Johnny Damon or J.D. Drew

[plask_stirlac]

Looking at the deal Damon signed, Drew's looks pretty good. I like Damon and he plays CF for an edge, plus health of course, but Drew does more damage at the plate and fields well. OTOH he's coming from the NL, but he could benefit from Fenway as well over Dodger Stadium.

Thoughts? Either considering contracts or not. Unless Drew has a very disruptive attitude, I think this is a good recoup from losing Damon. Plus he can bat before or after the big bats.

[Minstrel]

Looking at the deal Damon signed, Drew's looks pretty good. I like Damon and he plays CF for an edge, plus health of course, but Drew does more damage at the plate and fields well. OTOH he's coming from the NL, but he could benefit from Fenway as well over Dodger Stadium.

Thoughts? Either considering contracts or not. Unless Drew has a very disruptive attitude, I think this is a good recoup from losing Damon. Plus he can bat before or after the big bats.

Drew can also play CF. Boston may not choose to go that route, but Drew evidently has the ability to do so. Damon might have more range in center, but Drew's arm puts Damon's to shame.

If Drew's health is currently okay, I'd prefer Drew and his contract to Damon and his. I think Drew is the better player, will be paid a similar amount, but his contract is for fewer years.

[Raceboy]

Good luck with Drew if you can get him to play a whole season, he's only had a 500 at-bat season ONCE and the most hits he's gotten' in a season is 158? wow what a great hitter, well worth the money he's about to get (not).

He played a career high 146 games with us in 06' thats the highest in an 8 year career?

I also have something against him because right after he said he was happy about returning to LA in 07' he goes and op's out to go to boston for more money? whatever dude.......later.


Plus he has shoulder problems, thats whats holding up his new contract with the Boston.

[JordanDL3891]

Damon seems to have his health problems, but he is fast, and is a good lead-off, if not one of the best. It's hard to compare them at the plate because they both have different jobs when batting. Though for a lead-off, Damon does have some power.

and I tried not to be biased seeing that I am a yankee fan

[ElHalo]

When he's on the field, Drew is the better player. He's off the field enough that you have to go with Damon.

[slugger33]

Damon seems to have his health problems, but he is fast, and is a good lead-off, if not one of the best. It's hard to compare them at the plate because they both have different jobs when batting. Though for a lead-off, Damon does have some power.

and I tried not to be biased seeing that I am a yankee fan

Seems to have his health problems? Damon has never been on the DL.

[EvanAparra]

When he's on the field, Drew is the better player. He's off the field enough that you have to go with Damon.

Pretty much my thoughts. Damon plays through injuries, gives his all -- Gives the edge to him IMO.

[Evangelion]

When he's on the field, Drew is the better player. He's off the field enough that you have to go with Damon.

That would sum up my stance on the subject, too.

Drew off the field way too often compared to Damon, who's out there day and night even if he's hurt.

[Sliding Billy]

Pretty much my thoughts. Damon plays through injuries, gives his all -- Gives the edge to him IMO.

True, but in '05 he injured himself by giving his all, killing a stellar season:

     Split     G      BA   OBP   SLG   OPS

   1st Half    81   .343  .386  .473  .859 
   2nd Half    67   .282  .343  .397  .740

In the second half, he was basically Rick Miller or Dave Roberts, his own replacement off the bench. Damon, Crisp, Drew . . . the curse of Fred Lynn continues.

[KCGHOST]

You have to like the fact that Damon in each of his ten full seasons has never played less than 145 games. In Drew's eight season's he has reached that mark only twice.

Dodger fans need to get over Drew leaving. You liked him when he jumped ship and signed with you for money. He's a Scott Boras client. That is prima facie evidence that money is his only issue. Any time a Boras client says he likes the city he is in and would like to stay there it means all that plus "but, you still have to pay me the most money".

You knew what he was when you signed him, so don't act so melodramatic.

[hellborn]

Drew has only played two reasonably full seasons in my estimation, 2004 and 2006. He was pretty good in 2006 and dynamite in 2004, but Damon has put in 10 full seasons and has been pretty good in a high percentage of those. I cringe to watch him throw from CF, but I've gotta go with Damon because he shows up and plays. He also showed that he could handle the pressure cooker that is Boston baseball and even thrive in it...he was more or less the public face of the '04 team, at least amongst the everyday players. Millar liked to stick his face in front of the cameras, but everybody knew he was just a clown. I loved when he tried to get a big double high five from Papi at the end of ALCS game 4 and Ortiz just brushed by him like he was a gnat.
To be honest, I didn't get upset when the Bosox wouldn't meet Damon's contract demands, and I don't like the proposed Drew deal. But, I don't want Nixon back in RF and am worried that WMP can't really handle that position, so I don't have a reasonable Drew alternative to propose at the moment.

[DoubleX]

I'm pretty much where a bunch of other people are - Drew has more ability, but it doesn't matter when you miss an average of over 40 games a year.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

When he's on the field, Drew is the better player. He's off the field enough that you have to go with Damon.

ElHalo,

How would you know how good J.D. Drew is since he's played his entire carer in the NL and you don't watch the NL?

[Rapmaster]

I think Drew can successfully switch into the American League. When he's healthy, Drew is difficult to overmatch. He's a patient hitter with a quick swing, not a free swinger with an excessively long swing.

And yes he can play centerfield and is actually very good at doing so.

[Raceboy]

Dodger fans need to get over Drew leaving. You liked him when he jumped ship and signed with you for money.

You knew what he was when you signed him, so don't act so melodramatic.

Nope, i never liked Drew when he was on the team, plus i didn't like when he was already pulling that greedy stuff with St. Louis and the draft. plus theres not one fan that i know personaly thats ever said JD was they're favorite.

