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Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-12-19 14:35:10 +0000

You have a TV in your bedroom? How far you've come.

Posted by tgl on 2005-12-19 14:45:16 +0000

Since Otis St. The bedroom location is nice since it doesn't get in the way during the day. Although, now we have one in the basement. Completely broadcast compatible! Best thing about reception on the North Shore: Sometimes 11 Durham comes in. Total diagonals of all TVs: 30"

Posted by Null Protocol on 2005-12-19 14:50:59 +0000

Only thing comes in on our bedroom TV is the "wiggles" , "bear in the big blue house", "hi 5", and the "doodlebops"... sportswatching is usually late at night downstairs only

Posted by Null Protocol on 2005-12-19 14:59:38 +0000

Oh, and Damon, BTW: yr dead to me. I want everything I gave you back. love RL

Posted by Miriam on 2005-12-19 15:04:11 +0000

On the radio this morning, one of the djs mispronounced Nomar's last name...but only the last two syllables.

Posted by Miriam on 2005-12-19 15:04:35 +0000

Apparently there's a rumor he's going to the Dodgers.

Posted by tgl on 2005-12-19 15:07:17 +0000

The Dodgers have spent all their money, they can't afford Damon this year.

Posted by frame609 on 2005-12-19 17:02:16 +0000

I guess I feel like the Yankees won't get Damon- they re-signed Matsui, and are already paying so much tax. I guess we'll see.

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-12-19 17:07:48 +0000

What's wrong with Bubba Crosby?

Posted by frame609 on 2005-12-19 17:08:45 +0000

One of the best pure baseball names out there.

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-12-21 02:35:30 +0000

Damon = Yankee!!! Done deal? 4 Years 52-54 million.

Posted by frame609 on 2005-12-21 02:39:32 +0000

I am going to be sick.

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-12-21 02:39:41 +0000

It's over! A-Rod and Jeter called Damon. Wow. Does he get booed first appearance at Fenway??

Posted by tgl on 2005-12-21 02:47:16 +0000

Wow. I wouldn't boo him, but he will get booed. What is the move, Coco Crisp?

Posted by tgl on 2005-12-21 02:48:44 +0000

Forget looking forward, watch your back, man.

Posted by frame609 on 2005-12-21 03:09:44 +0000

I am stunned. Seriously. Crisp? Jeremy Reed? I have no idea. This is just awful.

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-12-21 03:15:45 +0000

Manny =8 ;)

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-12-21 03:19:41 +0000

Yankee 2006 batting order: Jeter Damon A-Rod Giambi Shef Matsui Pretty sick...

Posted by frame609 on 2005-12-21 03:26:40 +0000

Posted by frame609 on 2005-12-21 03:32:39 +0000

Add Posada and Cano to the lineup, too. Shit. The Sox aren't anywhere near as solid, obviously, but check out 2-7: Loretta Ortiz Manny Lowell Varitek Nixon If Youkilis is playing first and Graffanino is on SS (or 2B), we're not doing too bad. Maybe this is going to be okay.

Posted by tgl on 2005-12-21 03:59:33 +0000

Pitching! Pitching! How does that stack up? Here's my 2006 rotation: Starting: Schilling (until Beckett proves otherwise) Beckett Wakefield Clement Arroyo (I'm missing that young dude from St. John's...) Setup: Timlin Chad Bradford Closer: Foulke? --- Oh yeah, we all knew Mike Myers is a Yankee now, right?

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-12-21 04:01:42 +0000

2 big pitching omissions: Pappelbon and Hanson (from St. John's). I imagine Bronson will (sadly) be off the team by opening day.

Posted by tgl on 2005-12-21 04:04:07 +0000

Pappelbon! How quickly I forget. Let's do it: Schilling Beckett Pappelbon Wakefield Clement

Posted by tgl on 2005-12-21 04:05:04 +0000

You wouldn't be so stunned if you'd been watchin' Sports Final. I'm tellin' ya.

Posted by frame609 on 2005-12-21 04:14:57 +0000

Bradford has been non-tendered. Ditto Wade Miller. Don't forget Mota. So: Schilling Beckett Bronson Wells (remember him?) Wake Clement Papelbon Pen: Foulke Mota Seanez Timlin Hansen Van Buren (the Cubs prospect we signed a while back) Looks pretty good so far, with more to come, I'm sure.

Posted by tgl on 2005-12-21 04:16:47 +0000

I thought we were shopping Wells. I guess if there are no takers...

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-12-21 05:02:30 +0000

I don't see how the Red Sox don't play Youk at 1st. He has never bulked up, read gotten fat, like I had suspected he might. Plus the Sox really do need CF and SS. Anyone? There's some serious $$$, so Youk will work for now, and who knows maybe he does hit .290 and bat in 100. But SS is the most interesting development... Some young guy from AA, who knows?

Posted by frame609 on 2005-12-21 05:25:47 +0000

There's been talk of moving either Loretta or Graffanino to SS, with Cora as a backup. I think it would be better if there was no shift, but I do like all three guys on the team. Loretta's OBP was within ten points of Damon's last year- he walks a lot. He'll do nicely as a leadoff guy. Youk at 1st makes sense. Bronson to Seattle for Jeremy Reed.

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-12-21 05:36:09 +0000

Reed for Bronson - One for One? I don't think so. We might need to give more. I say this: keep infield minor leaguers in the system. I'm sure co-GMs BJ know this...

Posted by frame609 on 2005-12-21 06:13:54 +0000

"Co GM's BJ" = awesome. You're right- maybe another pitching prospect, too. think this gets done in the next 24? 48?

Posted by frame609 on 2005-12-21 06:31:25 +0000

I have been snooping on SoSH tonight- everyone is gaga over Reed. We'll see.

