Updated: Tigers linked to Johnny Damon, or are they?
by allikazoo on Jan 15, 2010 2:26 PM EST
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PrintLast night Kurt mentioned that the Tigers are rumored to be talking with Damon and his lovable agent, Mr. Boras, but it may have gotten lost in the Valverde signing frenzy. If you google it, there's about 50 articles that come up. I thought I'd provide some of the more popular links to bring everyone up to speed and give us a place to discuss them.
What started it all: this tweet from John Heyman.
Then Jason Beck wrote a post confirming there has been contact between the Tigers and Damon, and discusses how he'd fit in the lineup.
To add to the speculation, this morning Mark J. Miller on Yahoo! Sports mentioned the rumor. MLB Trade Rumors did as well, of course.
So, feel free to continue the discussion and add any other links you might see in the comments. In glancing at the FanShot from last night, I'd say that fans seem to be pretty evenly divided on this.
Latest update
Tigers president/GM Dave Dombrowski, thru spokesperson: We have not expressed interest in Johnny Damon.
(Thanks to vanman and StringTheory for posting in the FanShots/Posts earlier today with some of the links above)
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Bless You Boys writing staff.
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Plan emerging
It looks to me like the Tigers’ plan is not simply long term rebuilding, or trying to cobble together a team capable of contending in a weak division in 2010—it’s doing both simultaeously.
I can’t bring myself to disapprove of this plan, any more than I disapproved of the plan to trade prosepcts for an immediate pennant winner in ‘08. But, (as in ’08) I’m not sure it will work.
Can the Tigers bypass a DH in favor of a Designated Fielder? I’d rather watch a pitcher try to hit that Damon or Guillen scuttling around in LF.
by rock n rye on Jan 15, 2010 3:07 PM EST via mobile reply actions
If we sign Damon,
I hope Raburn gets a chance in CF. I think he’s deserving of 400 PA this year, if not more. So, against RHP, perhaps:
1. Damon, LF/DH
2. Ordonez, RF/DH
3. Guillen, DH/LF/1B
4. Cabrera, 1B/DH
5. Raburn, CF
6. Sizemore, 2B
7. Inge, 3B
8. Laird/Avila, C
9. Everett/Santiago, SS
Raburn in CF wouldn't be bad
But I’m going to say it again and push him as Tony Phillips, Jr.
President, Vice President and Secretary of the Casey Crosby Fanclub.
by David Tokarz on Jan 15, 2010 4:15 PM EST up reply actions
Well, shit. I was just warming to the idea.
by StringTheory on Jan 15, 2010 3:13 PM EST up reply actions
I was getting used to it
but he’ll be so expensive. and.. cave man, ergh. I have to think they still want a DH, but what do I know
well, hopefully that center fielder they traded for works out
but i’ll take Magglio as leadoff. If you forgo the theory your leadoff hitter has to be fast — not a problem in this lineup, no one is fast but the rookie CF — at least Magglio gets on base quite often.
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by Kurt Mensching on Jan 15, 2010 3:16 PM EST up reply actions
I think Damon would be a good stopgap
for a year or two or until we are sure Jackson is ready. If Jackson seems ready to hit leadoff then Damon drop to #2 in the lineup.
I'd say Raburn
but he probably won’t be an everyday player
by allikazoo on Jan 15, 2010 3:23 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Come on Johnny
Sure, who wouldnt want Damon. He plays hard, he hustles, he bats left handed,. If you put him in the right order of the lineup like say tween Mags and Cabera that would be awesome. I still thinks he’s got a good couple of years left in him. For all of you who are still mad about the Grande & EJ trades, you accused the Tigs of firesale. Well signing Valverde and looking at Damon I think DD told the truth. One thing I dont understand about all these blogs & comments. It seems all on here are against the Tigers. I am not sure I agree with a lot of the moves either. But, the end of the 2010 season is not over yet folks. Reserve all you judgment until after the season, then we can all B*%ch. We’ll know what kind of season Granderson had,, we’ll know who started and performed during the season. Right now everyone is in first place. For the record Curtis Granderson was “My Tiger”. I hated to see him go, but, from a baseball standpoint I can kinda see why the tigers let him go. Who was is the top 5 the last 3 seasons in strikeouts? My tiger. As I always say. PLAY BALL!!!!!
Soooo....
