Offseason MLB rumors

[FaninPatsyLand]

Is he really? If you look at homers and RBI's he might be but Damon is better in every other category AND ONLY 2 YEARS OLDER (plus would only have 3 years left on his contract heading into this season with Drew signed for 5). Since 99 when Drew became a regular player Damon has had more hits in every season, more stolen bases every year, has scored more runs every year, has had less strikeouts in every year except for 2 (and Drew missed over half the season in 05 and missed 62 in 03, the seasons he's struck out less then Damon), has had more doubles then Drew every year, has scored more runs in every year, has had more triples every year except for 3 years (and Drew beat him by 1 two of those years and 2 the other), has played in more games every year, hit more homers then Drew this year, has a very comparable average (better in most years), and is a 20 times better teammate. So Drew is capable if hitting more homers and driving in more runs and has a higher OBP, I guess that makes him a better player:confused: . Seriously man you have to do better fact checking to back up your points. Good effort though, it's better to try and fail then to not try at all. And you can give me the reason why Damon's numbers are better is because Drew is always hurt but all that does is play into everyone else's point about why Drew isn't worth the money. It's not Johnny Damon's fault he can stay on the field and play through injuries while Drew sits out when he's got to take a dump. No matter how you cut it the Red Sox made a huge mistake not paying Johnny and then taking on this kid guy for 70 million. And I keep hearing that you guys didn't want to keep Damon because he would be broken down at the end of his contract but Drew will be the same age Damon would be at the end of this 5 year deal and has proven to break down more then Damon in the past so where's the sense in that?

Well congratulations on that post that proved basically nothing. Damon has more hits and runs scored because he's played in more games and had more ABs, thank you Captain Obvious.. some dynamite insight there. I'm not denying his prone-ness to injury, in fact I said he has to stay on the field for it to be a solid investment (but lets not act like Damon is Mr. Durable, he plays through them, but he sucks in the process).

Drew is a better ballplayer than Damon, the numbers prove it. I don't need to rehash statistics that clearly prove that when they're all over the internet.

 

[FinsNYanksFan13]

Well congratulations on that post that proved basically nothing. Damon has more hits and runs scored because he's played in more games and had more ABs, thank you Captain Obvious.. some dynamite insight there.

Drew is a better ballplayer than Damon, the numbers prove it. I don't need to rehash statistics that clearly prove that when they're all over the internet.

My post basically proved that Damon is a better ball player AND THE NUMBERS PROVE IT. Drew has slightly better power, a higher OBP, and a better arm in the outfield. Other then that, Damon's a better player then Drew and I would think that if we polled baseball people, 80 percent of them would rather have Damon over Drew. But good try though, again I commend the effort. I searched all the statistics and nothing backs up your argument. Aside from Drew's walk year he's done nothing and as soon as the boo birds and talk radio guys get a hold of him when he's in a slump, this guy is toast and you know it!

 

[Slappy8800]

u just say JD Drew is better than Johnny Damon?!

whats in the water in boston?

 

[Alex44]

Well congratulations on that post that proved basically nothing. Damon has more hits and runs scored because he's played in more games and had more ABs, thank you Captain Obvious.. some dynamite insight there. I'm not denying his prone-ness to injury, in fact I said he has to stay on the field for it to be a solid investment (but lets not act like Damon is Mr. Durable, he plays through them, but he sucks in the process).

Drew is a better ballplayer than Damon, the numbers prove it. I don't need to rehash statistics that clearly prove that when they're all over the internet.

Can you back that up with stats? No offense I like the Sox and I hate the Yankees but seriously

Who has a better batting average? Id guess Damon. And that means Damon would have more hits with the same AB's

Also runs scored is a misleading stat, you still need guys to drive you in. But the fact that Damon has more steals and Id guess more walks (not sure about that but once again Im assuming) hits almost the same doubles and triples. Id assume Damon is a better run scorer regardless of games played

HR's and RBI (The only two things Drew is superior at) Dont make a great baseball player.

 

[FinsNYanksFan13]

Can you back that up with stats? No offense I like the Sox and I hate the Yankees but seriously

Who has a better batting average? Id guess Damon. And that means Damon would have more hits with the same AB's

Also runs scored is a misleading stat, you still need guys to drive you in. But the fact that Damon has more steals and Id guess more walks (not sure about that but once again Im assuming) hits almost the same doubles and triples. Id assume Damon is a better run scorer regardless of games played

HR's and RBI (The only two things Drew is superior at) Dont make a great baseball player.

If that was the case Adam Dunn and Richie Sexson would be the best players in the game!

 

[FaninPatsyLand]

I would think that if we polled baseball people, 80 percent of them would rather have Damon over Drew.

I'd love to get a poll going with educated baseball people. All things being equal (no health concerns, clearly they both have injury issues), if they're both on the field, who is the better player.

I think the majority would take Drew over Damon. The only thing Damon has on Drew is speed (steals), when healthy.

 

[FaninPatsyLand]

HR's and RBI (The only two things Drew is superior at) Dont make a great baseball player.

What stats are you looking at? Go check his statistics on baseball-reference.com. Drew is a on-base machine and his SLG% has been dynamite over the course of his career.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Can you back that up with stats? No offense I like the Sox and I hate the Yankees but seriously

Who has a better batting average? Id guess Damon. And that means Damon would have more hits with the same AB's

Also runs scored is a misleading stat, you still need guys to drive you in. But the fact that Damon has more steals and Id guess more walks (not sure about that but once again Im assuming) hits almost the same doubles and triples. Id assume Damon is a better run scorer regardless of games played

HR's and RBI (The only two things Drew is superior at) Dont make a great baseball player.

