From our poll:

Do you want the Yankees to sign Johnny Damon?

No - 6
Indifferent - 1
Yes - 1

The Yankees have been quiet during the Marlins' fire sale this offseason until now. The Yanks have acquired lefty reliever Ron Villone from the Marlins for minor leaguer Ben Julianel. The New Jersey native went 5-5 last year with a 4.08 E.R.A. in 79 appearances.

Not a bad deal in my opinion. Even after signing Mike Myers, it still can never hurt to add another capable lefty in the bullpen. The Yankees have quietly added a bit of depth in the bullpen this offseason. They've acquired two new lefties, replaced Tom Gordon with a younger Kyle Farnsworth, are also looking to resign Al Leiter and if the rotation is healthy to start the season, they will be even deeper with Aaron Small in the bullpen.

Myers Hopes Damon Will Eventually Replace Him as the Newest Yankee:



Myers Also Recruits:

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Well, I had to point this out.

Good stuff.

Looks like our third baseman has decided to sit out of the inaugural World Baseball Classic.


I would also consider the additional wear-and-tear on A-Rod, and being that this is the very first Classic, we just don't know how much of a strain that will add to his body. Especially when it comes down to the playoffs in October.

Another point-of-view would be the WORLD stage that it set. It would allow A-Rod to further showcase his talents and add to his own developing storied history. But I don't say he needs that. He can continue building upon his resume with the Yankees. I just want him to stay healthy and hit another 40-50 HRs.

Update: It looks like the Dodgers aren't interested after all. However, other sources have now added the Orioles to the list of bidders.

Thank you turnover within the Dodger's organization! It looks like Los Angeles is jumping in the Johnny Damon sweepstakes and the buzz is that they are willing to go higher than four years. in my opinion, if Paul DePodesta was still in charge of that organization, there is no way that an offer would be made to Damon. Still, as long as the Yankees don't feel pressured into making their own 5-year offer, this is good news. It pushes the Yankees a little bit farther out of the fray because to this point, Yankees management has stated that a three year deal would be optimal and four years would be a stretch. Five years should get them out of the bidding altogether (hopefully). Also, the Red Sox, who might not be willing to take the possible PR hit of losing Damon, might up their offer in order to compete. Of course, they are setting up their contingency plans just in case and are reportedly also involved in talks with Seattle about Jeremy Reed.

And while we're talking about our friend Johnny, don't forget to vote in the Damon poll.

Per Jason O's request, here's the latest on Nomar. It looks like the Indians and the Yankees aren't feeling too great on their chances of adding the former All-Star. If the Dodgers, who seem to be the frontrunners right now, sign Nomar, I see it as a double issue. A) The Yankees lose out on Nomar and B) the Dodgers will probably play Nomar in right, move Drew to center and back off of Johnny Damon...making the Yankees and Red Sox practically the only suitors. The more interested teams there are, the better the chances that the Yankees go in another direction, which would be ideal in my view.

I personally would not mind seeing Nomar in pinstripes. I think that the Yanks could stand to add another bat to the lineup and a rejuvenated Nomar would be just the ticket. He would also fit the role of a player who could potentially spot start at any position on the field (outside of pticher and catcher). I think the guys at noMaas.org outlined a nice little plan to give Nomar a good amount of playing time and the rest of the team good amounts of rest, a luxury that the Yanks haven't really had in the past few seasons.

There's a fun little poll up on ESPN, comparing the Mets and the Yankees. As of now, a little over 40,000 people have voted and not too many surprises in the bunch, with most fans (over 60%) expecting both clubs to make the postseason next year. Naturally, everyone is heralding the Pedro signing as the best signing by either club while the Yankees take up the top three posts in the worst signings department, with Jaret Wright coming in first (51.5%), Carl Pavano second (24.3%) and Randy Johnson third (11.7%). I'm pretty sure that if the Womack signing was an option, it would have ranked highly as well! I was a little surprised at the slight edge given to the Mets outfield and very surprised that two-thirds of the country sees the Mets as being in better shape for the next five years. I don't have a great understanding of the Mets' farm system but didn't they just trade away their two best pitching prospects this winter? The Yankees system is definitely bottom-heavy with far more raw talent in the lower levels than in the top levels so maybe the Mets are the same way. If any Mets fans with an understanding of their system stops by, please let me know.

There's also another poll running on ESPN's main page asking where the world thinks Nomar is going to go. The only places that think that he's going anywhere other than the Yankees are California (the Dodgers), Ohio (the Indians) and Texas (the Astros), which just happen to be the three other teams that he is said to be considering. Come on, Nomar, feel the peer pressure!

I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a happy holiday season and a happy and healthy new year from us at YanksBlog.com. Thank you for reading. :)

With the Yankees apparently very interested in Damon, I thought that we'd take a quick poll here and see how many people, of our readers, want Damon/don't want Damon.

A simple yes/no answer will suffice. :)

Do you want the Yankees to sign Johnny Damon?