Thursday, February 18, 2010
(W)hat (W)ould (J)ohnny (D)o?
I wanna start out by saying I like what we did in the off-season even though we did trade away My Tiger Granderson I feel like we got back a younger and faster version of him in Austin Jackson. The second thing I wanna discuss is I know we need a #2 guy in the lineup and I like the idea of bringing in Johnny Damon to fill the spot and help bring some leadership to the locker room after losing Polanco/Granderson, but is he worth the money is what I wanna know?? You need to look at a few things first he's on the down hill of his career he isn't gonna be around for a long period of time maybe 2 years or 1 or even a half of a season thats if we are out of the playoff chase and we trade him away, and he has never ever had a strong arm for an outfielder it seems like if a ball is hit in the corner in Left and he has to throw it in, Santiago is gonna have to come almost out to the warning track to take the throw. I say if we land Johnny Damon great but if we dont I wont really sweat it, we have Raburn and Clete who would fit in LF as nicely as anyone!
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WWJD! Here is my take .... Johnny is a decent bat that happens to hit left handed. He is an adequate defender, in LF NOT CF, that has a T-Rex arm! He throws like a girl. As a matter of fact, I have played co-ed softball with girls that have better arms than Johnny Damon! OK, I understand the need for a LH bat in the lineup but, what do you do with him? Have him leadoff? or bat 2 if AJax shows he can handle the role? That does not sound like a horrible idea but, there is 2 sides to every story. Carlos Guillen is not the answer in LF. Clete is probably not either. Is Wilkin Rameriz? Is Casper Wells? Is the answer Ryan Raburn, or is his job super-sub? Raburn of 2009 is Craig Monroe of 2006 plus some. I don't remember who it was that Raburn GUNNED down at home but, boy has a cannon! He has good speed, he just needs work on routes. Tommy Brookens is the new outfield coach, I say we let him work with Raburn and see what we have. While I am not opposed to his bat in the lineup, his bat is no better than Raburns last year.
ReplyDeleteavg/obp /slg /HR% /SO% /BB%
Rayburn .291/.359/.533/5.5%/20.6%/8.9%
Damon .288/.355/.439/3.8%/15.7%/11.3%
Numbers don't lie! Raburn had a higher AVG, OBP, SLG and home run rate! Johnny did better in the walk and strike out rates but .... that is an even trade off!
As far as fielding goes ... OK, Raburn needs a little work Johnny had .978 fielding with 5 errors in 1100 innings in the OF, Raburn .967 & 5 in 514 innings. There is a difference for sure.
I guess the argument also isn't Damon vs Raburn. It's money and years. I think that if you have to offer 36 year old Johnny Damon 2 years, you pass! Moral of the story, if Damon would sign a 1 year deal, I wouldn't complain too much but, under NO circumstances would I sign him for 2!
I will totally agree with you there let Raburn play a full season in 1 position the boy can play the field and hit. Raburn is gonna become our decades version of Tony Phillips you have to have his bat and his fielding in the game at all times. As far as Wilkin or Casper go they are decent at most, Wilkin is still struggling in the field and hasnt been able to hit a major league fast ball yet either, Casper will be good but give him time to mature. Another possible answer in LF could be Strieby or Boesch but again they are just young and Raw still too. My prediction for the future of ouor LF situation is gonna be Daniel Fields he has all the tools to be a pro player and he fits that LF'er mold as well, he will be arriving in the next 2-3 years guarantee it!
ReplyDeleteWell, I guess we know what Johnny do! I don't know if this made is national but, Mrs. Johnny is none to happy about comin to Detroit, she wanted Chicago to step up! Johnny isn't gettin any for a while :)
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