Johhny Damon’s Arm (and other Yankee observations)
It’s been two and a half years since the Yankees signed Johnny Damon to fill their hole in center field (a signing, remember, that Damon never gave the Red Sox a chance to match). Damon became a short term solution as he was switched to left just a year and a half later.
Damon’s been on fire lately and I’ll be the first to admit I thought he was through (though I have little doubt his numbers will cool off soon), but watching his defensive play over the first half of the season confirmed what I’ve thought for a while now. Damon is incapable of playing center field at any respectable level. His arm, always bad, has regressed further. As a kid playing catch we’d often get bored and start throwing to each other with our catching arm and catching with our throwing arm. That’s Johnny Damon’s arm today.
it’s ASTONISHING how weak his arm is
And if Damon can’t play center, he’d have no place in Boston even if he’d stayed. He’s not a good enough player at this point in his career to put Manny or Drew on the bench. It’s clear now that not signing Johnny Damon (and Pedro Martinez) was the correct move.
Yankees Pitchers Go Head Hunting
It’s becoming apparent that Yankee pitchers are incapable of retaliating without throwing at a hitters head. Chamberlain? Check. Farnsworth? Check. Hawkins? Check. And all three lacked the guts to admit their intentions.
Joe Girardi Does His Best Earl Weaver Imitation
Watching Joe Girardi kick dirt and throw a tantrum was great entertainment. Acting out like a child only goes over well if you’re old enough that people just think you’re senile, or Earl Weaver. Girardi hadn’t yet shown the fiery change from Joe Torre Yankee fans had expected.
You could almost see Girardi’s mind spinning. “Here’s my chance to get the fans on my side”. It was very similar to the Lou Pinella commercial.
Other Yankee Observations
- Turning Joba into a starter is the right move. Still, it’s going to be nice to face 7th and 8th innings without him around.
- Mussina’s success has surprised me. I have no idea how he’s getting away with the stuff he’s got left, but give him credit. Still, I’ll be shocked if he can continue at this level as the season progresses, and I’m confident a healthy Red Sox lineup eats him up.
- Giambi’s Mustache does the impossible; making him look even sleazier than his normal greasy, swollen, sweating self. Who told him this is a good look?
So why are my thoughts all on New York? Because Boston was playing Tampa recently, and even though I subscribe to MLB’s cable package, two of the three games were unavailable to me. Why? Because I live in Florida, so I should use the local broadcast. Except that Florida is a big state. Tampa is 7 hours away, and I don’t get the majority of the Rays’ games.
Even the middle game, shown on ESPN, was blacked out. To put that into perspective we were unable to watch a game shown to the whole country, taking place a thousand miles from us, even when we paid an extra 200 bucks to see every game. So I’m stuck watching Giambi scare small children.
Great job MLB.