We’re not supposed to say a thing about the current moves being made at all? Then what would be the point of a comments section on an interactive web site like this? This is a great place to come and talk about the Tigers and what they’re doing and where they’re going. Everyone here has an opinion on the moves they make. This is a great venue to discuss/debate/argue/etc. all of that.
by vanman on Jan 15, 2010 4:13 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Hey
If you were referring to my comment I didnt exactly mean no one could comment. Obviously as you stated we all have opinions. It just seems to me a lot of people on here on against anything the tigers do. It also seems people comment on here based on thier personal feelings not in baseball terms. But, as you pointed out, they are entitled as well. So far the government hasnt taken that away from us, but stand by.
a lot of people on here base their opinions on advanced study of the game, too.
And all of it is great, I want this to be a site for everyone. The past two days’ debate is just what I hoped for.
All your favorite Tigers blog are belong to me.
Bless You Boys.com -- MackAvenueTigers.com
by Kurt Mensching on Jan 15, 2010 4:57 PM EST up reply actions
Then you are definitely misreading
There are a lot of emotion-laced tirades against the Tigers that happen on here (myself included from time to time), but there is just as much level headed statistical analysis going on. There should be nothing wrong with being critical of the moves that the front office is making. Heck, I would be ecstatic to see some moves happen in Detroit that have happened in the past few years in Seattle. They are going in the right direction through signing decent players to reasonable contracts and avoiding overpaying for people, and to me it just seems that we are doing the opposite right now. But that doesn’t mean I won’t support them. And I definitely hope that I am completely wrong and that we can win the division and do some damage in the playoffs; I just don’t see it happening…..
Damon wouldn't hurt
Though I think I would rather have Russ Branyan (lineup needs a very large stick) I wouldn’t say no to Damon at a reasonable price. I still want to contend next year too, and I think Damon can at least help with that.
President, Vice President and Secretary of the Casey Crosby Fanclub.
Can Branyan play any 3B?
I know he’d mainly be a DH, but if we he could spell Inge a few days and let Maggs or whomever DH, I think he’d be a great pickup.
Theoretically
I mean, he can’t play it well, so don’t start him with Kid Rick on the mound…
President, Vice President and Secretary of the Casey Crosby Fanclub.
by David Tokarz on Jan 16, 2010 12:53 AM EST up reply actions
It’s at this point that I would also like to semi-lament the loss of Mike Hessman. Yes, he is not left-handed, but immense power, alright plate discipline, and the scouts/metrics are (from what I remember reading a while ago) in agreement that he’s decent enough to not be a liability at 3rd base. Seeing guys like Jack Cust, Jake Fox, and Russell Branyan over the last few years have good seasons in the later part of their 20’s (I know Hessman’s in his 30’s) but I was secretly hoping he’d secure himself the spot as corner infield bench player/DH when Maggs/Guillen aren’t there.
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Now I write at Bless You Boys.
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by Mike Rogers on Jan 16, 2010 12:57 AM EST up reply actions
I've actually heard he's good defensively
I think CK at Baseball Prospectus was pushing Hessman a while ago… I could be wrong though.
President, Vice President and Secretary of the Casey Crosby Fanclub.
by David Tokarz on Jan 16, 2010 3:59 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah. I wanted to be conservative in my talk about his defense because I hadn’t looked for comments from scouts in a while. But, I think it’s safe to say he can be above-average at 3rd and he can mash if given the chance. Another “what if…” player.
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Now I write at Bless You Boys.
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it'd certainly be interesting...
never been a big Damon fan after he sold out and went to the Yanks (and had to cut his hair/shave his beard), but he can swing the stick.
Detroit Bad Boys- SB Nation's Detroit Pistons Blog
Maybe
he could grow it back as a Tiger?
Anyway, note how Dombrowski phrased it, “We have not expressed interest in Johnny Damon.” That doesn’t mean they aren’t interested—just that they haven’t expressed it. Heck, if you worked at it, you could get him all the way to signing a contract and still be able to claim that you technically “have not expressed interest .”
JackO was sorry to see him go, as memory serves.
And I trust JackO on matters Yankee. Far more than I trust his mentally-challenged buddy.
His price would have to come down for me to like it; Doubtful he’ll be an asset in the field, and his bat won’t be as good as it was in NYY last year. So, the price would have to be right but even at that, I think Branyan would fit what we need the most.
My old blog is Tigers By The Numbers.
Now I write at Bless You Boys.
Like music? See what I'm listening to at my Last.fm account.
