11:06pm: Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune hears from a team source who says he can imagine Damon signing with the White Sox. "I think we have a good shot to get him now," the source said.
Another person discounted the importance of Damon's recent golf outing with Pierzynski and Harrelson.
6:26pm: Joe Cowley talks to Pierzynski about the Damon negotiations, and Cowley quotes an unnamed member of the White Sox who says "I would be surprised if [Damon] didn't sign with us.''
4:13pm: Rosenthal tweets that the present-day value of Chicago's offer to Damon is in the $4.5MM range, considering deferrals. He's hearing that Damon doesn't want to go to the Tigers. As for Damon's wife's preferences, the player texted to SI's Jon Heyman that "It's up to me. She's going wherever I go." Cowley tweets that the Sox "are going from long shots to frontrunners in the Damon sweepstakes the last few hours."
12:02pm: Rosenthal wrote yesterday that "some with the White Sox are confident that a deal with Damon could happen, and believe it might even be close." Similarly, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes today that "the White Sox front office is feeling like they may have 'significantly' closed the gap between themselves and Detroit for the free agent's services." However, Cowley has one source that still considers the Tigers the frontrunner. Also, Scot Gregor of The Daily Herald believes the Braves are still in the mix.
8:50am: Yesterday we heard from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that free agent Johnny Damon played golf Monday with White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski and broadcaster Hawk Harrelson. The Sox remain firm on their initial offer, one that could be slightly above $4MM according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. SI's Jon Heyman tweeted this morning that White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf recently got involved in the Damon talks. Gonzales notes that the White Sox-Scott Boras relationship appears to be thawing, given the Damon talks, the Andruw Jones signing, and the Sox drafting a Boras client in the 16th round of last year's draft.
Meanwhile, Lynn Henning of the Detroit News says the Tigers and Damon "appear to be moving, at less than full speed, toward a deal." It seems that one of these two clubs will sign Damon, but it's difficult to peg a frontrunner.
And, I will laugh when he signs with the Braves.
I will laugh when he signs for less than the Yankees offered.
And the Tigers…
The braves aren’t going to get Damon, we weren’t able to offer him enough to make it worth his while. I wish we could have, just don’t see it happening unless his wife stands firm on living in a more metropolitan area. Not too mention Atlanta would be quite a bit closer to his home in Orlando. Not counting on him being in Atlanta, be nice though.
The White Sox drafted a Boras-advised client in the third round of last year’s draft as well – Bryan Morgado, though he didn’t sign.
thebaseballcube.com/draft/2009/7.shtml
for a similar financial commitment kansas city got anderson, ankiel, and podsednik. that’s 3 players! which, from what i understand, is always better than one. a team with a lesser GM might have waited around for the market to play out. pat yourself on the back, drayton moore. you’re a genius.
But, Damon might be better than all of them, combined.
yeah, that was kinda my point.
Sorry, I miss read it.
nah, i really need that sarcasm punctuation mark.
I am pretty sure he is being sarcastic š
If you were offered $7 Million and another team offered you $4 million, which team would you choose? If Damon’s wife is smart they can live west of Detroit and have easier access to Chicago; or, to hope he performs well this year and they can get a better offer in the near future.
The problem is, it seems like he thinks both of those offers are underbids — plus he’s already loaded. So if you don’t really need the money, and are great friends with one of the guys on the lower bidding team (Pierzinksy) and you feel like that team has a stronger chance to win now (as the White Sox do, on paper, in 2010), then maybe you’d be willing to sacrifice a few million to be a part of that. That you’d also be keeping your wife happier is a bonus. Personally, I’d go with the money, regardless, but I also know that the Detroit area is actually a great place to live.
Not to mention he has a better chance up putting up inflated numbers at The Cell, increasing his value for next year. If he goes to Comerica Park he will probably have a sharp drop-off in offensive production and no one will want to offer him $2 million, much less $7 million.
He could set a record for triples in that yard with that swing, and Curtis Granderson hit more HR’s than he did playing in Comerica. So the numbers would be about the same.
It is a nice place to live, but dumb broads like Michelle Damon have no clue about it and will just believe whatever her blond ass hears on the news!
Their Boras-advised pick was actually the 17th round, not the 16th. Brian Goodwin, who’s now at UNC.
