Johnny Damon

Rays designated hitter Johnny Damon told MLB Network’s Matt Vasgersian Thursday that if he were elected to the Hall of Fame, he would wear a Royals hat.

“Well, it’s a tough decision … four years in Boston … four years in New York … five and a half years in Kansas City,” Damon said. “If you go by the numbers, that’s where my best years were. So, if they’d have me …”

Baseball-reference.com compares Damon favorably with several Hall of Famers, including Roberto Alomar, Paul Molitor and Rickey Henderson.

Welcome to Monday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

WHAT’S HAPPENING LOCALLY MONDAY:
MLB: Padres at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. (NESN; WEEI)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ Former Patriots and Colts linebacker Eric Naposki will go on trial starting Monday in the 1994 shooting death of Southern California multimillionaire Bill McLaughlin. Prosecutors say Naposki’s ex-girlfriend, Nanette Packard, convinced Naposki to kill McLaughlin so she could collect $1 million in life insurance. Packard also had been dating McLaughlin. In 1996, she pleaded guilty to stealing $500,000 from McLaughlin before and after his death and served a year in prison.

Naposki attended UConn and was on the Patriots roster in 1988 and 1989. He joined the Colts in 1989 and later played four seasons for the Barcelona Dragons of the World League of American Football. He was a personal trainer and nightclub security guard at the time of the crime. In 2009, when prosecutors finally determined they had enough evidence to press charges, Naposki was serving as a personal trainer in Connecticut and engaged to a schoolteacher.

♦ Johnny Damon‘s solid season for the Rays has revived talk about the former Red Sox outfielder having a shot at the Hall of Fame. Roger Mooney in The Tampa Tribune looks at Damon’s candidacy and quotes the player as saying: “I think I can [get in] now. … If you ask a lot of former teammates, they would believe so.”

♦ Johnathan Taylor, the paralyzed University of Georgia outfielder who was drafted by the Rangers, met the media at a Saturday press conference along with two other draft picks. Jeff Schultz in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes about the inspirational day.

♦ ESPN.com NBA writer Chris Sheridan filed suit against the New York Post and columnist Peter Vecsey, accusing the paper of publishing “a maliciously false article” that impugned “Sheridan’s veracity and competence as a journalist.” It’s based on a Dec. 14 article in which Vecsey wrote: “No doubt the same fountains of misinformation that frequently play make-believe with ESPN’s Chris Sheridan, whose latest fairy tale had Carmelo Anthony notifying the Nuggets he won’t accept a trade to any team but the Knicks.” Anthony, of course, eventually was traded to the Knicks.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On June 20, 1955, the Red Sox signed which local high school star who would go on to pitch eight seasons for the team?

Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to Monday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

WHAT’S HAPPENING LOCALLY MONDAY:
MLB: Blue Jays at Red Sox, 11:05 a.m. (NESN; WEEI)
NHL Playoffs: Bruins at Canadiens, 7:30 p.m. (NESN)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ In what is believed to be the highest price paid for a piece of football memorabilia, an autographed Houston Oilers helmet was auctioned for $2 million late last week. Houston lawyer Steve Mostyn outbid his wife Amber for the helmet signed by coach Bum Phillips and players.

♦ Manny Ramirez was a bust, but the Rays hit it big with Johnny Damon, their other major free agent signee with a Red Sox connection. Damon has two walkoff hits already this season, and he helped Tampa Bay beat the Sox twice last week. In the St. Petersburg Times, John Romano writes that Damon is the Rays’ first rock star.

♦ With Barry Bonds‘ trial over and Roger Clemens‘ trial upcoming, Katie Thomas in The New York Times compares the two and ponders whether Clemens will have a tougher road because of the situation in which he is accused of lying.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On April 18, 1966, Red Auerbach named Bill Russell as his replacement as coach of the Celtics (Russell also continued to play). How many seasons did Russell go on to coach the C’s?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Once it starts to go all together, it’ll be scary.” — Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, after the Red Sox beat the Jays on Sunday for their second straight win

STAT OF THE DAY: 1-for-11 — Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony‘s shooting numbers in the second half of the Celtics’ 87-85 victory Sunday

‘NET RESULTS: A member of the Mariners grounds crew fell victim to the tarp roller at a game last week.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Three seasons, of which two ended with NBA titles

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Country Joe McDonald turns 70 Monday.

Johnny Damon and the Rays are closing in on a deal, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports. Brown says there is still some work to be done, though.

Damon hit .271 with eight home runs, 51 RBIs and 81 runs scored in 145 games with the Tigers last season. He made just 36 starts in the outfield, as the bulk of his time came as the team’s designated hitter.

According to Newsday, which cited four sources, free agent Johnny Damon is in talks with the Yankees about a possible return to the Bronx. According to the story, the two sides are discussing a scenario in which the 37-year-old would get “occasional at-bats” as a designated hitter and left fielder, spelling Jorge Posada as a DH and either filling in for Brett Gardner in left or permitting Gardner to slide to center on days when Curtis Granderson gets the day off.

