The New York Yankees and Johnny Damon seemingly came to a bitter end with a painful divorce the other day. The Yankees signed Randy Winn and confirmed that Damon would not be coming back. The thing is usually when you have a bitter parting of ways there is anger, resentment, talking bad about each other etc. GM Brian Cashman was on the Yankees Hot Stove Show last night on the Yes Network and said that he wanted Damon back but it just didn't work out, he said he just hopes wherever he winds up it isn't for what he could of stayed a Yankee for. Johnny Damon was on WFAN this afternoon with Mike Francessa and said his heart is in NY and even floated the idea of returning to the Yankees in midseason via a trade. He said if not by a trade then maybe resigning with them at a later date. I just don't understand this whole thing. If both sides really wanted each other then they should of made it work.
I am not one of those that thinks this is devestating for the Yankees. I like Johnny Damon a lot, I always have but they have gotten younger and they are much better defensively. Damon was not a good outfielder, had a terrible arm and runners took the extra base on him constantly. The good of Damon was he is a clutch player, he is fast and his swing was ideal for the New Yankee Stadium. He will not be the same player on another team, you watch and see his power numbers go down. I think the Yankees with Granderson in left and Gardner in center and Winn as the 4th outfielder are much better defensively. The Yankees are more versatile also as Winn can play all 3 outfield positions. He doesn't have any power compared to Damon but last year was his worst year and in other areas like speed and batting avg he is pretty comparable. He is a much better defender then Damon especially in the corner outfield positions.
The comments on sports talk radio today and also on the internet are amazing. There are people so upset over this that they are threatening to not renew their season tickets. I think this is going a little overboard, I undertand that fans are upset but the Yankees are probably a better team right now then last season even without Johnnny Damon. This is a team that will be fine offensively and be better pitching wise and defensively. I know it is hard to say a World Championship team can get any better but in my mind they are and will be tough to beat next year. The Yankees know what they are doing and are going to be fine, they actually had a budget for once and stuck to it and you can't fault them for that. It will be interesting to see where Johnny Damon ends up, in the end best of luck to him and hopefully he won't regret his decision.
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