Tigers Sign Damon - 1 yr, 8 mil; NTC

[JohnCangelosi]

Speaking of Damon, what are his options now?? I mean, we are 2 weeks away from ST and still nothing. I wonder if this means we can maybe get away with a 1 yr 4M deal for him? Who knows, I dont know how many other suitors he has right now?

 

[ptatc]

Fair enough. Yeah, when they beat the Cardinals (I think it was them) and Braves in 1987 and 1991, it was 4-3 both times, with the home teams all holding serve.

 

Flowers makes a lot of sense for USCF if he stays at catcher especially....if not, he fits into "others" fighting to replace Konerko at 1B or for at-bats at DH. Viciedo, hopefully, will figure in there was well by the beginning of 2011.

 

I personally don't see Morel ever making it as a regular with the big league club, but then I've watched Chris Snopek and Greg Norton as starters over there. I'm more optimistic about Danks or Mitchell having breakthroughs than relying on Morel to play at close to maximum potential.

 

The rumor was alway that KW felt offense was what helped to draw bigger crowds, and that he'd rather error on the side of building offensively-minded clubs both for the fanbase and to tailor it to the stadium itself...of course, die-hard Sox fans know that winning trumps everything else in terms of attendance. It's only fun if you have a Wisconsin, Butler or Iowa style of team (the baseball equivalent being us offensively unless Quentin returns to MVP form) if you actually win games with it, otherwise it really sucks for the fans.

 

I think a lot of the frustration is with the idea of having only a two year window for this team...and the fact that we're starting out at a competitive disadvantage because of the DH situation, just as we limped out of the gate last year in CF, 3B and with Lillibridge getting many important at bats.

 

The pitching and defense is the way to which it seems teams are going. Look at Boston. They changed Bay and Lowell for Cameron and Beltre. They gave up a ton of offense to focus on pitching for their very good starting pitching. Fenway is similar to Comiskey where offense should rule however the player with the most homeruns last year is Ortiz with 28 and his BA was around .230.

 

I do think Morel will make it as a regular in the majors. The only thing he lacks is power and as I've stated I think the trend will be away from that style of play. I not sure if he'll ever be an All-Star but I think he'll do fine.

[witesoxfan]

They aren't going to bench Kubel, who also cannot play the field. With Young, Span and Cuddyer there's no room in the outfield anyway.

 

Kubel played 58 games in the outfield last year, and that was when the Twins had Gomez too along with Young, Span, and Cuddyer. Delmon Young is a terrible defensive LFer - barely better than Kubel - and he is obviously much worse offensively than Jim Thome against right handed pitching.

 

I still think Thome gets close to 100 games at DH next year, barring injury.

[DirtySox]

Speaking of Damon, what are his options now?? I mean, we are 2 weeks away from ST and still nothing. I wonder if this means we can maybe get away with a 1 yr 4M deal for him? Who knows, I dont know how many other suitors he has right now?

 

Tigers and recently the Braves. Rays are a long shot.

 

http://twitter.com/ajcbraves/statuses/8909908699

[ptatc]

Kubel played 58 games in the outfield last year, and that was when the Twins had Gomez too along with Young, Span, and Cuddyer. Delmon Young is a terrible defensive LFer - barely better than Kubel - and he is obviously much worse offensively than Jim Thome against right handed pitching.

 

I still think Thome gets close to 100 games at DH next year, barring injury.

 

You could be right but I don't think so.

[witesoxfan]

You could be right but I don't think so.

 

Which I respect. And I say close to 100 rather than the 120 or so that a full-time DH would normally get because I doubt he ever gets any playing time against left handed pitching, and Mauer is going to DH on days when he needs a day off from catching, which will take Thome out of the lineup too (though Gardenhire may try and work that out so Mauer gets his day off against a lefty, as both Kubel and Thome are horrible against left handed pitching). He may only play 50 games, or even less. We'll just to see.

