Background: Damon was once a crew-cut kid with the Kansas City Royals, known to friends and relatives. Then he was traded to the A’s before he was knocked out cold in the playoffs and awaking as a cult figure in Boston with rock-star hair and an all-star bat. Feeling jilted by the Red Sox’s slow negotiations last winter and unnerved by general manager Theo Epstein’s sabbatical, Damon accepted a $52 million take-it-or-leave-it contract from the rival Yankees, $12 million more than the Red Sox offered.
What’s up: The Yankees and Red Sox renew the ugliest feud not involving Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, beginning Monday at Fenway Park. Damon was considered the face of the Red Sox organization, the critical component in the famous “Idiots” brigade that conquered the Yankees on their way to the 2004 World Series crown. Damon didn’t want to leave, but ego, if not quiet praise for Coco Crisp, drove him into the enemy’s open arms. Damon, who hit two home runs Saturday, hasn’t lost his “Forever in Blue Jeans” persona in a Yankee clubhouse that is coldly corporate and borderline humorless. He has played as advertised, crashing into walls on defense – three times in one game last week – and getting on base consistently even with a pedestrian batting average.
What’s next: Abuse Damon wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy. Put it this way, the most popular shirt sold outside Fenway these days has a picture of Damon and reads: “Looks like Jesus, Acts Like Judas, Throws Like Mary.” Damon thanked Red Sox fans with a full-page advertisement after he left. It was a nice gesture but will be meaningless this week. Red Sox fans booed him with venom during spring training – at the Yankees’ home field. Said Damon, “I know the Red Sox fans are going to remain loyal to their team, not me.” Gee, you think?
Renck’s take: Call it the courage of conviction, but I believe the Red Sox are going to ultimately be proven right for letting Damon walk. This year it may cost them, but with Damon showing signs of age – Crisp could prove a wiser investment at a fourth of the cost. That said, if Damon is riding around on a horse after the World Series, a la Wade Boggs, nothing Crisp does will erase that image.