Nomar is a fan favorite not Drew.

So yeah, theres really nothing to act "melodramatic" about....

[mojorisin71]

You have to like the fact that Damon in each of his ten full seasons has never played less than 145 games. In Drew's eight season's he has reached that mark only twice.

Dodger fans need to get over Drew leaving. You liked him when he jumped ship and signed with you for money. He's a Scott Boras client. That is prima facie evidence that money is his only issue. Any time a Boras client says he likes the city he is in and would like to stay there it means all that plus "but, you still have to pay me the most money".

You knew what he was when you signed him, so don't act so melodramatic.

This is one of the few things I liked about Paul DePodesta. He gave him the escape clause, which allowed some other sucker to bid on him after only two years.

[Mattingly]

Over the past 4 seasons, JD Drew has played 463 games for a 115.75 games/yr average. By comparison, the other JD has played 592 games for a 148-game average. That average, by the way, is more games than JD Drew has ever played in a single season.

While Damon may have a bad foot so he DHs, he still plays about every day. He's DH'd 16 times in 2006 and 55 for his career.

Overall, I don't get this comparison. As mentioned upthread, they play different positions. Damon gets drive in while Drew's job is to drive in guys like Damon. Kind of like comparing A-Rod job to Jeter's, given their respective spots in the batting order.

[Mattingly]

I think Drew can successfully switch into the American League. When he's healthy, Drew is difficult to overmatch. He's a patient hitter with a quick swing, not a free swinger with an excessively long swing.

And yes he can play centerfield and is actually very good at doing so.

So if Boston signs him, presuming he actually can play for an unprecedented 150 games, who plays CF for them then?

I personally think that he was a bit greedy in going for that "out clause" thing, and if the Boston deal doesn't pan out, he'll be doing some serious job hunting later on. If he ended up making the same or slightly less money than what LAD was paying him, I would smile a little bit.

[SwissRedSoxFan]

Drew has more power I think. And he has more potential in him. His arm is much better, but Damon runs better.

I think overall, Drew is the better player in Defense, avg, OBP, slg, HR, RBI's.

Maybe Damon is the nicer guy. But I don't them personally...

[Rapmaster]

So if Boston signs him, presuming he actually can play for an unprecedented 150 games, who plays CF for them then?

I personally think that he was a bit greedy in going for that "out clause" thing, and if the Boston deal doesn't pan out, he'll be doing some serious job hunting later on. If he ended up making the same or slightly less money than what LAD was paying him, I would smile a little bit.

Well the thing is, Crisp probably does not have the arm to play right. Drew is capable of playing both center and right fluently and shouldn't have a problem with either.

He could reach 150 games now that he's in the A.L. Most people say it's harder to switch into the A.L., but I think Drew's more than talented enough to hit any sort of pitching. The DH is to his advantage as he'll get a lot more playing time. As somebody stated before, Damon had to DH a few times. Drew never got that luxury. Throw in those 55 games to his 4 year total and it doesn't look as bad (obviously).

[hellborn]

Well the thing is, Crisp probably does not have the arm to play right. Drew is capable of playing both center and right fluently and shouldn't have a problem with either.

He could reach 150 games now that he's in the A.L. Most people say it's harder to switch into the A.L., but I think Drew's more than talented enough to hit any sort of pitching. The DH is to his advantage as he'll get a lot more playing time. As somebody stated before, Damon had to DH a few times. Drew never got that luxury. Throw in those 55 games to his 4 year total and it doesn't look as bad (obviously).

Papi has generally been pretty good at staying healthy, and there will be other guys looking for time off at DH when Papi sits out or plays 1st, so I don't know how much the DH would help Drew.
I agree that Crisp would not be good in RF, but maybe WMP will bust his tail on his defense this offseason and show up for spring training better able to handle RF...please?

[Rapmaster]

Papi has generally been pretty good at staying healthy, and there will be other guys looking for time off at DH when Papi sits out or plays 1st, so I don't know how much the DH would help Drew.
I agree that Crisp would not be good in RF, but maybe WMP will bust his tail on his defense this offseason and show up for spring training better able to handle RF...please?

I'd take Drew over Wily Mo any day of the week. The advantage of having Drew on the team is that if Crisp goes down and is replaced by Wily Mo, you won't lose anything by shifting Drew over to center. If Drew goes down, Wily Mo takes over in right...

A thing aiding the DH situation is Youkilis' ability to play third. That gives Grady some options with who to give days off, who to DH, who to play, etc...

[ElHalo]

ElHalo,

How would you know how good J.D. Drew is since he's played his entire carer in the NL and you don't watch the NL?

Well, he first caught my attention when he wasted the Phillies' number 2 overall draft pick in '97. Admittedly, I've only actually seen him play, live or on television, once (when I went to a Dodgers / Giants game in LA this summer), but the numbers look impressive.

[Minstrel]

I personally think that he was a bit greedy in going for that "out clause" thing

Why is that greedy? Would you be greedy if you left your current job for a better-paying one?

Are teams greedy when they decline an option on a player they think will be overpaid?

[Raceboy]

Why is that greedy? Would you be greedy if you left your current job for a better-paying one?

Yeah but would most jobs hire you if they knew for a fact that you would jump ship and leave them hanging with no warning?

I can see the job interview now, "what can you bring to this company?"

"Well sir i'll give you 100% and i really want to work for your company until your competitor offers me more money then i'm outta here with no 2 week notice"

"Ok young man your hired, you sound like a team player i trust"


I think most people dislike what he did because they feel he had an obligation (contract) to play with us and it's not like his situation was bad in LA he was making 11 million a year for 5 years.

Plus the fact that he had JUST said he was excited to be returning to LA in 07' he leaves.....