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-12-21 06:42:42 +0000

Aside from Game 7 against NYY in '04 (btw, very big 'aside') Damon was never a favorite of mine. His arm sucks, still does. He'll do better at Yankee stadium, but he should have been in left at Fenway...

Posted by frame609 on 2005-12-21 06:52:23 +0000

Yankee Stadium's got a cavernous center field- he's fucked.

Posted by tgl on 2005-12-21 16:12:11 +0000

4yrs/40mil vs. 4yrs/52mil seems like Damon made the right choice. I agree with CHB that it makes the front office look bad; I'm not sure the team is worse off. Damon's definitely a stellar leadoff man, maybe not the best in the business. Can we get Ichiru?

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-12-21 16:41:04 +0000

First: I knew Damon was going to the Yankees two months ago when he joked about it... something about the tone, same as I knew there were no WMDs in Iraq. Second: Goodbye, Johnny. We have too many players with giant egos. Johnny wanted to go to The Stadium to prove himself. In Johnny's small mind, "The Yankees have the best players. I am the best player. I must be a Yankee" Third: This is an embarassment to the front office, but not because of what they did _now_, they played this just fine for now, Johnny is not worth $13/year, I think there is an unwritten policy at Fenway that nobody is worth more than $10/year anymore. This is an embarassment for what they didn't do last year. Teams that respect their players and want to keep them sign them to contract extentions before their contract is up. Makes the players happy, makes the stars stay, everyone wins. The new policy of letting everyone go to free agency is short sighted. If your goal is to constantly rotate your roster, then fine, but if you want top players, they don't want to go to a team that they don't have security with, and a team that lets contracts expire is not secure. If I were a big time free agent, I would probably not sign with the Sox for this reason. I think this will hurt the team in the long run.

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-12-21 16:44:23 +0000

Lorbering: If I don't see Dave Roberts or Carlos Beltran or similar in center next year _and_ Miguel Tejada or Julio Lugo or similar in SS, I'm picking a new team to root for. Candidates: Mets, D-Rays, B-Jays, Nationals.

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-12-21 16:45:56 +0000

The SS situation is so much more appalling than the Damon thing. Damon was gone in September, no big surprise. But to trade your SS and you SS prospect? That's one of the worst blunders I've ever seen. </lorber>

Posted by tgl on 2005-12-21 16:46:55 +0000

10D not signing with the Sox will definitely hurt the team in the long run. If Johnny was given a contract extension for 10 beans a year he probably would not have signed it. Do we know if that happened? Which stars have we lost via the no-extension policy that we wish we hadn't? Garciaparra? I don't think so. Martinez? Maybe. Mueller? Probably.

Posted by tgl on 2005-12-21 16:48:17 +0000

The lack of SS is a bit glaring. It's got to be Tejada.

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-12-21 16:50:13 +0000

Acutally, Nomar was offered an extension, so we can't count that. It's not just the players we lose, though, it's the players that we can't sign... Johnny was looking for 7 years and took 4 with the Yankees since he knows that if he's great for 3 they may give him another 2 in an extension. He knows The Sox won't do that. Other players think that way.

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-12-21 16:51:07 +0000

I'd take Lugo, too... he'd be a good leadoff man. Tejada is more important to get if we need a slugger, too. (read: if we trade Manny)

Posted by frame609 on 2005-12-21 16:59:34 +0000

Leslie Brokaw just sent this bit to me (I think she got it from SoSH): The Red Sox did not want to re-sign Johnny Damon. He signed for Yankee OF slot money ($13M). It's what they were paying Bernie. We know that. And we know that if handed the opportunity by the Red Sox, the Yankees would be more than willing to sign Damon for that. We don't want him. We don't want Pedro. We don't want Lowe. We don't want Nomar. We don't want Millar. We don't want Mueller. Instead, we want to set about building the 28 year old AL All Star Team of 2009, while remaining competitive (read: WC hunt every year) until then. Somebody obviously took the top under-25 prospects book of 2004 and has set out to acquire as many of them as possible. All the while, retaining certain veterans who play the game the "right way" until such time as they are no longer useful. It's a work in progress. Grade: Incomplete. I'm OK with that; I just wish Theo would have come out from hiding in his self-imposed exile and stand up assertively like a man and say what his plan is. I fully expect after Damon and Manny's deals are done that he will "come back". How convenient. The young fair-haired boy will then be fully able to take credit for the eventual success - while not having to bear the brunt of criticism that LL will take (once again) on his behalf.

Posted by tgl on 2005-12-21 17:00:31 +0000

The 7-10 year deals are over, much less the $25m/year salaries. No one gets signed for that long or that much anymore. I think Johnny picked the best deal for himself (maybe, he might not be the best centerfielder the Stadium has every seen), I don't think there was any extension scenario that he would have been pleased with that the Sox were willing to offer.

Posted by tgl on 2005-12-21 17:03:09 +0000

Sorta fails Occam's Razor, but I can buy the top under-25 prospect angle. Maybe not the Epstein returns from exile angle.

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-12-22 05:34:59 +0000

Johnny seemed pretty cool in the CBS 4 interview w/ Dan Roche. There was an exchange something like: "DR: What would it have taken to keep you here for 4 years, 46 million, 48 million? JD: Red Sox fans don't want to hear that right now, and it's sort of a waste of time." Damon's "soul" was on ebay for a few hours as well. I won't boo him...

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-12-22 12:59:27 +0000

I will not boo John Damon until he does something gay to provoke me. Shouldn't have to wait too long. He's going to pal up with A-Rod and they're going to get up to stupid shit.

Posted by Null Protocol on 2005-12-22 14:31:40 +0000

I like the new name (John). Johnny is dead. The pinstriped one is John.

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-12-22 15:55:08 +0000

Damon. John Damon.