Someone hit the “Ian” button and have him get them pressed!
My old blog is Tigers By The Numbers.
Now I write at Bless You Boys.
Like music? See what I'm listening to at my Last.fm account.
Morosi:
Source says Tigers aren’t going to sign another outfielder. They are really counting on Austin Jackson.
I’m fine with counting on Jackson so long as we’re supplementing the typical rookie woes with other bats. If that’s Damon, that’s fine but it needs to be at a good price.
My old blog is Tigers By The Numbers.
Now I write at Bless You Boys.
Like music? See what I'm listening to at my Last.fm account.
But . . . but . . .
. . . the point would not be to find another CF. The point would be to find a left-handed bat to put into the DH/Corner OF rotation along with Magglio, Guillen, and Raburn. Ideally, a good-fielding OF, but minimally, a lefty DH—more or less the role Huff was supposed to fill last year, but didn’t. The CF on this team has to be an outstanding defender like Jackson even at the expense of offense, because with Guillen in LF and Magglio in RF, there has to be somebody in the outfield to catch fly balls.
Yeah, I hear you. I just don’t want to over pay for some one like Damon.
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by Mike Rogers on Jan 15, 2010 10:54 PM EST up reply actions
But . . .
. . . if they could afford Valverde, they ought to be able to afford Damon at something resembling market price—or if not Damon, Branyan or . . . somebody. I mean, team management has forfeited the right to cry poverty.
Possibly, yes.
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You'd think that Mr. Ilitch......
would look at his other Detroit team and all of the injuries happening there. I think signing Damon is a good idea to shore up the outfield. Maybe I have terrible memory, but I know we haven’t had our outfield stay healthy for an entire season for quite awhile. Having the depth would be nice.
You're
comparing apples and oranges. I doubt Illitch thinks in those terms.
The only OF I recall that was on the DL last season is Carlos and if he plays out there everyday, he’ll be injured again. But there are 2 or more above adequate player capable of playing the OF in the event that happens in Raburn and Thomas, Ramirez is another option, Wells in as option. We have an abundance of guys who can play the corners and DH. What we need is a first rate CF, who can add depth to the roster wit his bat.
I failed to see
where Damon was ever a fit for the Tigers.
The Yankees are the only team with the need and finances in Damon. The Tigers? Neither apply.
Five ReasonsWhy Damon is not a Tiger
(1) Steve Boras is his agent
(2) He is TOO Old
(3) He is TOO Expensive
(4) He can’t really play the outfield anymore (though he WOULD be an improvement over Carlos Guillen in Left)
(5) Steve Boras as his agent. (I know I used it twice but I suspect Boras’ days dealing with Detroit are done forever)
This one sounded to me like a Boras planted story all along. Boras mentions to some newspaper guy that the Tigers are interested and suddenly there are 50 stories about it.
The fact is that while Boras was driving up the price for client Matt Holiday, with more “phony interest stories” he mistakenly over valued Johnny Damon’s value to the Yankees and now Damon does not have a job. When Kenny Rodgers fired Boras, during his free agent off season, a couple of years ago, I thought that maybe older players would dump him as an agent as they got older. Johnny Damon didn’t and now he is on the outside looking in
this guy is his agent?
That’s unfortunate.
Scott Boras has several clients wearing the old english D. Damon must have chosen the wrong Boras in the phone book.
All your favorite Tigers blog are belong to me.
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by Kurt Mensching on Jan 16, 2010 3:24 PM EST up reply actions
Tigers have…
…No problems with Boras clients. Hell, it’s the EXACT reason we’ve got Rick Porcello today.
…No problems spending large amounts of money on old players. It’s the EXACT reason we have Guillen, Inge, Robertson, Willis, Magglio and Laird.
…No problems with defensive liabilities in the outfield. It’s the EXACT reason we have corner outfielders of Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen.
…See my first comment.
My old blog is Tigers By The Numbers.
Now I write at Bless You Boys.
Like music? See what I'm listening to at my Last.fm account.
by Mike Rogers on Jan 16, 2010 5:51 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Self Suspension after that one
Jesus
I should never try to post after 3 Vicodins
Sorry gang for an embarrising post that I wish could come down
Haha, no need to apologize. Everyone has one of those days.
My old blog is Tigers By The Numbers.
Now I write at Bless You Boys.
Like music? See what I'm listening to at my Last.fm account.
by Mike Rogers on Jan 20, 2010 10:36 PM EST up reply actions
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