I dont see why there couldnt be both Kotsay and Damon on the team. The 9 starters plus Ramon Castro, Omar Vizquel, Andruw Jones, Mark Kotsay. I say trade Jayson Nix or keep him down in the minors. Not sure how many options he may have. They need to win now and they cant be doin that with young inexperienced bench guys like Jayson Nix or Brent Lillibridge. I liked the rotating DH thing because I didnt think the Sox getting Damon was likely or possible. His left handed power he displayed at new Yankee Stadium will most definitely transfer to US Cellular. Has speed and is a legitmate #2 hitter. Sign him up Kenny.
I don’t know if you read it or not, Damon would be the leadoff hitter on the Braves, Tigers, and ChiSox.
Damon would bat 2nd on the Sox. Pierre is the leadoff hitter.
Damon would definately hit 2nd behind Pierre
Not sure what it is worth but Jayson Nix is out of options.
Nix is out of options.
In addition to being out of options, Jayson Nix is also out of baseball skills.
not at all 10 hrs 12 sbs in 1/3 of a full season at bats…thats good skills..a secondbasemen(not that bad) who was forced to play ss 3rd and rf and lf
I like how you ignored his 64 Ks, .224 BA and .308 OBP.
haha
they could keep damon on the team have the 9 starters have jones, kotsay, nix(need him for speed of the bench), omar, and castro. then you get 11 pitchers (there is no need for more than 11 in the AL…) have the 5 starters, 1 long guy(hudson or torres) the 3 big guys at the end jenks, putz, jenks, williams, and pena and just cut lose with linebrink thats good enough
also for the millionth time on this site and the sox site jayson nix hit 10 hrs and stole 12 bases is literally 1/3 of a season at bats….that should equate to 30 hrs and 30 sbs he would be ideal at dh
So your grand plan is to leave Matt Thornton, one of the most dominant left-handed relievers last year, off the team?
…Will you join my fantasy league?
I’m not believing this wanting to be in a “more cosmopolitan” city from Damon’s wife.
They already turned down 2 more years in New York City.
Take as much money as you can get Johnny and fly your wife to London or Paris for a few weeks at a time. That’s a win/win situation for both of you.
I am not surprised, he would have to live in the suburbs in Detroit where as in Chicago he can have a condo in the city. Considering he has a large house in FLorida my guess is he would want a condo up north.
just like chicago, there are nice areas in detroit. he can choose to live in suburbs or city of either.
“just like chicago, there are nice areas in detroit”
just like there are wealthy, fat people in Cuba
I keep hearing that the Braves still have a chance because their spring training is in Orlando which Damon’s hometown but people forget that Lakeland, the Tigers spring training, is only a half hour from Orlando. Damon drove an hour and half each day to Tampa when with the Yankees so I think the “homefield” advantage of the Braves is over stated. Also the White Sox train in Arizona if that means anything.
it wouldn’t really surprise me if the Braves ended up doing this because there hasn’t been any talk of them lately…which usually means something might be happening. That’s the way Frank Wren works. He is an expert at keeping the press and twitterers (real word?) in the dark. If you look at any deal the Braves have made since he took over, how many of them had buildup?
The one and only time I’ll ever say this but… go Sox go! Sign him up Kenny… pay him his money, and I hope he has a TERRIBLE season while showing his old age. Meanwhile us Tigers fans can sit here and laugh while we thank God we didn’t sign him
But, what if he has a good season?
Yeah go ahead sit there and laugh at the Sox FROM THE AL CENTRAL BASEMENT if you want. You should sit back and enjoy the view from the cellar with royals and indians fans.
That’s a bit juvenile, don’t you think?
The Twins, Tigers, and Sox have dominated the Central for the past decade – of course, I should note the Twins have the most pennants during that time š
Worst case, Tigers finish third. And probably a respectable third at that (<10 GB). That's not exactly "the basement".
But it’s not juvenile to hope that the Sox sign Damon and he has a terrible season while tigers fans sit and laugh, right? Okay. I think you and the twins will be looking up at The Sox at the end of the season too. Yeah the twins might have won the division crown the most, but who has the ring?
I just thought “cellar” was an overstatement. We’ve had great races the last two years… I expect the same this year.
and exactly zero World Series rings.
