Johnny Damon brought swagger ... unless anyone was on base

would have been much better off with a full year of Raburn. Definitely not sad to see him go.

see ya Johnny!

Sure he brought a veteran presence to the lineup and helped win some games, but for $8M a year I expected a lot more from him. It didn’t help my rating of him that he was an ex-Yankee. I can’t stand the Bronx Bums. I gave him a D. Giving him a C would have been an act of kindness that I can’t lay on an ex-Yankee/Red Sox money grubbin’ player.

Although he was paid a hefty wage for production, he was not alone in that department with the team. His professionalism was very important to this team. You cannot deny that. You can hate the Yankees as much as possible, but Damon was much better for this team than Sheffield ever was. He said all the right things, and it helped him being around some young players. Don’t forget that in the future. Yes I am on board with seeing him go to someone else next year but he wasn’t a complete waste of time in Detroit. I appreciated his effort and belief in Detroit even for a brief moment.

in how he hit in the second half, I couldn’t have been more happy with the way he conducted himself off the field. He brought a lot of great leadership; which was needed with a team full of guys barely older than I.
 Also, his decision to stay in Detroit and honor his contract showed a great amount of loyalty and class. That’s really what stood out to me about Johnny this season, I was really impressed by his staunchness.

I like what you said about the personality/character he brought to the clubhouse. I think that means a lot to the team and is a big reason I gave him a B instead of a C.

Granted, he was awful with RISP… but his primary job was to get on base so the big fella’s could get him home. Mission accomplished. I thought he had a good year. Particularily the couple walk-offs and big hits he had throughout the season.

I hated the idea of the Tigers being mentioned with his name, giant payday or not. I had to give him a C just because like BrianCMU said, he brought a lot of leadership that really would have been missed in the second half.

His defense we all know is terrible. I’m pretty sure my 6 year old nephew has a better arm than Damon does, but that isn’t why he was brought in.

As for his hitting – it was decent. It should have been known that his power would be a big drop of from the ’09 season. With how spacious Comerica Park is and the jet stream in right field at Yankees Stadium (where he hit I believe it was 18 of his 24 HRs that year), I knew his HRs would not carry over. However, I did expect his XBH to stay about the same and they did not (a decrease from 63 to 49). Hits, BBs, SBs, OBP, OPS+ and most other stats were right in line with his last year as a Yankee. But as the article mentioned, he could not seem to drive in the runs. He would see an average of 10.6 AB in between RBIs which is his highest since 2001 in Oakland.

Like I said, I never liked him and I still do not (and him coming out and saying he would just love to play for the Yankees again does not help his cause at all), but he wasn’t absolutely terrible this year…

Every team needs at least one guy like Johnny Damon. He was more available to the fans than any other player. He was about as good of a teammate as you could ever ask for. He played his heart out and took joy in the game. He may not have been an all-star on the field, but players like that make you proud to be a Tigers fan. I loved that he was here this year and am sad to see him go.

He did his job. There was no automatic out fm Damon to Cabby. At one time in the first half of the season we had the best 1-4 not only in the American League, but all of baseball. JD was part of that. He played average in he outfield. And, I remember one of the games taken away from us when it was 3 & 2 count, and Damon CLEARLY should’ve had a walk to win the game and was called out on stirkes. What other Tiger other then Cabby could’ve pulled off that situation without swinging at that pitch? I also think his numbers would’ve been better had the tigers played him more. JD is one of those who needs to play every day. I know BB was hot in the 1st half, but after he cooled down JD should’ve played more. I dont think he’s washed up yet and I wouldnt mind having him back. Available veterans with leadership skills batting 280-300 are hard to come by.

Boris ripped off Illitch, owes Detroit now.. “No i don’t think my power will decline much at Comerica”…is that from 26 to 12 HRS. “in any case I have a .362 career batting ave. at Comerica”. They Knew about the subpar defense, no excuse.

If not for robes for everyone in a locker room that invites female reporters (class act), and the fact that hes a good guy, it would be F. Why not male reporters in female locker rooms, too, yet another injustice in our society? What Kurt, trying to skew the voting by not including the F option?..LOL

Perfect example of someone who had to get AB’s nomatter how futile the play was because of contract and Leylands stubborn insistence on “track record”. He might as well have been named Renteria or Sheffield.

his production was horrible

.271/.355/.401? I’ll take that in the 2 hole any day of the week. Especially given the state of our offense- nobody here should be complaining about a .355 OBP. I’d give him a B (though I voted C).

I am surprised that his RISP came out so low. Damon was 2nd on the team in doubles. I would expect those to do more RBI damage. He was 3rd in runs scored. He played in 145 games, which is impressive for a guy his age and critical in a year where the medics got more playing time than many players.

Kurt nailed it with “he did what he was asked to do”. Damon’s job was to get on base and score runs. He was never expected to be a great glove (and he wasn’t) but he apparently didn’t cost them too many runs either. He actually seemed to improve judging by his 2009 UZR score.

