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| Wednesday, December 28, 2005 |
| A Christmas Present to Nacho |
Nacho, sweetie, this one is for you. I know you’ve been waiting for it.
A few weeks ago, Johnny Damon was signed by the dreaded New York Yankees. I didn’t write about it right away. Obviously. But it occupied my thoughts a lot less than I thought it would. I’ve mentioned before that I am not a big off-season baseball fan. There are too many rumors, too much speculation. Overall just too many people talking just to hear the sound of their own voices. Sure I have my opinions on certain deals and whatnot, but my discussions over who should be batting lead off or who should be signed to a contract aren’t exactly going to change the Front Offices decisions, so why lose precious time and sleep over it? Especially when there’s not much to spare during the holidays to begin with.
(As a side note, I completely realize how ridiculous this argument is when during the regular season I will regularly challenge the manager’s in-game decisions. It’s not like me saying that so-and-so should have been brought in in the 8th is going to change anything, but for some reason I take much more pleasure in that. Sure it doesn’t make sense, but you know what? I just don’t care.)
But when the Yankees signed Johnny Damon to a 4 year 52 million dollar deal, I couldn’t escape it. Everyone in my office was wondering if I was in mourning. People were calling from home asking if I was ok. I was getting phone calls, emails, IMs you name it. People were sending me their condolences. And sure for certain people I played it up. But in all honesty? I’m not all that upset.
I will take a moment to say that he looks absolutely ridiculous in pinstripes. I mean come on, he went from this:
To this:
Any red-blooded woman is going to tell you which one's hotter. And I could care less how CFB that was of me to say.
What I want to know is where was everyone when Bill Mueller left? I proudly wore my number 11 T-shirt to every game I went to this year. He was my kind of guy. Quietly providing the Sox with solid batting and defense. He’s the kind of player that MLB needs more of, and I was really sad to see him go. Johnny on the other hand I never really formed any sort of emotional attachment to. He always seemed fake to me. And while I will always love him for being one of the 25, I’m not going to have a problem rooting against him now that he’s on the Yankees.
Because he proved me right. I was always under the impression that everything that came out of his mouth was a part of his “image”, that it wasn’t the real him we were seeing. I can’t stand people like that. Yeah the team’s got other guys who are quirky and weird. Manny comes to mind. But they still seem real. Johnny never felt that way to me. And now he’s shown his true colors.
What pisses me off the most about the whole thing was the lying. And I am sorry but that’s what he did. All year he spouted all this “the Sox mean more to me than the money, I would never go to the Yankees, blah blah blah”. But come on, as a guy going into free-agency, you KNOW that the money wins out. Always. So unless you really mean it, don’t spout it. We’re grown ups, we can handle the fact that this is a business, and this is your job and if I was offered that much more money somewhere else then of course I’d take it. Who wouldn’t? So now it looks like he was just trying to get the fans to love him that much more. News flash to Johnny, it wasn’t necessary. We all already loved you for being one of the best lead off batters in MLB, for your contributions to the 2004 team, for your performance in game 7 of the 2004 ALCS. You didn’t need to do more than that. You didn’t need to pretend that the Sox were all that mattered. That you were going to be loyal to the hometown boys.
But that’s just rational anger. And not even anger. I find myself feeling kind of “eh” about the whole thing. Am I worried that the Sox now have no CF and no SS and a LF and SP who both want to be traded? Hell yeah. But I have to assume that the guys in the Front Office know a hell of a lot more than I do (even with all the upheaval). That may be misplaced trust, but it is what it is. The free agent market this off-season has been ridiculous. Guys are getting signed to outrageous contracts for way more than their worth and way longer than they should be. So I am going to applaud the Sox Front Office for a moment and say I am glad their not out there trying to sign just anyone.
That said, can we please sign SOMEONE soon? It’s almost January fellas, and I don’t know that I can get in shape in time to play centerfield.Labels: Boston, Red Sox, sports |
posted by FINY @ Wednesday, December 28, 2005   |
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| 11 Comments: |
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Hi FINY - Thanks darlin'! Oh, the blog love. It's what I live for.
I must admit the red blooded woman factor was why I latched onto Johnny early in my short career as a red sox fan. A little ashamed to admit it, but I was one of THOSE girls. My hubby was so dedicated to recruit me as a fan, so we could watch games and talk sox, he got me a 18 shirt and he officially became my guy...I took the defection a little personally. So many of the guys that popped my Red Sox cherry are gone, or are looking to go, it makes me feel dirty and used. But since hating the game makes it hard to be a fan, I'll hate the playa. Johnny you slut.
