"There's no way I can go play for the Yankees, but I know they are going to come after me hard,' Damon said. 'It's definitely not the most important thing to go out there for the top dollar, which the Yankees are going to offer me. It's not what I need.'" -- 05.01.05, Alan Eskew, MLB.com


Predictably, Johnny Damon agreed to a 4 year/$52 million deal with the Yankees on Tuesday night.
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I won't miss JD the person, the media whore, the guy who very publicly treated his ex-wife like shit, the guy who wrote a crappy book just for another payday, the guy who attracted pink-shirt wearing sorority girls to the ballpark, the guy who I was completely sick of hearing about by August.

I won't miss JD the outfielder, who throws as well as my aunt Judy, who clanged against the monster in the ugliest of ways, never seeming to come up with the ball, and who is only getting older and less athletic.

I will, however, miss JD the leadoff hitter. He will be tough to replace.

In pure baseball terms, I don't think this is a terrible move for the Red Sox. Yes, it will hurt them, and help the Yankees, in 2006. The Sox lost an excellent leadoff hitter, the guy whom their offense depended on for much of the season, and the Yankees lineup just got a lot tougher. But there's still time for the Sox to find a replacement, and should they lock up a young guy like Reed or Crisp, as is being suggested, this move suddenly becomes a lot less devastating in terms of next season. Still, one can't argue that offensively speaking, something will be missing.

Look a couple of years into the future, though, and Sox fans will most likely be relieved the club isn't dishing out $13 million to an aging center fielder with a noodle arm, limited range, and diminishing strength. If the Yankees don't plan on using Damon as a DH in the last couple years of that contract, Yankee fans will rue the day this deal was signed. Defensively speaking, Damon is no better than Bernie Williams, the guy the Yankees were so desperate to replace. Sure, he'll hit well in Yankee Stadium as he always has, but if his rapid offensive decline of 2005 is any sign of what's to come, the Red Sox did the right thing by letting him walk.

What's tough to swallow, though, is the fact that Damon did exactly what he said he wouldn't and signed with the Yankees, of all teams. As fans, we sometimes expect more of our athletes than we should, and while I never thought for a minute that he'd stay with Boston for a hometown discount or that he'd turn down a huge payday, it's disappointing to see that all of his comments over the last couple of years were just positioning statements (such as when he referred to the Yankees as "the Devil" after A-Rod signed in NY). And now, as he leaves the city where he was once worshipped, he feels the need to save face, and does so by slinging mud at the Sox front office, claiming a lack of respect and a failure to make a fair offer.

Seth Joyner, a former Eagle, was called by the hated Dallas Cowboys in the middle of his career when it was clear the Eagles did not plan on resigning him. "We want you to sign with us," they told him. His reponse? "I was an Eagle - I could never be a Cowboy." Joyner went on to play for a handful of other teams, but is still, to this day, beloved in Philadelphia.

Johnny Damon, on the other hand, shouldn't expect such reverential treatment in Boston. Just as he doesn't feel he owes the Sox fans anything, we shouldn't feel that we owe him anything, either. Of course, we'll always be thankful for the grand slam in game 7 of the ALCS, and for everything he did in the world series. Despite that, he will be booed lustily each and every time he returns to Fenway. Parents will have to explain to their children why their favorite player is now the enemy. It's a difficult dilemma for Red Sox fans; do you boo the guy who helped bring a world series parade to Boston, or do you cheer a Yankee?

Over in the Bronx, things are not as celebratory as one might expect. The signing has not been well received by Yankee fans, and should Damon fail to live up to his expensive contract, he could find himself in a position he's unfamiliar with - the recipient of boos in his own ballpark. Should he fail to be the centerfielder Yankee brass hopes he will be, he could find himself suddenly alienated by the two largest fanbases in the MLB.

Of course, should Johnny Damon be exposed over the next couple of years as an aging centerfielder whose best days are behind him, Red Sox fans may be able to find it in their hearts to forgive him.

Sure, watching the Red Sox win the World Series on the 98" projection screen at Christie's Sports Bar was pretty fucking awesome. And yes, standing on Boylston Street covered in rain and confetti as the team, and the trophy, rolled by was something I'll never forget. But one of my favorite Red Sox related memory of 2004 can be traced back to July, before the Sox were known as World Champs, before the Nomar trade, before the Sox were anything more than just a pesky zit on the nose of the Yankees.

It was a chilly, dreary summer day in Boston. We woke up to the sound of rain pounding the sidewalk, and our first thought was of the 3pm Sox/Yankees game to which we held tickets. Unsure if the game would be played, we quickly dressed and headed down to Fenway, where throngs of sweatshirt covered fans had already convened, glancing skyward every so often, hoping to see the clouds part. After meeting up with friends and taking advantage of Boston Billiards' dollar drafts, we bid farewell to the cheap brew and the warm confines and made our way into the park.

There was something in the air that day besides the overwhelming humidity and smell of meat sizzling on outdoor grills. There was a buzz, an energy lingering in the atmosphere, due, in part, to the abundance of Yankee fans on Yawkey Way. But, looking back, it was almost as if we all felt that something special was about to happen.

