So Torre was disappointed that the Sox fans booed Damon. ''I'm a little disappointed in the reaction by the fans," Torre said. ''I guess we should feel proud. Evidently, wearing a Yankee uniform overrides winning a World Series and busting your tail for four years. Without Johnny here, they may have been working on 89 or 90 years."
Hmmm. Surely the Yankee fans would be so much above that. Has Torre forgotten only one year ago. fresh on the heals of having blown a couple of fairly important games in October 2004 and starting the season with two blown saves also against the Sox. well, Yankee fans booed Rivera. And the season before, Jeter was mired in an 0-30 slump at one point and the Yankee "fans" booed him as well.
So thanks for the lecture Joe. Red Sox Nation. Perfect we are not. But don't go throwing stones in your own glass house.
As a follow up to an earlier post, I actually think CHB is worse than Chass. Sure Chass is prone to his pot shots at anyone not donning Yankee blue, but at least he occasionally has some meaningful coverage of baseball business issues – CBA, marketing, front office/ownership moves. CHB just stirs ups the same old crap, inciting the fanbase, kicking those that are down and over inflating those that are up and never missing the opportunity to plug his horrible now obsolete book.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree. What's crazy is that he has this fascination with Papelbon - today he has his second article on him.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they weren't booing the uniform, but the guy who thought that a matched offer of the team's captain wasn't enough for him, who then leaves, and goes to the club's biggest rival for a few dollars more (when he already has way more money than most people will ever see).
ReplyDeleteWell, Joe, how about reeling your guy in a little bit and not have him say MANY negative things about Boston. Maybe the fans (who more than loved this guy when he was here) were hurt by his crap-slinging.
I think damon is full of crap - he details everything that happened but then claims he does not care or pay attention. He is kind of like a mini-Barry.
ReplyDeleteIt really is the uniform. Bottom line. I'm sure Millar will get a huge ovation. And I didn't even really like him.
Totally agree with the $$/Varitek aspect, but I don't really think Damon said many (any?) negative things about Boston. I do agree with Earl that Damon should have shut up a long time ago - or at least pulled a McGwire and not talk about the past. Or at least put a stake in the ground. Talk about it this first trip and that is it. Instead the tired reporters will ask him the same questions and he will give the same answers in two weeks and then again in August.
Yeah, but I don't remember Millar trashing Boston...
ReplyDeleteAlso, the Sox didn't negotiate with Millar.
I know the uniform has a lot to do with it. But, if Damon went to the Angels or White Sox, trashed Boston, and complained about money, he'd have heard it, too.
When A-Rod left Seattle for the money, he went to a crappy Texas team. He got booed and showered with fake money when he returned, and Seattle/Texas is not a huge rivalry...
Goin back to your original point about Torre, it's worth mentioning that the examples you cited were Yankees "fans" booing their own. That's WAY worse than booing someone who went to the other side. Of course, they did that too, with Wells. Like Damon, Wells played a big role in the Yankees' postseason success. But again, it's worse, in that Wells joined the Sox only because the Yanks didn't want him - it was a difference of $4M vs. no job, not $12M vs. $10M.
ReplyDeleteYeah there are differences in both Millar and Wells and the Yanks booing their own.
ReplyDeleteI do have to agree that Damon trashed Boston. He insinuated a few times that the FO screwed up and he did not like the way they handled it. to me trashing Boston would be like maybe when Boomer said he hated Fenway park and wished they would blow it up or something like that. The exact Damon quotes were:
''They had three months to get something together after the season," he said. ''But they didn't. They stuck to their plan."
Damon said he is expecting some boos when the Yankees come to Fenway Park May 1.
''I'm going to hear from some fans, and there are other fans who are very educated who have an idea of how things went down and how the Red Sox flat-out disrespected me," Damon said. ''I'm going to go out and do my thing, so I'm not going to worry too much about that.
''All I can say is, I gave it my all for four years. If it wasn't good enough, I can't concern myself with that."
Damon and Jason Varitek spent some time chatting on the USA bench yesterday at Chase Field.
''Jason and I talked while it was happening," said Damon of the negotiations.
Damon started to say that his teammates were well aware that he felt disrespected, but he pulled back before naming names.
''You can ask a lot of . . . a lot of their players won't really say," he said. ''Media outlets around the world, they fell asleep on it. I'm just going to go out and do my thing. I absolutely loved it there. I got more left in the can than what people thought."
If they boo?
''All I can say is, I gave it my all for four years. If your all isn't good enough, there's nothing you can do. I can't concern myself with that anymore, either. My concern now is to go out and help the team I'm on go out and win it."
As for his new position in the Classic, Damon said, ''Playing left is an adjustment. That's why I go out there and get some pretty good shagging in, because I haven't been out there for five years."
I think those comments were the least of the reasons he was booed.