A Gorilla in Times Square
Speaking of gorillas in Times Square, Johnny Damon, the hairy one, is now a Yankee. He has chosen the Evil Empire over allegiance to the city, team, and fans that made him a baseball icon. My wife was shocked when I told her that Damon signed with the Yankees. Her response, "Wait a minute, I liked him. What about loyalty? Oh no, that's just wrong!" My daughter Ashley (eight years old) said, "Damon is a Yankee, how did that happen?" I just closed my eyes and re-imagined an October moment from 2004, "the year" > It was the top of the second inning, Yankee Stadium, the sacks were racked, and Damon "yanks" a grand slam into the right field bleachers, and the lights on the scoreboard blinked from 2-0 to 6-0... I remember that moment like it was right now. And with that moment re-imagined, I was OK. Johnny Damon fulfilled his destiny as the center fielder for the Boston Red Sox, he helped bring joy unspeakable and a lasting peace to the heart of Red Sox Nation. And now he is a member of the New York Yankees, the greatest chokers in the history of professional sports. Adieu #18.
posted by Peter Burch @ 3:50 PM
4 Comments:
At 7:06 AM,
Anonymous said…
Doesn't calling the Yankees "chokers" diminish the accomplishment of what our beloved Sox did that October? Anybody can back into a victory when the other team chokes...say for example the '86 Mets...but to me, we went out and absolutely took those last 4 games which were nip and tuck, tooth and nail all the way (save for the game 7 nail-in-the-coffin). So while I lament losing Damon and becry his disloyalty, I'd rather remember 2004 as our fantastic & historic comeback rather than hang the "choker" tag on the loser. Good luck with this Blog & Happy Chanukah.
At 7:25 AM,
Peter N said…
Happy holidays from me, too. Yesterday is but a distant memory of furious typing and accelerated heartbeats. And I'm the Peter with the N.
At 9:34 AM,
X said…
"What about loyalty?"
Is that aimed at the Sox or Damon.
As best we know, the Sox offerred about 25% below market value. Furcal signed for $13MM and I haven't heard anyone say Damon is worth less than Furcal.
If my employer told me they were going to pay me 25% below my value, I may go work for Microsoft.
At 11:49 AM,
Peter Burch said…
anonymous
point taken. the sox did it to the yankees, but that only increases my glee in pronouncing the yankees the greatest chokers in professional sports history.
x
furcal gets a B+ for offense and an A+ on defense. damon gets an A+ on offense and a B- on defense (see today's post "Armed and Not Dangerous"). Furcal is younger and, most likely, a better base stealer (granted, damon didn't need to steal bases in our lineup). i would put a furcal and damon on even par vis-a-vis market value. which still supports your point of course. if the red sox go out and get a .280 guy who can throw and use the rest of damon's money to get another arm for the pen i'll be satisfied.
Post a Comment
<< Home