What exactly has been dominating about Detroit’s 0 Central Division titles and 1 wild card birth over the last decade? Over the last decade the central has been won by the Twins (5) / Sox (3) / Tribe (2). Credit should be given for them making it to the world series however calling them a dominating team over the last 10 years is a reach.
That’s fair. Maybe I distorted my recollection based on them being in the hunt the past couple years…
Technically we’ll be in the cell(ul)ar because we play there.
You know I used to think that the tri-rivalry between the Mets, Phillies and Braves was fun to watch but I am finding this AL Central thing between the Twins, White Sox and Tigers as rather entertaining
White sox fan here and I can totally understand why you are saying that. This wife thing and cosmo city…..Give me a break for $14 million put me in the burbs and take a helicopter to work for 2 years. I like Damon but landing him under those circumstances ah just feels sort of funny. Good luck to your Tigers this year.
Thanks man. Good luck to your squad to. Chet, I really don’t think you know what you’re talking about so I won’t waste my time on that comment. The Twins, Sox, and Tigers will battle it out all year. I’ve even seen someone on ESPN pick the Tigers in the top 5 of the entire MLB… just like last year I think we’re underrated, and thats just fine with me.
It’s looking more and more like I’m going to be wrong on this one. If he’s golfing with AJ and Hawk……….. you can put it on the board…….yes!
HA HA!
I’ve seen alot of Sox home broadcasts. While “he gone” is the ***most annoying strikeout call ever***, the “put it on the boooooooooooard YES!” is pretty awesome. I do love how the broadcast duo has the timing down pat on it too.
Just a shame I hear it against my Twins so often… I much prefer it when you’re helping us out by beating up on Detroit š
Yeah I hate that “He Gone!” business, too. But I kinda like the Sox broadcast crew, so I often watch the WGN broadcast when the Twinkies play the Sox.
I think the Twins and White Sox fans can all agree that the Angels have the worst announcer in the game with Rex.
I thought it was “Be gone”
not gonna lie dude that was somewhat of a groaner lol. It’s ok,we all do it. Like this joke I came up with…Why is it always so cold in jewelry stores? Because of all the ice cubes.
I will continue to hope that the Tigers come to their senses. Nobody is offering as much, and he is hesitating! Put a deadline on the offer. Take it or leave it. He either wants to play in Detroit, or he doesn’t. I am tired of Boras using one team to get a deal somewhere else. Felipe Lopez would be a better fit, be the regular DH, back up at 2b, and 3b, is younger, AND JUST GOT RID OF BORAS AS HIS AGENT. Oh, yeah, he’d probably be cheaper too. That would stick it to Boras.
It’s quite obvious at this point that he does not want to play in Detroit, unless it becomes the only option. If he had the chance today and the Yanks again offered the 2 yr/14 mil deal, he’d take it in a NY minute. Boras just messed up but thinking he could get him more. Now the options are limited and instead of jumping at the Tigers offer and playing somewhere he’d prefer not to, they are seeing how legit the White Sox interest is and if they can get a deal somewhat on par with the Tigers, then you know where he will go. By Reinsdorf getting involved, you know there are discussions about making a better offer. How far Reinsdorf would go over budget to bring Damon on is purely his decision. A pure guess is that they go to 1 yr/7 mil and Damon is a White Sox by week end. Putting the “cosmopolitan city” argument aside, he can put up much better numbers at the Cell than in CoAmerica and have a much better chance at the post season.
It’s Comerica, where he has great career numbers. Granted, a lot of them are from the early 2000’s Tiger’s staff. And it’s not a “much better” chance at the post-season. It’s better, but not “much better”.
If he is golfing with A J Pierzynski and Harleson, then is is damanged goods. He couldn’t have found to bigger weasels to hang with. I feel sorry for Damon, he’s a good hitter.
did your wife have a threesome with them or something? so much hate.
He couldn’t have found 2 bigger weasels to hang out with than AJ & Hawk. He’s a good player, I hope he ends up in Atlanta. I would hate to see him waste away in Detriot or Chicago.
LOL. Ah yes, why go to the middle of nowhere that is Chicago when he can be in Atlanta: City of Tomorrow?
Why would he waste away.
I hate to see any good player waste away in Oakland. They are the baseball equivalent of an airplane in a holding pattern.
