Damon: Red Sox would have won one more if I stayed

Reeking havoc at Baseball Think Olfactory never ends!

Talking prior to the Tigers series opening game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park Friday night, Johnny Damon said that if he would have remained a member of the Sox following the 2005 season the team might have won more than just the 2007 world championship.

“I actually think they would have won one more here,” Damon said. “During that offseason we just acquired Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and I was coming off a solid year. Signing me would have been a very easy thing to do. But with stuff going on with the front office here, was Theo [Epstein]here or was he not, all that kind of stuff. But you know what, things happen for a reason. I love playing here. I went to New York, which was against a lot of people’s wishes. But I fell in love with New York also. I’m one of those players I guess you could say like David Cone who can go anywhere and make the best of it, and that’s what I did. The fortunate thing was that I did get to win in New York, which I don’t think I would have ever been satisfied without it.”

...Damon, who indicated he wants to play at least one more season after this one, commented that he didn’t know if he would be welcomed any differently than when he returned to Fenway as a Yankee in ‘06.

“These fans know I can be a difference-maker in a game, so for me getting booed isn’t just stuck to Boston and Fenway Park. I get booed everywhere,” the 36-year-old Damon said. “The teammates on this team can’t believe how much I get booed how much I get booed everywhere. It’s part of the game. I told these guys I’ve been around this game 16 games, been reeking havoc on these teams for so long, they’ve grown to hate me.”