Yankees fans can thank Scott Boras for this one: The Bombers say they can't fit Johnny Damon in their budget and once-and-for-all appear to have moved on from the veteran with tonight's signing of journeyman outfielder Randy Winn -- he of the 1,600+ career games and no postseason appearances.
Such a shame. Boras, and ostensibly Damon, simply wanted too much money for an outfielder who has become very limited defensively. Of course, there's no problem with Damon's offense or his prowess on the bases, as he showed with his epic double steal in the ninth inning of Game Four of the World Series in Philadelphia.
But now the Yankees have Curtis Granderson. And Nick Johnson to DH. And Winn. No room at the inn for Damon. Brian Cashman set up fans for this possibility Tuesday when he explained Damon wasn't part of the budget. And the Yankees offered two years, $14 million at one point too. Damon -- and Boras -- should have taken the money and run. He was a heart and soul guy, terrific in the clubhouse and great with the media. Don't underestimate how important that was last year to relieve pressure on some of the other Yankees. You needed something on anybody and Damon was there.
Where might Damon land? There's reports of the Athletics and Rays. Maybe the White Sox. He needs to be in the AL where he can DH some. Too bad because the Mets could have made quite a splash in the City. Covering the Yanks won't be the same.
While the Bisons were greeting the return of one Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer last week in former manager and new Mets executive Terry Collins, another one was getting his official introduction in Pawtucket.
Bisons public relations guru Brad Bisbing provides the following nuggets related to Friday's announcement that the Bisons will host the 2012 Triple-A All-Star Game:
--Buffalo has had more participants (55) than any other team in the game's 23-year history. The Bisons have been represented by 44 players (tied for 1st, Albuquerque), five coaches, two managers, 2 trainers and even two radio broadcasters (Pete Weber, Jim Rosenhaus).
---Seven Bisons managers have served on All-Star staffs with Jeff Datz (1999) and Marty Brown (2005) managing the IL team.
---Famous Bisons alums in the game include Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famers Dorn Taylor, Rick Reed, Carlos Garcia and Bill Selby, as well as other names such as Jhonny Peralta, Alex Ramirez, Richie Sexson and Ryan Garko. Taylor and IF/DH Ernie Young are the only players to represent the Bisons twice.
---There have been 72 players in the Triple-A All-Star Game who have played in the major-league version. The most prominent are Derek Jeter, Pedro Martinez, Jim Thome, Todd Helton, Justin Morneau, Chipper Jones, Bernie Williams and Mike Piazza. The 2008 MLB game in Yankee Stadium included 15 Triple-A All-Star alums.
The Mets' new minor-league field coordinator is a beloved figure here. A member of the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame who managed the Herd to 246 wins from 1989-1991, Collins is no-nonsense guy. He would have never tolerated the shenanigans that went on here last season. Check out what he said Friday before a packed ballroom in the Adam's Mark.
"I know you had a tough year here last year. That's over. It's gone. There's nothing we can do about it," Collins said. "We're going to to move forward. But I will promise you: There is change coming. It's going to get better. My love for this town and this team, I will not stand for going through the season we had last year.
"I've always said the one thing we want to have happen is when you leave the ballpark, we want you to come back because we've played the game correctly. We may not win all the games but we're going to play the game right. We're going to play the game wtih some fun and passion and the way the game should be played here in Buffalo."
Applause interrupted Collins' remarks at one point. You can hear them in their entirety by clicking the box below.
As I talked about earlier today, the Bisons are advertising a "major event announcement" as part of Friday's sold-out Winter Hot Stove Luncheon in the Adam's Mark. The last time something like that came down, it was for the 1987 exhibition game between the Blue Jays and Indians that was played through the freezing rain of War Memorial Stadium. The media was furious because then-GM Mike Billoni billed it as "a major announcement for the future of Buffalo baseball" and folks thought Bob Rich Jr. had purchased the Expos or some other team. Buffalo has never had another major-league April exhibition since and probably with good reason. You might ruin your field for a month or more trying to play one.
I have no official confirmation of what's up but International League president Randy Mobley will be in town tomorrow so I'm fairly certain the word is this: Buffalo is going to be named the host of the 2012 Triple-A All-Star Game. It would make sense because 2012 will be the 25th anniversary season for Coca-Cola Field and for the Triple-A version of the Midsummer Classic. Then-Pilot Field, remember, staged the first game on July 13, 1988 before a sellout crowd of 19,500. The IL hosts this year (Lehigh Valley) and the Pacific Coast League has next year in Salt Lake City so 2012 comes back to an IL park.
The game is broadcast every year on ESPN and a national network of radio stations and is held the day after the big-league game. In this case, you're looking at July 11, 2012, the night after the big leaguers play in Kansas City. But unlike 1988, this event has grown into a huge spectacle thanks to great hosting jobs in recent years by cities such as Rochester, Indianapolis and Portland. There's a home run hitting contest on Monday and a gala luncheon on game day.
You'll see the top prospects from around Triple-A meeting in an IL vs. PCL format and it will be a great show. I'm betting pretty solid that's what the announcement will be. Keep it locked at buffalonews.com Friday afternoon when the official word comes down.
---Mike Harrington
Buffalo News file photo of Coca-Cola Field by Mark Mulville
The Buffalo Bisons are promoting a "major event announcement" as part of Friday's sold-out Winter Hot Stove Luncheon at the Adam's Mark. The featured speakers are Mets GM Omar Minaya and field coordinator Terry Collins, the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer and former Herd manager.
I think I've got an idea what's up but -- unlike bigmouth national types who cover the NFL and did such a lousy job on the Bills' coaching/GM searches -- I prefer to be right rather than just throw information around seemingly without caring if it's good.
I can tell you this to quell some speculation that's already flaring around emails, Twitter, etc.: It's NOT an exhibition game against the Mets. Those games have been outlawed as part of the players' most recent union contracts and they're not done anymore. Too bad for fans in minor-league towns but the big-leaguers simply said no mas to them.
Mark McGwire finally came clean Monday,
admitting he used steroids when he broke baseball's home run
record in 1998.
McGwire says in a statement sent to the Associated Press on
Monday that he used steroids on and off for nearly a decade
and he apologizes for his actions.
Should major league baseball remove his records from the books?
So the results are in and only Andre Dawson has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. I'm baffled. Lots of folks around here saw Roberto Alomar in his heyday with Blue Jays in the early 90s. He was by far the best player on the ballot to me. Sully agrees with me and he covered virtually every postseason game the Blue Jays played from 1991-1993. Alomar (73.7 percent) and Bert Blyleven (74.2 percent) both should have been elected today.
So with Dawson heading to Cooperstown, the chatter begins about who should have been joining him. Certainly Alomar and Blyleven top the list. But there's plenty of other names too. I definitely think Jack Morris is HOF-worthy. And you can make a case for several other 80s-90s-00s stars. Think Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Dave Parker, Lee Smith, Tim Raines. Each one has a definite case that can be made on their behalf.
It's such a tough call for writers. You can vote for a maximum of 10 players and you need 75 percent to get in. I know several voters and they've agonized over their ballots in recent weeks (disclosure: I am still in my waiting period from the Baseball Writers Association of America and do not yet have a ballot). Can't believe nearly 27 percent of the voters left off Alomar.
So take our poll below: Who were the biggest snubs? Who are the guys you'd be voting for if you had a ballot?