Nice troll. AJ is only a “weasel” to the fans of his opponents team, nor is Chicago a place to “waste away” in.
Question for you, Was AJ disliked by his teammates in Minnesota like he was in San Francisco? For whatever reason he fits in here in Chicago.
No, he was very popular with teammates, fans, and coaches. He was traded because the Giants were willing to give away Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano for him, and Mauer was waiting in the minors.
San Francisco, yes. Minnesota, not at all. There were extenuating circumstances in SF.
I like the mathematics being displayed here… AJ is only a weasel to the fans of every other team in baseball… Damn every other team’s fans in baseball. AJ’s such a classy guy.
If Damon spending an afternoon with A.J. and Hawk Harrelson doesn’t send him sprinting for Atlanta or Detroit, nothing will.
Maybe Zambrano will chase him with a Gatorade machine…
Well, the more things play out the more it looks like he will be going to Chicago. He’ll fit in there pretty good too. I think his family is what is driving him away from Detroit so much.
If Damon signs with the Sox I don’t think his family will be the only reason for him picking the ‘Good guys’. He could be the final piece on a championship calibur club. The same cannot be sincerely spoken regarding the Tigers.
So does this mean the sox trade Pierre? The team would have a lot of corner outfielders if they got Damon including Pierre, Damon, Quentin, jones, kotsay, and rios. A few of them can play center but prolly shoulndnt. That’s a ton of money in those guys too. Would it be Pierre, rios and quentin from left to right with Damon at dh? Jones and kotsay on the bench?
According to Cowley, the Sox want Damon as their primary DH with spot duty in the OF. Jones and Kotsay would definitely be the backups and and probably get their share of late innings playing time as defensive replacements for Pierre and Quentin. I just wonder if they do acquire Damon, where Ozzie would bat him: 1st, 2nd or 3rd? Would it be a Pierre, Beckham, Damon, Quentin top 4? Or the 2 lefties 1-2? Or move Pierre down to 9? Or would Ozzie get crazy and move Beckham down to 6-7 like he has mentioned to get him more RBI chances? (Ozzie’s words) The kid needs to bat 2 or 3.
if damon went to the white sox i’ll predict an order like this:
1. Damon dh (wouldn’t that be weird to see a dh leading off)
2. Beckham 2b
3. Quentin rf
4. Konerko 1b
5. Teahen 3b
6. Rios cf
7. Pierzynski c
8. Ramirez ss
9. Pierre lf
or maybe:
1. Pierre lf
2. Beckham 2b
3. Quentin rf
4. Konerko 1b
5. Damon dh
6. Rios cf
7. Teahen 3b
8. Pierzynski c
9. Ramirez ss
what do you guys think?
maybe even:
1. pierre lf
2. damon dh
3. beckham 2b
4. quentin rf
5. konerko 1b
6. teahen 3b
7. rios cf
8. pierzynski c
9. ramirez ss
I’ll take a stab at it:
1. Pierre – LF
2. Damon – DH
3. Quentin – RF
4. Konerko – 1B
5. Beckham – 2B
6. Pierzynski – C
7. Rios – CF
8. Teahen – 3B
9. Ramirez – SS
I could see Damon and Beckham switching places.
You have to give the nod to A.J. to be higher in the line up than Teahen and Rios after last year. The line up just looks sooo much better with Damon in it.
Rios is more than capable to play center and is above average defensively.
Yes it would be Pierre, Rios, Quentin going left to right. Damon would be in the DH spot but would probably rotate regularly with Quentin, Konerko, and perhaps even Pierre just to keep him fresh on the field.
“That’s a ton of money in those guys too.” None of these guys would make over $5MM except Rios if the offer is $4MM like reported. Pierre, Jones, and Kotsay combined would make under $6MM from us.
Steve Espinosa is a wise man. Words of truth.
Reading between the lines I think the Sox are offering Damon somewhere in the range of 5-6. I doubt is as low as 4 considering the Tigers are reportedly offering 7
Even if it on the high end like you say at $6MM that is still over $1MM less than Mike Cameron got.
fair enough, I wasn’t debating your overall point just saying I think we would have to offer more than that to get Damon
I JUST WANT THIS OVER WITH. It would be awesome if he ended up on the Yankees after all this nonsense.