Ok, now. Sorry about that. This bitter stage is quickly passing. We are planning a cleansing ritual involving lighter fluid and a trash can.
Happy New Year FINY! - Nacho
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did you have to pick a pic of JD where he looks like he hasn't washed since his Kansas City days?
The masterplan for next season might just be so simple that we're all missing it. While we try to figure out why this player has gone and that player has gone and which big name is going to fill the gap, maybe our thoughts should be turning to no-one filling the gap. Whisper it quietly, but what we might be seeing is a move towards a rebuilding year. Either that or we are going to be a defensive team.
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I tend to agree with Welsh guy ... maybe this is a rebuilding year. Do you think we could get Lastings Milledge if we threw in a prospects or two?
That said, I think JD was certainly the most interesting player on the team last year, after Pedro left. Fouling off all thoese balls ... all those funny lines during interviews.
Remember the time half the team was on Johnny Carson, and JD was on Letterman -- and Damon was the more interesting interview, by far?
I never got the vibe that Johnny was being anyone other than himself. You'd wonder sometimes, is this guy really smart, or really stupid?
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Hey, the Sox have been signing players! They just got their second backup 3B, they're looking at a second back 1B, they got two or three who can play 2B, two backup catchers, and they still got like seven starting pitchers. No SS or CF, but, hey, maybe they'll sign Clemens and Arroyo can patrol center. Or Varitek at short when Flaherty catches Wakefield.
Grr. I'm... confused is the polite word, at what the Sox are doing. It kinda seems like our front office left the keys in the team while they went to lunch and then something fell on the gas and the steering wheel got turned to the left, and it's just kinda going on its own right now, with no direction.
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Johnny can't throw nor pitch & is entering the Past His Prime Era. & His team may not go anywhere as the have A-Fraud, & with the new steroid testing, I wonder if Giambi will lose his lucky syringe?
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Damon will be done before his contract is, but expect him to give the Yankees a real boost next year and in 2007. Giambi was tested multiple times last year and passed all his tests. He may have been a juicer but he's not anymore and A-Rod will be an MVP candidate yet aagin. The real hope for the Sox winning the AL East lies in the Yankees rotation being held together by pitchers whose bodies are in a race against time and, as last proved, are inconsistent. The Sox should be strong on D next year and that is their key to success. Expecting A-Rod, Giambi and Damon to perform poorly next year is unrealistic and unlikely (certainly in JD and A-Rod's case).
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so, i guess you don't agree with JD's dad, who compared this to when you guys traded away Babe Ruth...?
wasn't JD offered a 4yr/$40 mil contract by the Sox? at least it's nice to know that JD's integrity is worth only $12 mil.
because, of course, it'd be virtually impossible to live on a meager salary of $10 mil a year.
of course, i dunno shit about this and i don't really care. i was just curious as to your thoughts, since you're one of the biggest Sox fans i know. well, "know."
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Welsh?
The GiamBALCO looked weak & Sickly, in May of '05; By July, he looked BIGGER than Life & he persired heavily & had acne; both are signs that he's using a substance which cannot be detected by urine samples. GiamBALCO's change in physique is the reason why there was such a surge in power stats. This may have affected the standings by a swing of 10 games.
A-Fraud is STILL a fraud.
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Jack Roy, your car metaphor is exactly how i feel about all this. i haven't been following the ins and outs very closely, but i just get the overarching sense that after theo left the whole operation is just a little...adrift.
we'll see.
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I have been looking for sites like this for a long time. Thank you! »
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Hi FINY - Thanks darlin'! Oh, the blog love. It's what I live for.
I must admit the red blooded woman factor was why I latched onto Johnny early in my short career as a red sox fan. A little ashamed to admit it, but I was one of THOSE girls. My hubby was so dedicated to recruit me as a fan, so we could watch games and talk sox, he got me a 18 shirt and he officially became my guy...I took the defection a little personally. So many of the guys that popped my Red Sox cherry are gone, or are looking to go, it makes me feel dirty and used. But since hating the game makes it hard to be a fan, I'll hate the playa. Johnny you slut.
Ok, now. Sorry about that. This bitter stage is quickly passing. We are planning a cleansing ritual involving lighter fluid and a trash can.
Happy New Year FINY! - Nacho