Fooled you!

damon Anyway, they only 80s I wanted to talk about were the 80 million dimes given to Johnny Damon by the Detroit Tigers, and how it relates to our favorite rivals 210 miles south.

Personally, I was hoping teams would continue to stonewall Damon. With his declining defense, girl-scout level throwing power, and offensive season fueled by a short right field in Yankee Stadium III, the possibility that he couldn’t even scrape by a $5M deal was fueling my schadenfreude. My guess was that he’d eventually cave to Kenny Williams’ $4M deal the White Sox offered. This deal by the Tigers seems panicked, at best.

After trading away Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson for prospects, I understand the need to restock the outfield to replace Granderson. However, I’m very curious about the timing.

Granderson’s contract was extremely favorable, 5 years/$30.25M (2008-13), plus a 2014 club option. His yearly commitment would have only been $5.5M in 2010, and $8.25M in 2011. While I agreed with selling high on Edwin Jackson, who’s excellent season was greatly influenced by a low BABIP and a substantial difference in his ERA and xFIP, my 20/20 hindsight wonders why the Tigers couldn’t wait one more year, and possibly leveraged Granderson’s contract a little longer.

Do I like Max Scherzer over Edwin Jackson? Absolutely. However, with another strong defensive outfield, Jackson could have easily repeated his 2009 performance with some favorable fielding to bail out his high fly ball rate.

Was possibly replacing Granderson in 2011 with Austin Jackson truly the plan? What did the Tigers see in the Yankee farmhand who was no longer blocked by the current crop of Yankee outfielders? How was this not a warning sign to them?

I’m normally a harsh critic of Brian Cashman. I think he’s done a lot with a massive payroll in free agency, but his moves otherwise have been pedestrian at best. However, this Granderson trade is making me more and more depressed, as Cashman really pulled the rug out from under the other teams. As I look back at how this unfolded, here’s what I see:

1. The Yankee had talked up Austin Jackson quite a bit, much like Jose Tabeta whom they jettisoned for petty cash and a bucket of baseballs.
2. Coming into this season, two-thirds of their outfield was unfilled, with many available free agent options.
3. If Austin Jackson truly was the heir-apparent to centerfield, I find it surprising that the Yankees were quick to move him when they had a clear opening for him and a huge 2011 free agent class.

This is also why I think you haven’t seen Epstein deal Westmoreland or even Ellsbury, as dealing from “strength” as Cashman apparently did, is only acceptable when your current major league ready positions are filled, or if you perceive your own prospects to be junk. (Theo, I hope this means you really do see more improvement in Ellsbury besides a younger Juan Pierre.) Austin Jackson was a perfect fit in their short-term plans, and suddenly he’s gone for a similar player?

Cashman got rid of Damon’s poor defense and his fluky offense, and sold a prospect I’m now completely convinced he thinks is overrated. The fact that the Tigers ended up with two of Cashman’s table scraps is amusing at this point.

Cashman and the Yankees are definitely not sitting on their heels in 2010 after finally notching their 27th championship. Playing Jackson and Brett Gardner, or resigning Damon and giving Jackson one more year (exactly what the Tigers are doing!) probably would not have cost them much production compared to last year. The AL East sure isn’t getting any easier for the Red Sox to rise to the top.