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Baseball Primer Newsblog— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
I haven’t written much on Damon inpart because it was presumed he would simply re-sign with the New York Yankees and, with Scott Boras as his agent, he would ask for an obscene amount of money on the open market. But he’s still out there, with spring training a month away. The asking price — once believed to be in the two-year, $14 million range — almost certainly has come way down.
The Braves are at their self-imposed payroll limit ($90 million). But there’s a difference between being fiscally smart and just plain cheap. Adding Damon makes the Braves better. If they’re better, they win more games and sell more tickets. Maybe they even make the playoffs.
I’ve thought about Damon, but I don’t think there’s anyway the Braves could sign him financially. And I certainly wouldn’t want more than a year or two. Otherwise it might be a pretty good fit.
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1. My Grate Friend, Peason Posted: January 20, 2010 at 09:46 PM (#3442408)Do teams do this sort of thing and we just don't hear about it?
i don't think they need to, though. i'm a believer in jordan schafer, and i think he could put up a league average OPS with excellent CF defense, and the potential to be much more of an offensive force, plus they've got melky, and nate mclouth, matt diaz and, i've gotta think jason heyward will show up at some point this year. so, while they don't need damon, he's an improvement over everyone else they've got, and the difference between him and melky cabrera is probably worth the cost to sign him to a 1 year deal.
Yeah, I don't think they need to go there. McLouth, Melky, Diaz, and Hayward - after a service time suppressing stay in AAA - should be adequate.
Plus, I don't get the impression that their salary ceiling is in any way flexible.
Because the team traded a guy who got a CYA vote for a "perfectly cromulent outfielder." Not his fault, but being what was received in a salary dump is held against him.
That and he is a Yankee. Atlanta fans dislike anything related to NY.
Emeigh has mentioned that there are similarities to Melky and -aah!- a young Damon ... and he's got a point ... but I wasn't keen on Damon before the switch flipped for him either (and I liked Johnny a lot more than Melky).
This is not to say that Melky's not perfectly useful.
But it wasn't just the cromulent outfield, it was also the high-ceiling pitching prospect who probably ranks in their top-5.. A prospect like Vizcaino significantly embiggens the value of any package.
Hey wait a minute, now...
I'm a native Atlantan - there's like 5 of us - and I love NY (the city).
It's their teams that make me wanna barf...
But seriously, the Braves are at the trough of their hitting prospect cycle. In the 00s, they didnt push through any significant pitching prospects till Hanson ( the flameout list is Davies, James, Meyer, Capellan, Reyes, Ramirez, Moss, Harrison..). But they also produced McCann, Escobar, Prado, KJ, Furcal. Giles, LaRoche, Salty, Frenchy, Ramirez, Langerhans ( the last 4 hung around in the majors, which as prospects go is a win ), Flowers, with Heyward and Schafer on the cusp.
They also produced Tp Jr, Luis Hernandez, and Thorman but thats better forgotten! Charles Thomas too, after all he netted us Hudson.
Marte was the only 3B prospect in the last decade ( Campbell looked likely but was a major flameout ), and well, he flamed out something spectacular.
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