Damon staying in Detroit
It looks like Johnny Damon won’t be returning to Boston after all.
The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Damon has informed the Detroit Tigers, his current team, that he won’t be waiving his no-trade clause and return to the Red Sox.
Damon had until Wednesday to decide, but apparently went with his heart, which is what Detroit manager Jim Leyland told him to do.
Maybe Damon really does love Detroit, as he’s quoted as saying. But there’s gotta be more to it, considering the animosity felt by many Red Sox fans after Damon left as a free agent after the 2005 season and signed with the – gasp – Yankees. While I’d guarantee fans would cheer Damon now, he can’t possibly forget the way they’ve booed him ever since he left.
One somewhat odd aspect of this story is what Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon had to say about Boston’s potential addition of Damon.
Maddon told the St. Petersburg Times that if Damon can’t be a Ray, he’d rather he stay a Tiger. Or go somewhere else. But then Maddon followed that up with this.
“Johnny Damon is a very good baseball player. He still has a no-trade clause in his contract. I think he needs to really, really understand what a great community Detroit is. It would be a great place to raise a family, even if he explores some of the suburbs, for instance, Birmingham – it’s a beautiful little enclave over there. If you really sat down, Jim Leyland, a great manager – not that Tito (Terry Francona)’s not, Tito’s wonderful - but there’s a lot of good things going on in Detroit. I’m sure he does not want to miss it. … ’’
Someone should pass that along to the people at visitdetroit.com and get Maddon a job for the offseason.
