Johnny Damon

[Matt700wlw]

Just throwing it out there.

Left field, knocks the tar out of right handed pitching, wins wherever he goes..


yes, he's old. 36 I think....

[*BaseClogger*]

Lead off hitter...

[Matt700wlw]

That too

[elfmanvt07]

Ehhhh,

I dunno. He's coming of a season where his OBP was its third lowest of his career. In addition, a .744 OPS and a BABIP of .284 are respectable. My concern is giving a man who's 37 the kind of money he'll expect when his WAR last year was around 2. It all depends on the deal, I suppose.

[elfmanvt07]

By the way, it feels good to be posting again. I didn't have much time for baseball over the past couple years; 3 jobs in 3 cities will do that to you.

[elfmanvt07]

As a final word, if he could be had for peanuts, I'm all about it. I guess I'm just higher on the guys we already have than most.

[hebroncougar]

I have a little doubt about his hitting. I have big doubts about his ability to play LF.

[Slyder]

Ehhhh,

I dunno. He's coming of a season where his OBP was its third lowest of his career. In addition, a .744 OPS and a BABIP of .284 are respectable. My concern is giving a man who's 37 the kind of money he'll expect when his WAR last year was around 2. It all depends on the deal, I suppose.

Dusty is still our manager. You bring Damon in and you're probably looking at a Tavares esque repeat even if 2012 is a mirror of his 2011. And when asked about it Dusty will say something about guys needing abs to get their numbers to the back of the cards.

Just look at Griffey hitting 3rd and Tavares batting leadoff.

[mth123]

I have a little doubt about his hitting. I have big doubts about his ability to play LF.

Short but right on the money.

[corkedbat]

Short but right on the money.

My thoughts also. I thhik Damon is capable of out-hitting many (if not all) the guys mentioned so far. He only played 16 games in the OF for TB last year. I'd actually love to have JD in the leadoff spot, but not sure he'd hold up defensively over a 162-game season in LF (even as part of a platoon).

[Vottomatic]

I posted this on another message board a few days ago, so this is all from memory.

Damon will be 38 years old next season.
He has only played 53 total games in the OF combined for 2010-2011. He last played 133 games in LF in 2009.

He has never played in the National League.

Does he have the stamina and health to play 120 games in LF for the Reds and maintain his offensive numbers?

[dougdirt]

I posted this on another message board a few days ago, so this is all from memory.

Damon will be 38 years old next season.
He has only played 53 total games in the OF combined for 2010-2011. He last played 133 games in LF in 2009.

He has never played in the National League.

Does he have the stamina and health to play 120 games in LF for the Reds and maintain his offensive numbers?

That is a good question. Something us fans probably aren't going to have insight into. That is what they pay the scouts for. Still, depending on his demands, I think he would certainly be someone who could fit well with the "Scott Rolen plan" where he plays 3-4 days a week, while fitting in Heisey the other 3-4 days a week. Probably could get some good production there. But, as you noted, he hasn't played much OF lately at all. Gotta talk to the scouts to even see if they think he can do it with anything close to a frequent amount of time.

[*BaseClogger*]

How is Johnny Damon in any way comparable to Willy Taveras?

[corkedbat]

How is Johnny Damon in any way comparable to Willy Taveras?

Offensively, I think

2B Brandon Phillips
LF Johnny Damon
1B Joey Votto
RF Jay Bruce

would probably be a pretty decent top of the order. Two problems though. Can Damon stand up to regular OF duty? And, can you get solid offensive production from two of three spots: 3B (Rolen/Francisco), CF (Stubbs/Heisey) and/or C (Mesarac/Hanigan) in the 5, 6 & 7 holes?

[I(heart)Freel]

He's talking to the Yanks. I think this portends the end of Johnny in Red dreams.