[shakes]

Kubel played 58 games in the outfield last year, and that was when the Twins had Gomez too along with Young, Span, and Cuddyer. Delmon Young is a terrible defensive LFer - barely better than Kubel - and he is obviously much worse offensively than Jim Thome against right handed pitching.

 

I still think Thome gets close to 100 games at DH next year, barring injury.

 

 

We'll see. It could happen. It's also possible that Kubel and Cuddyer can't repeat what they did last year, and Thome is there for insurance.

 

All I was trying to say is there was no real market for him to get guaranteed at bats.

[dmbjeff]

I thought the same thing last year about CF, when we started the year with Wise and BA. Then we got stuck with them until the deadline.

 

CF is much harder to acquire than a DH. There are only 30 CF's but about 200 different options when you really think about it we could trade for as a DH.

[witesoxfan]

We'll see. It could happen. It's also possible that Kubel and Cuddyer can't repeat what they did last year, and Thome is there for insurance.

 

All I was trying to say is there was no real market for him to get guaranteed at bats.

 

That I can agree with.

[iamshack]

We'll see. It could happen. It's also possible that Kubel and Cuddyer can't repeat what they did last year, and Thome is there for insurance.

 

All I was trying to say is there was no real market for him to get guaranteed at bats.

It don't think anyone ever questioned Thome would play a reduced role this season. That is fairly difficult to argue. But it certainly appears as though there were suitors for him, including our own GM and others, as opposed to your earlier statement that our own GM and every other GM were aware he could no longer be productive.

[shakes]

It don't think anyone ever questioned Thome would play a reduced role this season. That is fairly difficult to argue. But it certainly appears as though there were suitors for him, including our own GM and others, as opposed to your earlier statement that our own GM and every other GM were aware he could no longer be productive.

 

I don't think Thome was ever seriously in the Sox plans. And Jim had to take a very small base salary to earn at bats from the bench. That would indicate to me that nobody trusts him to be a full time productive player anymore.

 

It doesn't mean he can't be, it's just that nobody was willing to make a big committment to him.

 

[iamshack]

I don't think Thome was ever seriously in the Sox plans. And Jim had to take a very small base salary to earn at bats from the bench. That would indicate to me that nobody trusts him to be a full time productive player anymore.

 

It doesn't mean he can't be, it's just that nobody was willing to make a big committment to him.

So I'm guessing that you thought the whole Soxfest drama was just a show to placate the fanbase? I suppose it could have been, although I highly doubt our FO would mess around with Jim like that.

 

As for the full-time productive player statement, I agree with you there. Guess I just misinterpreted your original statements. My bad.

[shakes]

So I'm guessing that you thought the whole Soxfest drama was just a show to placate the fanbase? I suppose it could have been, although I highly doubt our FO would mess around with Jim like that.

 

As for the full-time productive player statement, I agree with you there. Guess I just misinterpreted your original statements. My bad.

 

I think they did explore it, as they should have, it just wasn't in the cards this year. I think it was a bit of showmanship for the fans, and the organization wanting to leave on good terms with Jim. It sounds like they were honest and straight forward. From what I've heard, they never really even got into money. If that's the case, than they were never considering it too seriously.

 

Let's face it, if Kenny wanted him, he would have signed him. He has trumped Ozzie's opinion on a player a dozen times in the past, why would it have changed this time?

 

Ozzie is just wearing this one.

[Steve9347]

[BigSqwert]

Looks like the villain in Foot Fist Way.

[Steve9347]

Foot Fist Ghey

[iamshack]

I think they did explore it, as they should have, it just wasn't in the cards this year. I think it was a bit of showmanship for the fans, and the organization wanting to leave on good terms with Jim. It sounds like they were honest and straight forward. From what I've heard, they never really even got into money. If that's the case, than they were never considering it too seriously.

 

Let's face it, if Kenny wanted him, he would have signed him. He has trumped Ozzie's opinion on a player a dozen times in the past, why would it have changed this time?

 

Ozzie is just wearing this one.

No, I honestly think they are giving Ozzie a chance to have the roster he wants, instead of the roster Kenny wants. I think Ozzie has told Kenny and Jerry in the end of the season meetings that he wants a faster, more flexible roster, and now he is getting it. I don't know how long his rope will be, but they are giving him some for now. The hints have all been there, from what happened at Soxfest to some comments by JR.

 

The reason money wasn't brought up with Jim is because it would never have been an issue. He would have accepted whatever they would have offered him.

[NorthSideSox72]

Just copying and pasting what Kyyle put in the Free Agent thread...

 

Interesting turn in ESPN.com 's new article

 

 

The Johnny Damon Sweepstakes appeared to be nearing the finish line Thursday, as Damon tries to choose from several offers far less than the two-year, $20 million deal he and agent Scott Boras have been seeking.

 

Two sources told ESPN.com that the Detroit Tigers have made the largest offer, amid speculation around the industry that that bid is in the range of one year, $7 million. There were indications the sides were still discussing a possible two-year deal. But even the Tigers' one-year offer appears to be the biggest offer on the table.

 

The Atlanta Braves and Tampa Bay Rays have also remained in the bidding, with both teams talking about one-year contracts for fewer total dollars than the Tigers' offer. MLB.com reported that the Braves' offer was for less than $4 million. A source indicated the Chicago White Sox also have expressed late interest.

 

At this point, if Damon landed with any team other than the Tigers or Braves, it would be a surprise. He and Boras have been publicly expressing their admiration for both teams. And both, conveniently, hold spring training close to Damon's home in Orlando.

 

Officials of both the Tigers and Braves declined to characterize their offers or the state of their negotiations Thursday. However, speculation in the industry, from people who have spoken with various principals, is that Damon will make a decision by the end of the week.

[striker]

Any guesses as to what his numbers would be with the Sox? I'm thinking .280/.350/20hr/65rbi

[ThunderBolt]

I don't buy the Tigers. It just makes no sense to me with how the Granderson deal would look in retrospect. I hope like hell Kenny can bring Damon in on a reasonable price, and not let the Boras pontificating sessions drive up the deal.

[iamshack]

I don't buy the Tigers. It just makes no sense to me with how the Granderson deal would look in retrospect. I hope like hell Kenny can bring Damon in on a reasonable price, and not let the Boras pontificating sessions drive up the deal.

Again, it's an issue of certain teams misjudging the marketplace. They did not forsee certain players being available at some of these numbers, and so now they are re-evaluating their positions.

 

It's one thing to make a mistake and misjudge the market. It's quite another to be so stubborn about it that you then miss out on another opportunity.

[ThunderBolt]

Again, it's an issue of certain teams misjudging the marketplace. They did not forsee certain players being available at some of these numbers, and so now they are re-evaluating their positions.

 

It's one thing to make a mistake and misjudge the market. It's quite another to be so stubborn about it that you then miss out on another opportunity.

It another issue to trade your best, young player claiming financial inflexibility and then sign Jose Valverde and Damon to deals \ during the offseason.

[DirtySox]

Ilitch approved a 2 Year 14 million offer.

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Detroit...ny-Damon-021110

Edited February 11, 2010 by DirtySox

[DirtySox]

White Sox in too?

 

Tigers and White Sox negotiating with Johnny Damon at levels that have eliminated the Atlanta Braves

 

 

http://twitter.com/JimBowdenXMFOX/status/8977380156

Edited February 11, 2010 by DirtySox

[shakes]

It another issue to trade your best, young player claiming financial inflexibility and then sign Jose Valverde and Damon to deals \ during the offseason.

 

Most Tigers fans think the Granderson and Jackson trades were a baseball decision and not financially motivated. It looks like they are right after Valverde and Damon.