t guarantee it will
happen again in 2010. Let alone what happened in 2004. If I were Brian
Cashman, I will push for a front line starter who proves he can handle
American league, such as Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, John Lackey,etc. Even
if we can’t get one of them, I will use the same amount of money given
to Javier Vazquez to sign both Chien-Ming Wang and Ben Sheets that will
bring us two potential two frontline starters.

The other two
things what Cashman has done this off-season I don’t like are bullpen
and catchers. He basically hand the job to Cervelli. Don’t get me wrong.
Cervelli has done a great job. But, can he handle the job as a full
time backup to Posada? Let alone the possibility to be a starting
catcher if Posada gets hurt again. I think Yankees underestimate the
value of Molina.

Of course, I know Yankees have depth in catching department down the farm system. But, are they ready?

The
other thing is no move at all made by Cashman for the bullpen. I know
relief pitchers except closers perform differently every year. I know
Girardi shows the ability to manage the bullpen well. However, I am not
too sure Girardi has enough options after Cashman almost empties high
level of Yankees minor league system this offseason.

Don’t forget
Mo is 40 year old, especially when you consider the workload he endures
during playoff run. On top of that, it seems to me Mo loses his stuff a
little bit after the injury he suffered at previous year. Not to
mention, he told to reporters after playoff he pitched with some sort of
injuries.

Even if Mo is Mo and someone from somewhere can do the
good job in the bullpen, Yankees certainly need a more certain setup
man. I believe that guy will be Joba who Yankees finally stretch him out
enough as a starter. Keep in mind two things. There are more frontline
starters available while Pettitte is more likely retired next year.

That
is why I would sign or trade someone to be Mo’s setup man if I were
Cashman this off-season. Just in case, Mo may get hurt or pitch not so
well. If the guy perform well, he may be the potential heir to Mo next
season or use as leverage to get Mo back at reasonable price. By getting
a new setup man, we can put both Joba and Hughes into the rotation
where they are supposed to be. Because there are some uncertainty
surrounding with Joba and Hughes as starters, The signings of Ben Sheets
and Chien-Ming Wang as safety net will work out perfectly.

Among
CC, AJ, Pettitte, Joba, Hughes and Sheets, someone will get injured or
pitch not so well. Of course, the other 5 guys can form a great
rotation. Because the depth we have in the rotation, we can ease Wang
back to his old form right around All-Star break for potential injury.
Even if Sheets and Wang don’t work out well for Yankees, they are
one-year deal and we can see what we can get from Joba and Hughes.

That
being saying, I bet one of Sheets and Wang will perform well in 2010.
By the way, we can save some depth in the minor league system by not
making a trade for Javier Vazquez.

Hopefully, I am wrong and Yankees have the same luck as 2009 season in terms of injury.