Here's the difference (and yes I think it's dumb comparing these two guys): Damon is a lead off hitter. His job is to get on base and score runs, and steal some bases. Not to hit home runs or drive in runs. Drew is a middle of the order guy, his job is to drive people in and hit home runs.

Damon obviously has more runs score and he should. For 5 years he's played on some of the best hitting teams in baseball and played on some of the most left handed hitter friendly ball parks in baseball. Drew has always been on poor hitting teams with the exception of maybe St. Louis in 1999.

Drew isn't just a HR and RBI guy. He has a career OBP of almost .400! That's pretty damn good. In fact it's much higher than Damon's, who's main job is to simply get on base. Both have pretty much the same career batting average. But Drew has a higher OPS and SLG %. If right now Drew has about almost 3,000 less at bats than Damon does (quick math). Drew's numbers aren't that far off of Damon's if you factor in games played and at bats. If Drew could somehow get healthy and stay healthy for the next 4 years and play in 150 games (yes it's wishful thinking) I think he'd probably be a better hitter than Damon is.

 

[Ray Finkle]

I don't understand why there's so much hate for Drew. Yes he got a terrible contract but so did everyone else so far this winter.

Bottom line is he makes the Red Sox a better baseball team both hitting wise and in the field. He's 10 times the player Trot Nixon is. The Sox upgraded their team, reguardless of the contract he got.

 

[Rocky Raccoon]

I think it's simple. If Drew can stay healthy, it was a good move by Boston. But as we all know, that's a big if.

 

[Slappy8800]

I'd love to get a poll going with educated baseball people. All things being equal (no health concerns, clearly they both have injury issues), if they're both on the field, who is the better player.

I think the majority would take Drew over Damon. The only thing Damon has on Drew is speed (steals), when healthy.

yea im gonna have to go ahead and disagree with you...i have connections at the MLB offices in NY shall I poll them?

 

[phunwin]

I'm going to regret interjecting myself into this debate any more than I already have, but here's the five year splits for Damon and Drew. Stats are average/OBP/slugging...

Damon:
2002 - 286/356/443
2003 - 273/345/405
2004 - 304/380/477
2005 - 316/366/439
2006 - 285/359/482

Drew:
2002 - 252/349/429
2003 - 289/374/512
2004 - 305/436/569
2005 - 286/412/520
2006 - 283/393/498

So, after 2002, Drew has had a higher OBP and slugging percentage every single year, and he's been comparable in batting average.

If we're assuming Drew is healthy (which he won't be, but it seems that's been set aside for the sake of argument), and not counting contributions in the field, how is it possible, on this planet or any other, that Johnny Damon is a better hitter?

And don't say base-stealing; Damon's edge in speed doesn't even come close to making up the gap. Damon stole 25 bases in 35 tries last year, for a 71% success rate. If I recall correctly, the "break even" point is 70%; i.e. any rate below that actually hurts the team. Even if we assume that Damon had a down year in base stealing last year, he's not successful nearly often enough to dent Drew's huge edge in OBP and slugging.

I completely agree with concerns about Drew's health, his heart, and him lacking the mental makeup to play in a place like Boston. Those are extremely valid. But to say that, statistically, Damon's a better player is completely ridiculous and is not backed by proof. If Drew is healthy, and doesn't go Section 8 in Boston, he is the better player. There is no reasonable debate about that.

 

[FinsNYanksFan13]

I'd love to get a poll going with educated baseball people. All things being equal (no health concerns, clearly they both have injury issues), if they're both on the field, who is the better player.

I think the majority would take Drew over Damon. The only thing Damon has on Drew is speed (steals), when healthy.

You can't have it that way. Drew being injured IS PART OF THE EQUATION. You can try to slice it anyway you want but baseball people know this. Your talking hypothetical, I'm talking factual. I bet you even with both 100 percent healthy more GM's would rather have Damon then Drew. Damon hustles no matter what on every play. Drew is often times just going through the motions. Damon is a better player then Drew. Just because he's a Red Sox and Damon is a Yankee doesn't mean you don't have to admit it!

 

[Roman529]

Looks like the Dodgers just won the NL West with the Jason Schmidt signing.

 

[FaninPatsyLand]

You can't have it that way. Drew being injured IS PART OF THE EQUATION. You can try to slice it anyway you want but baseball people know this. Your talking hypothetical, I'm talking factual. I bet you even with both 100 percent healthy more GM's would rather have Damon then Drew. Damon hustles no matter what on every play. Drew is often times just going through the motions. Damon is a better player then Drew. Just because he's a Red Sox and Damon is a Yankee doesn't mean you don't have to admit it!

What are you talking about? I've been saying throughout this entire thread that I've had concerns about his health, just like everyone else. Damon has health issues too.

You were the one trying to tell me that Damon was the better player. I think you realized how asinine that claim was, and now you're just trying to save face.

It's ok, you're off the hook.

Great post Phunwin, by the way. I didn't make an effort to rehash statistics that I thought were quite clear at quick glance, but your post just about ends any logical belief that Damon is the better player.