So close to finding out what Gardner does in 400 AB.

I honestly can’t see them getting anyone in the $2M price range (read not Damon or even Nady) that I’d want to give a chance over Gardner.  I just hope Damon signs somewhere else soon so we can stop talking about it.

I just don’t get Heyman’s angle in the “weekend deadline” article. He is usually a mouthpiece for Boras, but how this helps Boras get Damon more money is beyond me.

If it went un-refuted, on Monday any team that is even considering Damon would feel the Yankees were out of it and would know Damon is entering super-bargain territory.

Maybe Boras feels there is no market for Damon, doesn’t care anymore, and is busy counting his percentage from the crazy contract he got Matt Holliday.

[3] - He’s probably not planning on Damon lasting past early next week.  He might decide soon.  As for what the Yankees do in this case, usually when Boras uses the Yankees to drive up the price it is about their ability to spend but the Yankees can offer free agents more than just money.  Given an equal deal from the Yankees and the Royals which one do you think most free agents would take?  Maybe he is throwing the Yankees name out there to get teams to raise their offers to compensate for that before they pick one.

“Maybe he is throwing the Yankees name out there to get teams to raise their offers to compensate for that before they pick one.”

I don’t about raising an offer, but Boras’s logic behind the Heyman story seems to be that the Yankees have made an offer; Damon will decide on it soon. If you’re interested, now is the time to make an offer of your own.

Marc Carig:

Ledger_Yankees
 
ARod upon winning award for postseason from NY baseball writers “what next? The good guy award?” boom, roasted!

[6] That could have only been better if ARod had said the “BOOM, ROASTED!”

Madden:

Still, as recently as a couple of days ago, there was renewed dialogue between Damon, Boras and the Yankees in which the Yankees made one last attempt to have a good Yankee remain a Yankee.

“Tell us your bottom line for what you’re willing to play for,” they said, “and if it’s in the realm of where our budget needs to be we can go to ownership (Hal Steinbrenner) and see if something can be worked out.” But instead of giving them a number, Boras came back with more of his patented “mystery team” hogwash, claiming he had a couple of other offers they were still considering.

So that’s where it stands, and unless Damon comes to grips with the reality of the situation, expect the Yankees to sign oft-injured Reed Johnson or Randy Winn to platoon in left field with Brett Gardner. And do you think Damon even realizes that at the same time Boras was talking to the Yankees about Damon, he was also pushing the case with them for his other outfield client, Rick Ankiel?

Madden then transitions from reporting to analysis:

The shame of it is, Damon really needs the Yankees and the Yankees really need Damon. The Yankees are deluding themselves if they believe Nick Johnson, for all his on-base percentage worth, is going to be anywhere near the force Damon was out of the No. 2 hole last year. Johnson is a dump truck on the bases and has seemingly been sapped of his power with all the injuries he’s sustained.

A dump truck?

What does a dump truck mean? He releases hundreds of pounds of sand/dirt on the base-paths? He has really big wheels? He is totally and unequivocally cool to a 3-8 year old me? On par with a mountain bike?

Yellow?

“Dump truck” is the new “clogs the bases”, I believe. The problem is that dump trucks are sort of a gritty, working class vehicle. In fact, I am pretty sure David Eckstein’s dad drove a dump truck to put young David through college. He should have called Nick “the Titantic” (his OBP seems luxurious, but he is slow moving and always ends up colliding with something and going down)

Anyways, wasn’t Madden quoted in December saying this about the Mets, “they’re only interested in signing low-budget Latin players”?

Este año, los Mets solamente van a firmar jugadores que adecuarse al tipo de “volquete.”

I wasn’t sure what “volquete” was, but a GIS revealed it to be an item that Padre Eckstein would be willing to manejar.

A dump truck?

When I was about three years old I told people that I could swim like a dump truck. I think it was supposed to be good.

[13] - HA!!

Davidoff:

The Yankees would love to have Johnny Damon back - on a one-year, $2-million deal. If Damon were to accept that, he’d be the Yankees’ leftfielder, with Curtis Granderson in centerfield and Brett Gardner serving as a defensive replacement and pinch runner.

But Damon appears unlikely to take such a pay cut with his old team; if not, the Yankees would sign a righthanded-hitting outfielder such as Reed Johnson or Xavier Nady. In which case, it’s fair to wonder how the Yankees will line up their starting outfield: Will it be newcomer Granderson in centerfield and Gardner shifting to left, or the other way around?

Here’s what a scout who spent plenty of time around the Tigers the past few years said about Granderson’s play in centerfield: “When he goes to his left, he struggles.”

How often does a leftfielder have to go to his left? Half as often as a centerfielder? Depends on positioning, I suppose.

“We acquired Curtis to be our centerfielder,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said this past week. “But it’s nice that we have two potential everyday centerfielders. If our best team is fielded by making adjustments, we’ll do that.”

Cashman is on record as acknowledging that his scouts saw Granderson take some questionable routes in center last September during the Tigers’ stretch run.

The Angels pursued Granderson with the idea that he’d play leftfield for them. And such a switch would give the Yankees a more traditional profile offensively. Right now, Gardner, who has little pop, projects as a below-average leftfielder on the offensive side. Granderson slugs enough to carry the corner position.

If they want Damon, but are truly wedded to the idea of spending only $2m, why couldn’t they trade or DFA Guadin (iirc, his contract is non-guaranteed)?

Madden is deluding himself if he thinks Damon is likely to be the force in 2010 he was in 2009. He had a hell of a year with the bat last year.

It’s odd that he doesn’t see how “on base worth” could translate into being “a force.” It’s like he’s heard “on base” enough over the last decade to understand that people care about it, but still thinks it’s cosmetic.

Just think how much slower Nick Johnson will be in scoring from first when ARod or Texeiria hit a homer-run.

Snark always backfires when you have a typo.

Olney:

2. Brian Cashman wrote in an e-mail to me on Saturday evening that the Yankees have not set any kind of deadline on Johnny Damon’s negotiations. The fact that there are reports circulating to that end is being read by some in the industry that a deadline is being set on Damon’s side of the talks.

I think the term “homer-run” is charming.

I’ll be using both “homer-run” and “The Titanic” this year to obscurify my comments and exclude newbies.

If Nick Johnson appears injured at any point there is already the built in:
“OH NO! ICEBERG AHEAD!”

[22] There’s gotta be room for Dump Truck in there somewheres.

MC, if you’re watching, here’s something you might find interesting.

iirc, his contract is non-guaranteed

Source?  Must have missed that.

[23] Thanks.  Sounds interesting.  Still trying to figure out he best solution for my TV situation.

iirc, his contract is non-guaranteed

It’s Mitre’s contract that (has been reported as) non-guaranteed.  And I don’t think that amount is enough to greatly increase any offer to Damon.

[25] Mitre’s contract is $900K I believe. Also, there was already a detailed argument if that would save them $900K or $450K (Mitre’s salary less the cost of a minimum salary pitcher replacing him on the roster)

Either way, that isn’t going to be the ‘straw that broke the coffin’ on them not signing Damon.