While the article suggests that Damon would prefer a job that had more certain playing time, making it unclear whether there is a deal to be struck, it also notes that “neither Damon nor the Yankees are thrilled with their other options.”

Damon spent the 2010 season with the Tigers, hitting .271/.355/.401/.756. That followed four years with the Yankees (.285/.363/.458/.821) from 2006-09 and four years with the Sox (.295/.362/.441/.803) from 2002-05.

Damon told WEEI.com earlier this month that he would welcome a return to the Red Sox, but the team has subsequently signed Carl Crawford, leaving it without an outfield need.

According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, the White Sox are considering making offers to Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui as they search for a left-handed bat. The report indicates that the team likely will wait until next month before making a decision. Damon played for the Tigers last season while Matsui played for the Angels.

According to the New York Post, outfielder Johnny Damon has been told by the Tigers that he is not in their plans for the 2011 season. Damon signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Tigers last offseason. In August, the Red Sox claimed Damon on waivers, but the former Boston icon said that he would exercise his right to veto a deal rather than come back to the Sox.

At the time, Damon cited his loyalty to the Tigers, and his hope that he would be a part of their plans for both 2010 and beyond. But, according to the Post, the Tigers have informed the 36-year-old that they will go in a different direction.

“They told me they are looking for a prototypical type DH like Adam Dunn,” Damon told the paper. “They said they need that type of bat in the middle of order. I am a No. 1 or 2 guy.”

Damon sounded enthusiastic about the possibility of returning to the Yankees, for whom he played from 2006-09 after his four years in Boston.

“I would love to have that as an option,” Damon told the Post of the possibility of returning to the Yankees. “It would be very exciting to go back there.”

Damon hit .271 with a .355 OBP, .401 slugging mark and .756 OPS while serving as the DH and left fielder for the Tigers.

Welcome to Thursday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:
MLB: Angels at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. (NESN, WEEI)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ Johnny Damon‘s return to Yankee Stadium as a Detroit Tiger this week turned ugly. In the ninth inning of Monday night’s game, Yankee Brett Gardner slid into Tigers second baseman Carlos Guillen on a double play and sent Guillen to the disabled list. Wednesday night, Gardner was one of three players hit by a pitch, and Damon called Gardner’s play “dirty” and accused the Yankees of throwing at Miguel Cabrera, which led to Tigers manager Jim Leyland‘s ejection.

♦ To no one’s surprise, Brett Favre is back. At the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Jim Souhan writes about the ego-fest that was Favre’s press conference Wednesday and notes that what drives the quarterback is his fear of failure. Michael Silver at Yahoo!Sports.com cautions that this return could be a disaster. Gary Myers in the New York Daily News writes that Favre’s “act has gotten so old and tired it’s comical,” and revisits the QB’s forgettable season with the Jets.

♦ At SportsIllustrated.com, Joe Sheehan writes that the time has come for the Dodgers to trade Manny Ramirez.

♦ Kevin Arnovitz at TrueHoop interviews NBA schedule-maker Matt Winick and gets some explanations about quirks in the schedule.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Aug. 19, 1986, which two players acquired from the Mariners made their debut for the Red Sox?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’ve done it all. There’s nothing left for me to prove. I’m here to have fun, help these guys win. I really enjoy this group of guys like you wouldn’t believe. I think the feeling is mutual.” — Brett Favre, upon returning to the Vikings on Wednesday

STAT OF THE DAY: 5 — Consecutive seasons at the start his career with 30 or more saves by Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, a major league record (No. 30 came Wednesday night vs. the Angels)

‘NET RESULTS: Four European golfers try to hit a ball 200 yards into a pond and skim it into a gong set up in the middle of the water.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Spike Owen and Dave Henderson

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Johnny Nash is 70 today.

LeBron James is taking some heat for leaving his hometown to join Dwyane Wade in Miami. (AP)

When the words “This fall, I’m going to take my talents to South Beach” came out of LeBron James’ mouth Thursday night, just one word came to the minds of everyone in northeast Ohio: traitor. (OK, maybe some other words came to mind, but we can’t print 99 percent of those.) To those in Cleveland, it felt like the self-proclaimed King had taken their hearts, ripped them to shreds and then threw them aside like dust in the wind — on national television, no less.

Now, LeBron certainly will not be the last sports star to betray an entire fan base, nor was he the first ever to do so. Here’s a look at some of the many Benedict Arnolds who came before him in the history of professional sports.

Art Modell

In a perfect segue, let’s start the list with two of Cleveland’s other most well-known betrayals, although this first one certainly hurt more than the second. First, it needs to be said that Cleveland is a football town through and through. Clevelanders love their Browns, so it hurt all the more when owner decided to move his team to Baltimore in 1996 after troubled talks for stadium improvements. Read the rest of this entry »

He is the one baseball fans love to hate. He is the Grinch that stole the offseason. He is the Ebenezer Scrooge who says “Humbug!” to hometown discounts, harmonizing negotiations and a love for the game over a love for money. He has every trick up his sleeve and a knack for getting every little bit that he wants. He is none other than the notorious agent himself: Scott Boras.