In the clubhouse I give him an A+. He said wonderful things about his team and the Detroit area. He mentored all of the Tiger Cubs. I would take him back for this reason alone (and I think he is positioning himself for a coaching role somewhere when he can’t play anymore).

On a side note, after watching him for a year I do not understand the hate that people have for this guy. He gets boo’d all over the country and yet he seems to be a nice guy who gives us everything he can everyday. What more can I ask for? I will miss seeing him everyday and I don’t look forward to him being in another team’s dugout next season.

The idiots persona that was irritating when it was shoved in your face by ESPN when Damon was with Boston and New York is actually somewhat endearing when you see it in service of your own team. His being around was good for the young kids on the 2010 edition of the Tigers.

So he didn’t hit as well as many as hoped. But his production was in line with what I figured he’d give us, so it wasn’t too big a disappointment for me. Add all that together, and in my book, Johnny Damon scrapes out a B- for his year in Detroit.

because I really liked what he brought to this team. Like most of us have said, his impact on this team extended beyond what his bat brought (or didn’t bring). It’s something that will be sorely missed on this team.

In comparison with other outfielders around the league, he was certainly very average. I appreciate his clubhouse contributions, but I’m not going to factor it into what I feel is his player performance grade.

I liked the signing because is stabilized our outfield and our #2 spot. I didn’t expect one ounce more of production than we got from him and I was happy with his role when he was the #2 hitter. As a #3, he was in the wrong spot in the lineup.

What I loved seeing in Damon was his ability to make a pitcher work. I remember being frusterated when he was a Yank that I’d be watching a game and Damon would be wasting 8 or 10 Verlander pitches every time up. I think some our our home grown players should learn something.

Damon was brought in because, after Granderson was traded and they had the rookie AJax penciled in the lead off spot, and Polanco left for Philly, there were serious questions at the top of the batting order. He certainly wasn’t signed for his glove, just his bat. I doubt if the Tigers expected that he’d come close to the 24 homers that he hit into that jetstream in the house that Jeter built, but the drop off in his power numbers was nonetheless disappointing.

Specifically, what the Tigers needed from Damon was a veteran presence at the top of the lineup. A man that could get on base ahead of Magglio and Miggy, and at least make the pitcher think a little bit about the runner while he was on base. Damon had a .360 OBP for most of the year, and that predictably dropped a bit toward the end when Magglio went on the DL. He batted out of place in the 3 slot, for lack of someone better to fill that spot, for much of the second half. In the end, Johnny was about average or a tick below average as a DH, but above average at least in OBP for a No. 2 hitter. As a DH, give him a C. As a No. 2 hitter, give him a B minus.

The DH position saw something of a resurgence in the AL in 2010. Guys like Thome, Guererro, Ortiz, Matsui, Branyan, and Luke Scott had very good seasons. (Ahem, they’re all potentially available now). Most teams got considerably more power out of that position this year than last, and more than Damon gave the Tigers. I fully expect that the Tigers will be adding a power bat at DH to fill that five slot. But

Johnny had an OBP of .362 in that 2 slot. The Tigers ranked second in the league in AVG and in OBP in the 2 slot, third in runs scored, third in hits, fourth in OPS, and they held their own across the board in offensive categories in the 2 hole. That will be missed if Damon is not replaced from outside the organization this winter. (DeJesus would be nice). More likely, though, that they pick up a couple of bats for the 3 and 5 slots and fill that 2 hole with either Raburn or the second baseman du jour. They probably give up some OBP, and that doesn’t help Cabrera’s RBI totals, but hopefully they get someone that brings a decent OBP and a little something else, such as a little speed, a bit more power, or maybe wears a glove on occasion. If they don’t replace Damon’s .362 or Magglio’s .378, that does not bode well for Cabrera’s numbers.

That .355 OBP isn’t anything to sneeze at. He ran up pitch counts and got on base. That’s exactly what you’re asking for from a guy batting in the two spot. I agree that we should allow Johnny to find another place for his services next year, but it doesn’t mean this year was an experiment gone wrong.

Johnny did what we asked of him in the two spot. He batted to his position in the lineup. How many people expected Johnny to come to Comerica and still knock 15+ home runs?

He’s worth the above average B rating over the average C. There are a lot of other guys to stick Cs and Ds on.

Tigers fan since "65. I’m quoting Kurt here:

If there’s one thing Damon did well, it’s get on base. It’s important to remember that’s the role he was asked to play on this team. He batted second, and had a well above-average on-base percentage of .355 to show for it. His numbers with runners on base were pretty bad.

Absoulutely awfull arm. Couldn’t throw out Thome with a busted ankle. B- bat at best. Wayyy to streaky at the plate. Great clubhouse guy with good intangables, brings him up to a C. Way overpaid for, but that’s typical for Tiger free agent.

He got on base & brought leadership that the 2010 Tigers needed. He had 36 doubles & scored 81 runs. Not bad for his age. I thought his Batting Average would have been over .300 hitting in Detroit, but I was wrong about that. All & All, He did his job & then some.