Ever since the previous Thanksgiving, there had been an expectation that the 2004 Boston Red Sox accomplish something; the team had signed Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke, and fans felt that it was finally the right time to avenge past losses and overtake the Yankees. But things hadn't been going right up to that point: the team's defense was horrific, the pitching had been woeful, hitting hadn't exactly been timely, and at 9.5 games behind the Yankees, things just weren't looking good.

Fast forward. The Red Sox were down 3-0 when Bronson Arroyo, who had looked shaky at best, went inside with a pitch and hit A-Rod on the elbow. Instead of taking first base like a man, A-Rod blew up and begged Varitek to put his fist in his face. Varitek complied, and before you could say "A-hole," the benches and dugouts were empty and chaos had ensued.

The rest of the game was a bit more uneventful, and by the time the bottom of the ninth inning rolled around, the Sox were down by 2 runs. With Mariano Rivera on the mound, things seemed hopeless, but then, just as the last drops of our $6 Fenway beer slid down our throats, Nomar doubled and suddenly, anything was possible. Anticipation filled the stadium as we restlessly shifted in our seats.

Trot flies out. More nail biting. Constant peeks at the scoreboard. Kevin Millar is up at the plate. Three homers the night before...can he possibly do it again? Then - a run scoring single. It suddenly feels like last October, when this team keeps finding new ways to win. One run down, one out, and last year's batting champ at the plate. Fingernails have been bitten to stubs, beers long since finished. Fans on their feet. A 3-1 count. And then, a solid shot that hangs for what seems like forever before dropping into the bullpen. A two run homerun - Sox win. Fenway erupts in what has to have been the most wild regular season celebration of all time. Dirty Water blasts over the soundsystem not once but twice, because the fans refuse to leave. Billy Mueller is interviewed on the jumbotron and the crowd goes crazy. The celebration lasts at least 15 minutes. Screaming, hugging, disbelief. The scene outside is no different. The streets are a sea of people looking just like they did when the Pats won the super bowl. Feeling like we are floating, we arrive at Boston Billiards, meet up with our friends, and continue the celebration. For the next three hours, every time the TVs airing ESPNEWS show the game highlights, the crowd erupts all over again, like we're seeing it for the first time. (originally posted on July 27)

Bill Mueller, the Yankee killer. He'll be remembered for a lot of things: switch hitting two grand slams in one game at the Ballpark in Arlington, winning a batting title in 2003, and his huge single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth of the 2004 ALCS to keep the comeback rally alive. But every time I remember what transpired at Fenway before my very eyes that rainy evening in July, I'm overcome by chills. Some say that the team started playing differently after that comeback win. Others say it wasn't until the trade of Nomar a week later that things began to turn around.

But no matter how you look at it, one thing can't be denied. It is because of Bill Mueller, and that astonishing homerun, that the Red Sox no longer feared the greatest closer of all time. It's because of Bill Mueller that the Red Sox learned a lesson that would serve them well a few months down the line - that no game was over until it was over, even if Mariano Rivera was on the mound.

In Bill Mueller's regular season career with the Boston Red Sox, his line against Mariano Rivera looked like this:
5-11 1 HR 3 RBIs 1BB 2K .455/.500/.727

There will be other third baseman, some who will hit better than Bill Mueller, and some who will field better than Bill Mueller. But there will never be another July 24, 2004, and there will never be another Bill Mueller.

Mission Accomplished.

There are plenty of those, fans and media, who have complained that a lack of scoring made for boring hockey games.

But, this morning, there are 19,542 in Philadelphia who would probably beg to differ.

After three frenetically paced periods in which pucks clanged off goalposts and riccocheted off crossbars but failed to find the back of the net, the Flyers successfully killed off a penalty in a wild overtime period before defeating the Flames, 1-0, in a shootout. Rookie goaltender Antero Niittymaki made 28 saves before stoning Kristian Huselius, Jarome Iginla and Tony Amonte, while fellow rookie Mike Richards scored the lone goal for the Flyers.

It was an outstanding game with a playoff atmosphere between two teams many have picked to challenge for the Cup. When you consider the recent streak of injuries that has plagued the Flyers, last night's performance is even more impressive. Team captain Keith Primeau and star center Peter Forsberg are still out of the lineup. Dennis Seidenberg and Turner Stevenson are out, Joni Pitkanen needs surgery for a sports hernia, Robert Esche is nursing an injury, and Eric Desjardins left the game in the first period with a partial dislocation of his right shoulder- his second injury of the season.

What the Flyers are left with is a lineup dominated by young, inexperienced rookies. Future Flyers stars and former Phantoms Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and Antero Niittymaki have been asked to play a bigger role, while many current Phantoms have been called up to fill holes left by injury. Ryan Ready, RJ Umberger, Freddy Meyer, Jamie Storr, Ben Eager, and the newly acquired Matt Ellison - though most of those guys were never supposed to step foot into the Flyers locker room this season, they're now all being asked to play key roles.

While playing a collection of youngsters can lead to an abundance of mistakes and a lack of leadership, it also leads to fresh legs. In this new NHL, the pace is faster, so as we approach the dog days of the hockey season, there may be a premium on young, fresh legs that didn't exist pre-CBA.

Of course, come March, the Flyers would prefer to have a healthy lineup that's clicking perfectly as opposed to this young group that's still feeling each other - and the game - out.

But right now the Flyers' future stars and future unknowns are getting a chance to prove themselves while they gain valuable experience, and in the process, are picking up a few wins along the way.