He's Back

By Karlsie

The long anticipated of Johnny Damon in pinstripes will be happening tonight and we all know where the cameras will be - right in his face where he loves them.

Look, I'm among those that bear him no ill will, but I have totally and thoroughly lost all respect for the man. I'm sorry, you don't say you'll never sign with the Yankees unless the Red Sox "insult" you (and I'm sorry - $10 million a year plus incentives is not an insult no matter how you look at it) and then, after signing with the Yankees, trash talk the very team that catapulted you from an OK player to movie star fame and expect me to respect you.

I understand that Damon wanted to play with the Yankees when he was younger - it's OK, he's not from a world where the Yankees represent all that is wrong with baseball. But he had been trash talking them since Steinbrenner took a pass early on in his career.

Of course when "Idiot" debuted last year trash talking his ex wife (boy, doesn't that make the kids feel all warm and special to have daddy trashing mom in print like that?), he made the mistake of trash talking A-Rod and Jeter in print as well. After a contract signing and a quick rewrite for the paperback version, Damon showed he is a company man. In case that wasn't enough, he trash talked Sox management and got more than a few digs in at former comrades in arms.

Look, the man is who he is. I will neither applaud nor boo him as his true colors are showing... and no, they aren't blue pinstripes. They are a cowardly yellow and a greedy shade of green.

Had he gone to the Yankees saying, "I love Boston and the opportunity to play there, but the truth is I've wanted to be a Yankee since I was a kid..." and left it at that, most of us would have been fine with it. Had he not trash talked the Sox, we would have blamed management for not resigning him.

Now I admit I feel betrayed and hurt. He's acting like a man who thinks he's hot sh** on a silver platter when he's maybe a cold fart in a paper cup.

This is not the man that good naturedly posed with Mr. Bear for a photo or put me at ease when I panicked at dropping his World Series ring on the floor. I don't know which one is the real Johnny, but I do know this, 2004 was two years ago. He's "moved on" and so will I besides... from that whole rock star perspective, Gabe Kapler is several times the babe Damon ever was and he'll be back before you know it.

Until then, I can only say that, as always, tonight I'll be rooting for the Sox and may they squash the Yankees like the bugs they are.

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