Well, the White Sox front office is confident, you know what that means. He’s signing with the Tigers. Remember when they were confident they had traded for Miguel Cabrera? Seriously though, I hope he signs with the Sox.
No – they knew they never had the prospects for Cabrera. If you used the example of Torii Hunter you would have more credibility.
NO, they had a deal in place and the Tigers stepped in last minute and upped the ante by taking Dontrelle Willis as well.
Link that up cause I think your memory is not right. we wanted him, we were never confident.
I remember Kenny saying during an interview that Dye called him up and asked him what happened and that he thought the deal had already been done. I’ll find a link.
h ttp://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2007/12/tigers-getting.html
FROM 12-4-07 at 5:01pm:
“This is unexpected. Joe Capozzi says the White Sox “are making a strong push” to acquire Miguel Cabrera. What’s more, some kind of major announcement is coming soon and White Sox sources admitted it involves Cabrera.”
3 minutes later it was reported that the Tigers were nearing the blockbuster deal
h ttp://articles.latimes.com/2007/dec/05/sports/sp-cabrera5?pg=2
“White Sox General Manager Ken Williams, who had hoped to land Cabrera after the Angels swooped in to sign Torii Hunter, learned of the Marlins’ trade via message while meeting with Chicago media Tuesday afternoon. Within one minute, Williams received a call from outfielder Jermaine Dye, who had spurned free agency and re-signed with the White Sox with the promise the team would add a “big fish” in the off-season.”
Good find…..What is interesting to me is the use of the word “big fish” that could also mean Torii Hunter. Even if Kenny did tell Dye that after the Torii incident A. There are other big fish besides Miguel B. Nothing there says last minute. If the Sox were not going to take Willis then there was never a deal that was to be broken up in the last minute. Also if Dye is making signing decisions before acquisitions are made then his agent is not giving good advice. Nonetheless we did want him but to say that we were confident I am still not sold no matter what the press is spewing. The hype machine is always at work.
Don’t you get it? “Big Fish”? Marlins!
btw if you were right, which you are not. “Stepped in last minute” when does this actually happen anyways? When GM’s are discussing and completing deals trust me very few times do we know all of the details with any of these deals. anyways if you were correct no wonder he is in Detroit, Dontrelle has been a complete train wreck. (No pun intended)
You’re half right. The Sox made an offer, but the offer was never seriously considered by the Marlins. And the Sox refused to take Willis.
In my opinion Cabrera is worth the luggage of Willis. Extending Willis had nothing to do with the trade, but Cabrera is arguably the best right handed hitter in the AL.
I remember when the Sox were confident that they signed Torii Hunter.
I’m sure glad that one didn’t happen.
Hopefully, this one does though.
You and me both brother. The Tigers are a day late and a dollar short for a high demand outfielder like Damon. He’s a superstar. Detroit will have to piddle with lowly Ryan Raburn out in left and DH either other anemic corner outfielder on their major league roster.
I actually like Raburn a lot.
.900 OPS isn’t lowly. He hit the crap out of the ball in the second half last season.
Haha… you’re out of your mind man. Damon? A superstar? Are you sure we’re talking about the same guy? Arod is a superstar… Damon is not. Look at Raburn’s numbers in limited plate appearances. He needs a full year of plate appearances to put up solid numbers… think Werth. Raburn’s got 25 HR potential man. Cheaper AND younger… I’ll take Raburn any day of the week
The breakdown of Dusty Ryan:
Year – BA OBP SLG OPS
2008 – .318 .380 .500 .880 [50 PAs]
2009 – .154 .267 .192 .459 [30 PAs]
Limited plate appearances are just that. Raburn’s not a bad player, but to say he’ll approach the OPS he put up last season is a stretch and a half. His 2008 season he didn’t even have a .300 OBP. But since you didn’t catch my sarcasm the first time around, I’ll get rid of it.
I’d rather try out Raburn, see what he can do with a full season, then sign Damon to a 2 year deal.
You know what, as a Tigers fan at first I was thrilled that this might actually happen because I think he can help out the club by leading off and scoring some runs. But let the White Sox have him. And to his moron of a wife, let it be known that an extra $3 million means much more than poor Johnny playing in a less than “cosmopolitan” area. Sounds like a dumb broad to me!! Have fun in Chicago and good ridence to the Damon’s!! Let’s get on with it Dombrowski and sign Dye to be LF and play Guillen as full time DH and whip the **** out of Damon and the Sox.
