The Winn Is In, The Damon Is Out

I know I'm a day late on this. I had to be up at 5am today so I sacrificed a night of blogging for sleep. A lot going on in my neck of the woods. Job is getting busier. Trying to sell our house and build a new one. 2 kids 2 and under. Add that all up and I don't have a lot of free time. On to business.....

The Yankees have signed Randy Winn to a 1-year deal for $2 million bucks. And with that, the door on bringing back Johnny Damon, is officially closed. I'm a little bummed about that. I liked JD. I've met him a few times and I can honestly say he's one of, if not the, nicest players I've ever had the fortune of meeting. He always had a great disposition about him and would always take the time to sign some autographs and chat it up with the fans. He was a great guy. I'll miss him.

I totally get why the teams are parting ways. Johnny's salary demands just didn't make sense for the Yanks. I think JD still has a lot to offer but not at the $ figure he was looking for. Things might have been different if Johnny's agent wasn't Scott Boras. I think Scotty totally misread the market for Damon. It's going to be interesting to see where Johnny ends up and what his salary is. Sadly, Johnny is probably going to end up as the #1 loser on the offseason "winners/losers" list. He can only blame Boras for that.

At the beginning of the month, I talked about the Yankees need for a LF and one of the names I dropped was Randy Winn's. I listed the 18 LFs that were still on the market, and here's what I concluded after reading the list:

If I had to pick a guy, I'd go with Randy Winn, or maybe Jack Cust. I know Cust whiffs a lot, but he gets on base and he's a lefty with a lot of power. If Cust can hit 30 bombs in Oakland imagine what he can do with the short porch in the Bronx? But his defense leaves a lot to be desired. The Yankees offense shouldn't need that much of a boost. I guess I go with defense for LF. So let me change my preference to Winn or even Garret Anderson. I can live with one of them on a one-year deal. I'd take both over Brett Gardner, though Gardner starting in LF wouldn't be the end of the world.

So I got what I wanted. I like Winn. He's definitely on the downside of his career but for the money, he's a good fit. As I wrote above, the Yankees offense isn't in need of much. Winn isn't an offensive powerhouse, but he's adequate. He had a down year in 2009 and at 35-36 years old, I'm not expecting a resurgence. I prefer him because I think of him as a solid defender. It doesn't hurt either that he can play all 3 OF positions. I know some people doubt that Winn can be an everyday player. I have those concerns as well but I think he could pull it off. It's $2mm. That works for me.

Is it time for pitchers and catchers yet??

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie