It doesn't take a Billy Beane or a Theo Epstein to figure out that the Yankees were not exactly in dire need of more hitting for the 2006 season. The Yankees needed to get a reliable defensive centerfielder because the aging Bernie Williams was starting to embarass himself out there last year (and I have always liked Bernie Williams as a player). Their number one priority for the centerfield position was better defense, not more hitting. What they got in Johnny Damon was a guy who can go and get it in center - he gets a good jump on the ball, covers a lot of ground, and is sure-handed. His only drawback, as everyone knows, would be his weak arm.
The fact that Damon is also one of the better leadoff hitters in baseball is a nice bonus for the Yankees, but just adds more of what they already have in surplus - fearsome hitting. Yes, you can win 90+ games with superior hitting, but pitching wins in the post-season (see the 2005 Yankees and Red Sox: awesome hitting but not enough pitching to win even one series). When a story breaks about the Yankees signing a player, I just want to know if they signed a good pitcher. If not, I smile and rest easy. They can put nine Lou Gehrigs out there for all I care. Their pitching looks iffy to me, and that's what wins playoff series.
Welcome aboard, Josh Beckett.........and we're leaving a light on for you, Mr. Millwood.
It`s always fun to talk about the hot stove moves, and the Red Sox have a bunch more to make to fill SS & CF. Big question still exists in the pen. Please don`t mention Mike Timlin, he`s a decent set up man nothing more. Worshiping Jonathan Papelbon is very common, led of course by Pete Gammons. Not sure if he`s ready to be a closer yet. It`s clear Keith Foulke is declining, which leaves the stopper role in question. Maybe getting Lugo & Baez from the Devil Dogs would help.
YES, LET'S JUST STACK THE PITCHING STAFF, TimDiesel613. That's Baseball 101, but you must have skipped that class. OBVIOUSLY, Cora will not be the shortstop. As for Youkilis, he will, at most, be platooning at first.
Slamming6, I also like Papelbon, but I'd rather see him start. I think Mota may be a good pickup. Schilling showed good progress but ran out of starts - he should be 100% and rarin to go. And you're right, the Red Sox are not nearly done move-wise. Maybe it will be Gathright and Lugo in center and at short, we'll see. They've got Wells to trade, and Clement/Arroyo could likely go in a trade, so it's not like they're out of trade ammunition. I also agree about Timlin - I love him starting the eighth and pitching one inning only. Foulke is a question, and I wouldn't be surprised if he can't find his stuff again. And I also like Craig Hansen, the kid out of St. John's that got his feet wet at season's end. He'll find his way back to the big club if they start him out in the minors.
I guess you're right Stamps, but the last couple of years I've had to wait a very, very, very long time for the Patriots to be eliminated. Those darn Superbowl championships keep getting in the way. I'm forced to wait until February to start talking Red Sox baseball. The Patriots are looking good again, so I must make a note to myself to be more patient. Thanks for reminding me.
(Technical Note: The Patriots have not technically been "eliminated" since December 29, 2002, when they beat the Dolphins in Week 17 to get to 9-7, but missed out on a wildcard berth based on tiebreakers. By your definition, I should have been allowed to talk Red Sox baseball continuously for the last three years.....and counting).
Perhaps the greatest Damon moment I've ever seen was when he chased down that double in the gap at Fenway, turned to get it in, and Man Ram went full bore and laid out to cut it off so he could throw it in.
Ed, I just read your comments on James article and you were right on all counts on his grammar mistakes or poor choices for some adjectives. My question for you is shouldn't your title have a comma or an exlamation point to place a pause befor you give the answer, "My Cure for the Damon Blues?" I welcome any help in my post as well as I am sure I have many grammatical errors/omissions.
The title was written that way intentionally as a way to get a two-for-one - a double meaning - out of the phrasing.
If you read it as is, you start with the phrase, "Pitching My Cure", where "pitching" has two meanings.
One is obvious - the way you interpreted it - with pitching being used as it is in, "We need more pitching". In that case I could have more properly written the title as, let's say, "Pitching: My Cure for the Johnny Damon Blues".
The second way to read it is just as it's written (with no stop after "Pitching"), where "Pitching" is an active expression of what I'm doing in the blog - i.e. "I am pitching my cure....", as in a sales pitch.