Have you seen his wife? *Drooool
Simply because of your screen name I will “Like” your status.
I like Bacon too, I mean Gordon Beckham.
Damon’s a huge upgrade over Dye. If I were you, I’d rather have Damon.
PLEASE, even if they dont get Damon, dont sign Dye! He would only take AB’s away from Raburn, and he makes Mags and Guillen look like gold glovers. Not to mention, we would have to hear Rod Allen talking up Dye like he can still play defense like he did in KC, even as he is being replaced in the late innings.
If Damon does sign with the White sox, it does bring up the question: Who is better (or worse) in LF, Damon or Pierre? and who’s arm is weaker, Damon or A.J.’s?
PLEASE, even if they dont get Damon, dont sign Dye! He would only take AB’s away from Raburn, and he makes Mags and Guillen look like gold glovers. Not to mention, we would have to hear Rod Allen talking up Dye like he can still play defense like he did in KC, even as he is being replaced in the late innings.
If Damon does sign with the White sox, it does bring up the question: Who is better (or worse) in LF, Damon or Pierre? and who’s arm is weaker, Damon or A.J.’s?
“It’s up to me. She’s going wherever I go.”
Enjoy the couch tonight Johnny.
This statement does confirm the fact that in fact his wife does want to be in Chicago over Detroit, it’s not Boras spewing BS.
He shouldn’t have included the “she’s going wherever I go” part. That just makes it sound like she’s his slave.
Sexcellent.
I think Damon would put the Sox as favorites in the Central. Without Damon, it’s up for grabs, but Damon should really help out. A Pierre-Damon 1-2 punch could be very productive with Beckham, Konerko, Quentin, and Pierzynski behind them.
Right now I’d say the Twins are the favorite. Add Damon to the Tigers and I’d still say the Twins are the favorite, but add Damon to the White Sox and I’m no longer sure. The division really comes down to a handful of variables:
For the Tigers – 1) Will Jackson and Scherzer produce. 2) Can Ordonez bounce back. 3) Will the 4 and 5 spot of the rotation be simply a revolving door.
For the White Sox – 1) What will a full year of Jake Peavy in the AL look like. 2) Will the offense improve.
For the Twins – 1) Can Liriano and Hardy make comebacks.
Jackson?
Austin Jackson. He was the biggest piece that the Tigers got from the yanks in the big Granderson trade. Centerfield is pretty much his job to lose in ST.
I was thinking the same thing. Austin Jackson maybe?
Damon doesn’t wanna go to the Tigers ? lol I wouldn’t trust these sports reporters ect as far as I could throw them .
More than likely in all honesty this is Scott Boras continuing to try and make this a sweepstakes when it just isn’t. Why would Damon sign on for 1 year at $4.5 million (Much of which is deferred anyway!!!) when he could’ve signed for $7 million early last week? And Mrs. Damon, if you are listening, Comerica Park and The Cell are not much different. Its not like if you go to a Tigers game you will be sitting next to Eminem, Dr. Dre and Kid Rock in the boxes toots! I’ve been to both ballparks and there really isn’t much difference in the cultural department hun. And its not like you would be staying downtown at a run down hotel after the games my love! If Damon wants to take $2.5 mill less to be a platoon player, by all means let him do just that. He could’ve signed a 1 year deal in Detroit, played his ass off, got good numbers and signed for a multi year deal somewhere else next year when we didn’t need him anymore anyway. As it stands now, I will take a platoon of Rayburn, Guillen and Clete Thomas and let there be a roaming DH. My 5 year old DAUGHTER has a better arm anyway, so enjoy The Cell Mrs. Damon and make sure and get home before the streetlights come on!! Might as well call him Mr. Michelle Damon if he does sign with the Sox!!
Yeah – she’s not talking about how cosmopolitan the actual ballpark is – she is talking about the city – and there is no comparison between Chicago and Detroit. Still think that he’ll take $7M over $4.5M though.
Exactly. There may not be a huge difference right outside either ballpark, but Chicago vs. Detroit as a whole are essentially different worlds.
My brother lives 2 blocks away from the park in Bridgeport – it’s a great neighborhood.
