A High Level Defection and Jaws

Here’s Johnny!

The Yankees somewhat quiet off-season just became more interesting with the acquisition of Johnny Damon on Tuesday evening. It appears that the Red Sox were too complacent in their dealings with Damon and that gave the Yankees an opening to aggressively pursue the self-proclaimed “best lead-off hitter in baseball”.

Overall, I like this deal for the Yankees because it is a balance of power shifting transaction; it helps the Yanks and hurts the Red Sox. In my opinion, New York’s batting lineup improves with Damon at lead-off and Jeter batting second because of Jeter’s ability to hit to the opposite field and move runners. Damon’s speed on the bases will immediately become a factor, and with Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui following in the order, the Yankees offense should be in great shape.

Defensively, Damon’s presence in Center Field is pretty much a wash with Bernie Williams. Damon may have slightly more range, but his arm is just as dead or maybe even worse than Williams’. Detractors of the signing will point to Damon’s defensive deficiencies and possibly the financial terms of the deal, but as I said, he’s no worse in Center than Williams and the dollars may be justified because the Red Sox are not as good without Damon. That fact alone makes this a good signing in my mind and forces Boston to fill another hole in their lineup. Dan Shaughnessy has already skewered Sox management in his column today and I love it. It’s “Shank” at his best.

Patriots Thoughts

Cue the theme music from Jaws; the Patriots are collectively healing and are beginning to prey on opponents just as they had in previous championship seasons. The whipping of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday should serve as a signal to the rest of the league that the reigning Super Bowl Champions will be a force in the playoffs. While Tampa is probably not as good as its record indicates, the drubbing was exactly what Patriots fans have come to expect when their team faces a mediocre to good opponent.

The most positive aspect of the team’s performance was the ability to pressure Bucs Quarterback Chris Simms. Simms was harassed all afternoon and that made the secondary’s job much easier. Pressure on the quarterback is the key to good defense and anyone who watched the San Diego – Indianapolis game realizes that pressuring Peyton Manning is vital in game planning for the Colts.

I tend to be a cautious optimist so I won’t say that the Pats will beat the Colts or win the Super Bowl (perhaps I’m still smarting from my declaration that the White Sox were “frauds”), but I’m definitely looking forward to the playoffs in January. Wouldn’t we all like to see Peyton Manning shaking his head in frustration after another playoff loss?