With yesterday’s news of the Luke Scott acquisition by Friedman and Co., it’s time to formally bid Johnny Damon adieu. Admittedly, I’m still in a bit of shock over this whole thing. When it became apparent that we were staring at a “you can only choose A or B” type of situation, with regards to the return of either Johnny Damon or Casey Kotchman, a part of me thought that as long as the Rays could find some power at first, Damon would return. This is especially so when you took a look at the designated hitters on the free agent market; if I may be so blunt, there really weren’t many head turners listed…at least within the Rays parameters. I honestly thought, that when Friedman said the Rays would be looking for more production out of first base and the DH spot, that he was actually saying, “we’re looking for a first baseman that can crank the ball out with the best of them.” But no, that wasn’t the case. If I may say so, I feel that Damon’s comments regarding the whole situation are somewhat valid and warranted, though a bit un-Johnny like. But that’s beside the point.
Damon offered a few qualities to the clubhouse, which the Rays desperately needed last year: stability, maturity and leadership. We all knew those three qualities would be lacking when Tampa Bays beloved former first baseman, Carlos Pena, wasn’t re-signed and inevitably left for the north-side of Chicago. Damon also exemplified the Rays way: go out and hustle, play hard, and get the job done. Damon will go down in the books, and rightly so, with the best of them even if his tenure in the Rays organization was short.
I don’t see the Pena/Damon-like qualities in their newest acquisition. I do, however, see blatant the narcissism of someone that could be described as somewhat of a loose-nut. Then again, it could be argued that the player leadership and discipline can come from within the current members of the Rays.
The core Rays players; Longoria, Upton, Zobrist, Shields, and Price have now been in at least two post-season appearances, that should be enough to mentor the younger players on the team. That also means that there really aren’t any opportunities for on or off of the field distractions, cough…Longo and Upton. It’s going to be important for Zobrist, Longoria, Shields, and Upton to use their day in and day out experience to lead the team. We in the area know very well the potential of failure when an undisciplined, leaderless, team takes the field. We needn’t look any farther than the Bucs for a glaring example.
And to be fair, Luke Scott should be judged on his on-field performance. We all know that he’s got the potential to hit 25-27 home runs and hit in the .270-.285 range if he stays healthy. From a production standpoint, he could be what the Rays need to push them to the next level. With the all but forgotten comments regarding president Obama’s birth, guns, and those of Matt Garza, now in the past, there’s a hope that Scott’s performance on the field will be enough to rinse the sour taste from our mouths, enough to drown out the off field shenanigans and controversies.
A good friend and fellow blogger summed it up best,
So, (I have) mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, Damon was a middling contributor in a mediocre offense last year. On the other hand, he’s right that the big holes in the lineup came from the SS and C positions. Then again, Luke Scott’s upside is way bigger than Damon’s at this point. But the only person in the Rays clubhouse might be happy about the addition of Scott is Kyle Farnsworth, who might like to have another totally crazy person nearby for comparison’s sake. But if Damon’s supposed to be a great team leader, why’s he publicly bagging on the front office, referencing the low attendance numbers, and griping about the possible diminution of his personal chances of reaching 3000 hits?
Johnny Damon is a likeable guy. Luke Scott is not. But Scott might hit 25 homers next year with something like a .275 average and a solid OBP. Damon can only hope to sniff one of those marks. I don’t think I’ll know what to think till like July.
So now it’s time to move on. Johnny will find a home soon enough. Johnny, to you I say thank you. I loved having you on the Rays, and I look forward to watching you get that 3,000th hit with someone, even if that someone isn’t the Rays.
And to Andrew Friedman, as much as I’d love to see you make a deal with Mark Trumbo, at this point it might almost be the wisest decision to re-sign Carlos Pena. Another bat with pop couldn’t hurt, nor could the positive leadership role he offers. In the very least, re-sign Kotchman. Even if Kotchman hit in the .275-.280 range (which is still higher than his career numbers), at least you’d know what to expect defensively…Though I still like the idea of acquiring Trumbo, just saying.
3:50 Update: The terms of the Luke Scott deal have been released: According to the Times’ Marc
Topkin, “He (Scott) will get $5-million in 2012, and has a $6-million option in 2013, or a $1-million buyout. With incentives, he could make another $2-million over the two years.”
I think his comments were totally Damonesque. Seriously. He makes jackass comments with great frequency- they are just seldom acknowledged by the team he is actually playing for.
I will say though, that he jumped the gun with his comments. Not sure what you read about the Scott acquisition, but as far as I read yesterday, he was signed as a DH and fill in for 1B. That left a slightly ajar door left open for Damon. I feel like the unfortunate timeliness of Damon’s comments shut the door on any chances of Damon returning.
To be fair, the Rays got rid of one catcher (Jaso), didn’t re-sign another (Shoppach), and mentioned that they were willing to trade a SS (Brignac). Though critical of the FO in his comments, he was right: the Rays were/are lacking at catcher and SS, and the Rays knew it. I also agree with his assumption, that it’s hard to latch on to a player if they’re here one minute and gone the next. To an end, I give him credit for speaking what a good majority of the rest were thinking.