Plus, he’s getting deferred money from the Sox. If the Sox defer about $2-2.5 million for the next 5 years, present day value of the deal along with the $4.5 million paid up front will be around ~$6 million. If he wants to explore the market next season and have good numbers to back it up, he should definitely take Chicago’s offer. It’s not that worse in terms of money and it opens up a lot of options for him.
Well, I hope he takes the Sox’ deal. That way I might even be able to get over my broken heart from losing Thome.
Ive been to the Cell and I know what surrounds that park. Have you been to Comerica? Yes, parts of Detroit are disgusting and would I like to live right outside the ballpark, not really. But lets be real here. First of all, it’s absolutely ridiculous that Damon and Boras come out with that BS story two weeks ago saying how much he would love to play for the Tigers and loves Steve Yzerman and even went as far (pathetic) to say that when they eat seafood, Damon gets octapus. Now he says he doesn’t and never did want to play for the Tigers? Boras and Dombrowski have had a pretty good relationship and have gotten alot of deals done in the past, but if all that wind was just to drive up the market for a over-the-hill player, than even for Boras thats sad. He totally fudged up his timing for Damon and the sad truth of it all is that Damon could be and proly should be playing for the Yanks. And the truth of it is, he won’t be nearly as happy or as good of a player for either the Tigers or the Sox. They offered the same 2 year $14 million deal that the Tigers are offering, but Boras wrongly believed that he could get more. What this boils down to is this. Whether or not Damon signs with the Tigers or the Sox, the past two weeks have been awful for Johnny Damon and it’s really not even his doing. Boras needed to stoop as low as lying about a players feelings for a city and ballclub to shadow the miserable mistakes that he made as an agent, and if I were Kendry Morales, I would take a peek at this whole soap opera and take a word of advice from Felipe Lopez, who fired this moron last week. He isn’t quite as good at his job as he seems, and to spout out lies about how a certain player feels about a team just to cover up the awful mistakes that he made is an absolute travisty!
Yes – one of my fondest memories is of Comerica. My father and I decided to take a road trip on the penultimate Friday of the regular season in 2005 to watch our beloved White Sox clinch the division.
That whole Detroit thing was to get interest from teams for Damon.
I think if the White Sox can get him at one year and a decent price, he’s certainly worth the money. I think I’d rather pay $15 million dollars this year for Damon than have this DH situation (Jones, Kotsay, and Vizquel….really?) in Chicago, quite frankly. So paying him around $5 million this season would be quite a positive move.
If he signs with the Sox that will be one noodle-armed outfield. Just hit the ball to left-center and Pierre/Damon will be hustling but unable to get the ball as far as the cutoff man without a bounce. =P
damon will dh…
He’s more or less going to DH.
You’re also forgetting that Quentin and Rios have plus arms.
yea that wasn’t the most educated comment there
…….wait, what?
It’s a joke… ya know… damon and pierre both have noodlearms… one of them is going to play outfield… and occasionally a DH will sub out for CF will platoon and you ought to put Pierre in CF and Damon in LF… just sayin’… don’t gotta scrutinize so freakin’ hard ya’ll
It’s a joke… ya know… damon and pierre both have noodlearms… one of them is going to play outfield… and occasionally a DH will sub out for CF will platoon and you ought to put Pierre in CF and Damon in LF… just sayin’… don’t gotta scrutinize so freakin’ hard ya’ll
Yeah let the Sox have him… I didn’t want him from the beginning…now that the Sox are getting him we’ll have a chance to finish ahead of them…lol
“It’s up to me. She’s going wherever I go.”
Geez, wife problems? Because she wants to go to Detroit he decides he doesn’t? Didn’t he want to go to Detroit?
She prefers Chicago over Detroit.
Won’t Damon look like an idiot, turning down 14mm to play with the Yankees then 14mm to play with the Tigers to take 4.5 with the White Sox… Thank God he’s moving on…
I think the Yankees thing was more or less Boras’ fault.
I would be surprised if the Tigers ever really offered 14 million
Really? Don’t you know we have a reputation for OVER paying over aged overrated talent. I wouldn’t be surprised if they upped it before its all over with…
Please dont say that lol
Don’t jinx it Cowley.
“It’s up to me. She’s going wherever I go.”
