Damon Plot Thickens

     Leave it to the rumor mill to keep things churning.  On the heels of me saying yesterday that the White Sox made an offer to Johnny Damon that was below that of the Tigers and therefore a longshot, at best, Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com is now saying that he hears Damon doesn’t want to play for Detroit.  So what’s a girl to do?  Do we believe the whispers and build up hope that Damon will accept our paltry, little 1 year, $4.5M offer or do we have the good sense to understand that, as a ballplayer of his age and limited defensive ability and in these troubling economic times, he would be an idiot to not accept the Tigers offer, which when last reported was 2 years for $14M?  Based on some of the derogatory emails I’ve received from my anti-Jermaine Dye article, I know where most of you folks stand, but I’m here to give you a smack in the head with reality and tell you to abandon this false hope and put down the torch you’re carrying for some aging DH savior.

     Listen, I know most of you are having issues with the White Sox bringing in Andruw Jones, re-signing Mark Kotsay and going with this rotating DH spot that Ozzie Guillen says he prefers.  I get that.  I understand that Kotsay is on the DL more often than not.  I understand that Jones has been a relative disaster since the start of the 2007 season.  But it’s time for some acceptance, people.  This is who we have, and budgetary constraints aren’t going to allow much more.  I wish I could tell you that Jones has turned a corner and should be getting back on track, but I can’t.  His 2009 season in Texas was light years ahead of his 2008 season in Los Angeles, but the fact remains that he still only hit .214 in 283 AB.  I will, however, point out that he did start the season hot, but with Texas’ crowded outfield situation, Jones wasn’t afforded enough consistent playing time to catch fire.  Still, I won’t make excuses for him.  While his defensive abilities remain sound, his hitting is the primary issue, especially when the most work he’ll see is at the DH spot.

     I can’t even sit here and make an argument that Damon’s hitting won’t be as productive as the tandem of Jones and Kotsay.  I can talk about the dimensions in right field for U.S. Cellular vs the favorable short porch in right inYankee Stadium and I can talk about Damon’s splits, that 17 of his 24 HR last year were at home and all into the right field seats, but most of you aren’t buying it.  For you, the bottom line is that he hit 24 HR and atleast hit .282 while doing so.  All I can really offer up is that Damon’s defense is lagging and his arm is substantially weaker than the arms of both Kotsay and Jones.  And that’s one of the things that Guillen is stressing this season.  Sound defense.  The White Sox are a very balanced team from top to bottom right now and Guillen is becoming less reliant on the 3 run home run and more in tune with the manufacturing of runs and beating the opposition with fundamentally sound baseball.  Sure, we’re going to see our fair share of the long ball, but if for some reason we don’t, we’re still in contention.

     I know you folks are antsy and restless.  I know you’re looking for a bigger bat this offseason.  But we’re all going to have to trust the process right now.  The Sox aren’t being cheap;  they are being fiscally sound.  We have a rock solid core, some quality role players and a balanced team.  Sure, we’ve got our question marks, but what team doesn’t?  The miracle of a potentially bone-headed move by Damon isn’t going to solve our problems, it’s only going to create more questions about playing time.  I say we stick with what we’ve got and see how it works for us.  If it fails, then we can cry foul for a miserable offseason and see who we can acquire by th etrade deadline.  If not, well then we were wise to stand pat and the naysayers can go spit.

     All of this however, is probably a moot point anyhow.  2 years with $14M guaranteed?  A chance to be in the lineup almost every day?  If Damon doesn’t accept the offer to go to Motown, then he just might be too stupid for me to even want him on the Sox.

Tags: Andruw Jones, Chicago White Sox, Johnny Damon, Mark Kotsay, Ozzie Guillen, White Sox