Sure, maybe Boras, as Curt Schilling says, “has no shame.” He certainly has no problems hyping players beyond their value, constantly painting them as a grand prize to be won and a gift to be blessed with. If Boras had his way, tapping into Johnny Damon’s stem cells would come close to discovering the fountain of youth and Matt Holliday — a potential target of the Red Sox — would serve as the poster-boy for the definition of a complete player.

Still, despite his crafty and cunning reputation, his sly fox persona, and his devious business tactics, Boras is still the leading agent in the world of negotiations. He attracts love from the players who are all about the Benjamins and draws anger from the general managers who are all about the luxury tax.

When it comes to the Red Sox, Boras has had quite a topsy-turvy history with the Fenway front office. From allowing Boston icons to become modern-day Benedict Arnolds to allegedly failing to advise his client he could make more money by accepting arbitration, Boras had made it clear that any deal that involves exchanging numbers with him is sure to spark some level of controversy. Here’s a look at recent events in the past few years between the customers of Boras and the Red Sox executive staff.

Johnny Damon

The Caveman himself vowed to never play for the Yankees. Yet when New York offered Damon a couple of million a year more than the Red Sox, Damon listened to his agent’s advice and took the money and ran. (With all that hair, a trip to the barbershop is worth more than a pretty penny.) After the 2005 season, Boras proposed his client with a weak throwing arm was set to receive a six-year, $72 million contract or  seven years at $84 million. Stunned by the ludicrous request, the Sox instead, offered Damon a four-year, $40 million deal with the possibility of raising the salary to the $44 million range. To the shock of Red Sox fans around the country, Damon let the money talk when he signed with the rival Yankees for four years and $52 million, prompting an unprecedented press conference by the then-Theo-less Red Sox to discuss the departure of a free agent in a deal that had not yet been announced by the team that signed the player.

Daisuke Matsuzaka

After missing the postseason in 2006, the Sox knew they needed a bold offseason. When Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka declared he wanted to pitch in America, the Sox brass won a $51.1 million posting bid just to open up talks with the former Seibu Lions ace. The Sox were given a 30-day deadline to strike a deal. If a contract was not in place by then, the Sox would forfeit their rights and Matsuzaka would have to return to Japan for the season.

Of course, Boras had no intention of taking the easy route to grant his client his dream to pitch in the United States. When talks stalled just days before the deadline, many speculated that Boras and the Red Sox would fail to settle on a deal since Boston figured the posting fee would play into the contract. Finally, the Sox brass flew across the country to Boras’ office in Southern California, where they reached an agreement at last on a six-year, $52 million deal along with plenty of extras and bonuses included in the package.

J.D. Drew

When J.D. Drew opted not to sign with Philadelphia after the Phillies selected him as the second overall pick in the 1997 draft, Drew instantly became a target for jeers and sneers in the City of Brotherly Love. After spending a few season in the St. Louis Cardinals outfield, Drew played one season for the Atlanta Braves before signing a five-year, $55 million pact with the Dodgers. Two seasons later, Drew decided to exercise his opt-out option in November 2006, becoming a free agent.

With the Sox in need of an outfielder, Drew seemed like a natural fit to replace some of the power that was lacking in the lineup. Though both parties reached an agreement early, it took 52 days for the five-year, $70 million deal to be finalized in January 2007. Concerned about his health, the Sox were adamant about constructing an insurance clause in case Drew’ right shoulder prevented him from playing a certain number of games. Boras obviously thought the right fielder was worth a tick over $14 million.

Mark Teixeira

Teixeira’s gold glove and World Series ring could have been engraved with a Red Sox ‘B’ instead of a Yankees ‘NY.’ When the Red Sox announced they were prepared to offer Teixeira a deal that would be the longest and the richest in the seven-year history of the John Henry ownership group, many thought Boston would be the landing spot for the marquee free agent. Yet, as was the case with Damon, the Yankees lured Teixeira away, inking him to an eight-year, $180 million deal. Boras spoiled Christmas for the Sox once again.

Jason Varitek

Boston fans were thrilled when Varitek made a rare move by remaining with the Red Sox at a lower price at four years for $40 million after winning the 2004 World Series. But in the last offseason, Boras convinced Varitek that despite his declining numbers, he deserved more than the Red Sox were willing to give. When the Red Sox offered their captain arbitration, Boras advised his client to turn down the acceptance. Unaware (according to a report a year ago) that if he had accepted arbitration he would be guaranteed a raise, Varitek ended up saving the Sox a couple of million after agreeing with Boston on a one-year, $5 million deal with an option for 2010 that Boston could pick up for $5 million or Varitek could pick up at $3 million. Varitek chose to exercise his player option last week, yet the $8 million he’ll earn over his two years in Boston is less than he would have received in 2009 alone had he accepted arbitration.