2 seconds later, “I hope.”
this year’s white sox are looking a lot like last year’s los angeles angels. they made some questionable moves, allowing Teixeira, K-Rod, and Garrett Anderson to walk. They allowed Kendry Morales to fill the void of Teixeira and signed Bobby Abreu cheap (5MM) to replace Garrett Anderson. They then replaced K-Rod with a solid, granted not as good player in Fuentes. White Sox allowed Thome, Podsednik, and Dye to walk and trading getz. They expect Gordon Beckham to fill the power void left by Jermaine Dye, and Carlos Quentin to rebound and fill the power void left by Thome. They traded for the albeit less stellar player Mark Teahen to to play a position left open by Chris Getz. And they traded for an improved version of scott podsednik. Additionally, addressing the bullpen, they signed low-risk high reward jj. putz to the bullpen.
Nobody in Detroit wants you anyway, Johnny Damon. Go to Chicago. And the first time you play the Tigers and it’s late in the game, we’ll make a pitching change to someone that’s hard throwing with control problems. If you catch my drift.
I can tell that Detroit fans will have a great time with this if they don’t end up signing him. If you catch my drift.
Don’t drive into downtown Detroit Johnny, you might get shot at.
i wish he would pick a team already…this whole thing is getting a bit annoying
Either way I say Damon signs tomorrow or latest mid day Friday. Spring training starts soon and I imagine he wants time to prepare for where he is going.
So let’s size up the deals:
Tigers – 1yr/7MM
a) Perhaps the most pitcher friendly park in the AL.
b) Probably spends more time on the field than with the Sox.
c) If stats are down because of Park he can expect less playing time following year from next team and less money.
White Sox 1yr/4.5MM in current day value ($6MM probably total)
a) Very Hitter friendly park
b) Chance to play with best Friend from High School
c) Wife prefers Chicago
d) Nice balance of DH and field time.
e) Better chance at another Championship
f) Better numbers from the park to leverage for a better deal the next year
g) More stats to go towards HOF push
ahh steve. you had all great points the whole way, until you linked Damon and the Hall of Fame..
If Johnny Damon reaches 3,000 Hits you could make an argument for him.
I don’t want to get in an argument about the HOF, all I am saying is that if he can rack up stats and pass 3,000 hits he could make a case for it.
HAHA sorry Steve Espinosa, i didn’t want to create an argument about it either. I agree with you on the bottom line is that Damon can have better stats, and a better chance to win with the white sox
Haha, on his web site, Johnny Damon said something along the lines of him and the hall of fame, all in one sentence.
E is questionable, particularly if his deal in Detroit has a club option. JV, Porcello, and Scherzer looks like a dominant rotation, esp. a year down the road.
DET hasn’t rated as a pitcher’s park in years, fyi.
DET hasn’t rated as a pitcher’s park in years, fyi.
Can’t wait until this is over.
I would be nice to land Damon, but I’m not going to lose sleep if he goes to Detroit or Atlanta. He’d be a nice piece, but even if the Sox start with Jones and Kotsay, Jordan Danks will be ready to go by midseason.
I could see either Flowers or Viciedo taking over 1B when Konerko isn’t re-signed next offseason.
NICE. Best news I’ve heard on this ridiculous saga in a while. I love how Boras had to drum up this whole “Damon really wants to play in Detroit” thing. Boras and his staff must think they are geniuses but it was pretty easy to see through… going to the press, talking about the red wings and junk. Paaaahllease. Talk about stupid. Just sign elsewhere so I can stop hearing about my team thinking of making such a terrible choice.
I’d love this signing for the Sox. He’ could crank 20-25 Hrs in that park and he could DH for them.
Mark my words: .290, 12 hr, 68rbi when all is said and done after september…this is it…not so bad, but is it really worth all the fuss? Would have been nice to keep him on yanks, but it just didnt work out.
Is there a player currently in MLB whose talent people disagree about more than Johnny Damon? I can’t think of one…
Is there a player currently in MLB whose talent people disagree about more than Johnny Damon? I can’t think of one…
So he turned down $14 million for $6.5 million. Shrewd. Looks like his negotiating skills are as strong as his arm.
So he turned down $14 million for $6.5 million. Shrewd. Looks like his negotiating skills are as strong as his arm.