An Open Letter to Johnny Damon

Johnny Damon, are you serious? Have you no respect for yourself? Have you no loyalty or sense of belonging? Have you no decency, no integrity, no sense of right and wrong? You've already left the team you came up with to join Evil Empire Junior in Boston; and after their fans welcomed you with open arms, and cheered for you to beat archnemesis Evil Empire Senior in New York, you up and leave yet again? Money talks, you say? I suppose it talks louder than your conscience in this case. Money talks so loudly that you would cross a line never to be crossed, a line as deeply drawn in the sand as the Mason Dixon line? You, sir, epitomize everything that is wrong with free agency in sports.

One would hope that, though the appeal of the Free Agency Serpent's temptation may be great, a fundamental moral backbone would exist in athletes and coaches; that despite temptation after temptation from other teams, even despite the most enticing offers from your previously most hated rivals, one would hope you would understand your place in the world of sports. One would hope that you would know where you belong, one would hope that you know where you are loved, and one would hope that you would never think about disappointing those who cheered so hard for you. One would hope that you know when loyalty is worth more than a few extra million dollars, and that we as people are defined by the company we keep. You, Johnny, feel no association to your fans, to your teammates, to your city; and now you can only be associated with Benedict Arnold.

Oh, that it were so, that sports figures may feel a part of something bigger than themselves. That they feel connected to their fans, and value loyalty, integrity, and their community. Perhaps such a figure exists, a man who would refuse offers to be elsewhere because he loved his city, a man who would turn down a few extra million to be where he belonged, a man who would never think of returning to the game he loved in any other venue than the one in which he attained glory. Perhaps such a man exists, but Johnny Damon, you are not him.

You are no Joe Gibbs.

You summed up exactly how I felt about that.

Following in the footsteps of Roger Clemons...

cavemen need money

As a Yankee fan I must say, while it is not like we signed Babe Ruth away from the Sox, it will entertainment in itself reading the rants on what a traitor he is. ESPN (or NESN2 as they are known to Yankee fans) are going nuts.

I'm glad for the signing as it addressed our need for a CF. Watching Sox fans go nuts? An added bonus.

I hate the yankees, i don't like the red sox, infact i don't really like baseball and things like this is why. All i could do is laugh, it is really funny. I hope manny starts another "I don't want to be here" cry. Man i liked manny back in the day when he played for the cleveland indians. When i was like 7 and baseball was my sport and my Indians were my team as I lived in cleveland. I loved my team with manny, omar, loften, belle, justice,Thome, alomar and the rest of my boys. Then they lost the world series to Florida.

I remember them winning the ALCS over baltimore and like a little bitch i was i called my family that lived down here that were huge oriole fans and laughed in all their faces. Then i cried in game 7 of the world series

I am a Yankee fan and I don't see the point in this. Damon is an average centerfielder with a below average arm. He will benefit us with hitting in the leadoff position though I don't think we needed him for that badly enough. The only thing good that will come of this is he'll have to cut his hair and shave.

Are you kidding me? The difference between the two offers was 3 million dollars PER YEAR! He'd have to be a complete idiot (no pun indended) to leave that kind of money on the table. I'm all for loyalty... but the Sox would have had to at least step up to the table for Damon to be considered a traitor. This thread is foolish.

LET'S GO YANKEES!


actually i couldn't care less, but it's a nice dagger to pull out of the air. There's only two teams that can afford him and the one he was one tried to go cheap. If I were a sox fan i'd be pissed at my FO, not the player.

Are you kidding me? The difference between the two offers was 3 million dollars PER YEAR! He'd have to be a complete idiot (no pun indended) to leave that kind of money on the table. I'm all for loyalty... but the Sox would have had to at least step up to the table for Damon to be considered a traitor. This thread is foolish.

Why would you call a thread foolish, yet not bother to do any research first? :spank:

Damon defected late Tuesday to take more money from its archrival. The Red Sox offered Damon four years at $40 million on Dec. 6 and recently told his agent, Scott Boras, that they'd like an answer by Christmas Eve.

But instead of making a counteroffer, Boras jumped on a deal the Yankees had left on the table, and the surprised Red Sox found out from reporters.

Granted, the Sox might have said "No thanks", in which case you would be right, but he didn't give them the opportunity. That (arguably) equals traitor.