Damon, Sox playing a round

A dramatization.
Ken Rosenthal is the ultimate tease.
First, he becomes everything that’s wrong about Twitter when he tweets:

Damon to #WhiteSox gaining momentum. Team has made second offer #MLB

Only to follow with:

Take back previous tweet: #WhiteSox did not make second offer. Original offer stands and is not thought to be as high as Tigers’.

OK, so nothing’s changed…
… except that Rosenthal then writes a full story that basically doubles the strength of the Sox’s reputed interest:

Damon played golf Monday with White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski and broadcaster Ken “Hawk” Harrelson, according to major-league sources.
Pierzynski lobbied Damon to sign with the White Sox, and Damon’s wife, Michelle, would prefer him to play in a more cosmopolitan city than Detroit, multiple sources say.

Going with the information we have, Kenny Williams is trying to acquire Damon without playing Boras’ game, and Damon is trying to avoid Detroit without surrendering any leverage.
Something’s gotta give. In the meantime, I’ve carved out room in White Sox Outsider 2010 for Damon and have written his 2009 review.

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joist

The last paragraph in Rosenthal’s article confuses me:
“Damon would be a good fit for the White Sox, who are looking for both a leadoff man and left-handed hitter. Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field is far more hitter-friendly than Detroit’s Comerica Park. If Damon put up big numbers in Chicago on a one-year deal, he could re-enter the market in a strong position next season.”
He put up gigantic numbers last year in a contract year, and has not exactly been bowled over with offers. What makes Rosenthal think this upcoming offseason is any different?
Also, as a commenter on Rosenthal’s article points out, the first sentence makes little sense considering that Pierre was signed for both of those roles. What he should have said was “a DH and a left-handed power hitter.”

Shinons

AJ playing the role of sweet talker confuses me.

marshlands

AJ went to high school with Damon in Orlando, so that’s probably why he’s courting him. Old pals, I guess.

brent

Considering Damon spent the vast majority of last year in the two-hole for the world champions (http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYY/2009-batting-orders.shtml), it is needless to say that he would be an excellent choice for the two-hole for the 2010 Sox. As an added bonus, if the Pierre to the AL experiment blows up, then we would have another viable option for leadoff.
That being said, I don’t want to get too excited. I love Kenny, but I could definitely see the clash of huge egos between Kenny and Boras stop this from ever happening.

blah

JR is involved with the Boras talks now according to mlbtraderumors.com

striker

I would put Damon at #2 or #3 in the lineup. I bet he signs today.

815sox

Thank you so much for this link. I’ve used it four times already in the office today.

bigfun

Looks like Soxmachine nemesis Dave Cameron is borrowing Jim’s idea…
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/the-best-thread-of-your-life

815sox

Cowley twitting that “The Johnny Damon talks died the last two hours … more to details to come in a few. What we do know is A.J. Pierzynski is no Urban Meyer.”

815sox

Of course it is a Cowley tweet

ricksch

Looks like Boras tried to BS everyone into thinking the Tigers were offering Damon two years. Now Kenny pulls his chips off the table — apparently $6mil — putting the Tigers into a spot where they have to negotiate against themselves. Damon seems mercenary if he takes the extra mil from the Tigers, who are going nowhere. Boras hopes to save face with his client by demanding the Tigers pay all $7m upfront. They will probably agree to this. However, Damon is a better fit for the Sox and seems to boost their chances more than the Tigers, who are short of SP after Verlander and Porcello. If Damon wants to win and his wife knows anything about Chicago, we still have a chance to get this guy — bloodsucker Boras be damned. I think Kenny is smart to publicly pull his offer like this.