Mark Bellhorn to Yankees

[blankman]

Damon wouldn't be too bad to sign. Damon for 10-13 for 4-5 years, would solve our CF woes for the next few years. Hopefully the Yanks develop or find a young CF to replace Damon within that time. If Thompson has game we can always plug him in for Shef within a few years. And remember Matsui is more of a RF than a LF so we could have an OF of Thomspn in LF, Damon in CF and Matsui in RF. LF at Yankee Stadium is big so you basically need 2 CFs to play the left side. Thomson and Damon could fit that bill. In between Damon's contract, Giambi, RJ, Moose, Shef and Posoda (?) should all come off. That's close to 70 million more in savings. I think Damon is a good intermediate fix. Plus a middle of Jeter, Cano and Damon should give a good defense for teh pitching.

How does this look?

1. Damon
2. Jeter
3. Sheffield
4. Rodriguez
5. Matsui
6. Giambi
7. Posada
8. a potential 1b or good hitting stick
9. Cano

What I like is that from 9 to 2, we'll have guys that can get on base for the sticks in the middle. And the 7 and 8 holes wouldn;t be too shabby for production and protection. Solid lineup. Now the pitching is a whole different issue. That's going to be a work in progress.
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You'd give a 31 year old Damon 4-5 years? Not a chance he'll be worth it after 3. Remember, Bernie is 36 and has been tailing off for the last two years at least. Damon has an awful arm but more importantly, you have to look at the future. Yes, its a great immediate fix; he's a very good player, but 4-5 years down the road, I don't see it staying that way. Quite simply, at that point, he's not worth the money.

[dimaggio5]

You'd give a 31 year old Damon 4-5 years? Not a chance he'll be worth it after 3. Remember, Bernie is 36 and has been tailing off for the last two years at least. Damon has an awful arm but more importantly, you have to look at the future. Yes, its a great immediate fix; he's a very good player, but 4-5 years down the road, I don't see it staying that way. Quite simply, at that point, he's not worth the money.

I probably would. True Damon has no arm but his defensive range will surely make Matsui and Shef a whole lot better plus he is a very good lead off. Jeter is the perfect 2. Bernie's tailoff is just unbelievable. So fast and steep. Don't think this can be said for all athletes though. IMO the age of ineptness should come in around 36-38. Bernie seems years ahead of the pattern. I think 4 good to excellent years, out of 5, isn't a bad thing to expect from Damon. What the Yanks do in between those years, in terms of talent acquisition, is another issue. I really see no better and viable alternatives available. In a way, this just heightens how much of a mistake it was not to sign Beltran. True he's having a bad year this year but his upside and potential is too immense and the Yanks let him get away.