Scott Boras gets new jobs -- but less money -- for Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon and Andruw Jones

A day after the news broke that the Yankees were signing Scott Boras client Andruw Jones, Sports Illustrated columnist Jon Heyman revealed that Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon, two of Boras' other clients are headed to Tampa together. And the next time Derek Jeter reportedly gripes about having to take a pay cut, somebody ought to tell him to take a look at what these one-time stars will be making next season (stats from Baseball-Reference.com):

* Manny Ramirez: The enigmatic superstar has made over $205 million in his career, and just finished up a two-year, $45 million deal. Now, he'll be making just $2 million in 2011, with no reported incentive clauses. Yikes!

* Johnny Damon: Rays will pay him $5.25 million with an additional $750K in "attendance bonuses," Big League Stew reports, saying "Don't laugh. There are a lot of Red Sox fans in Florida." Damon has made $105 million in his career, with his top salary being the $13 million a year the Yankees paid him. He made $8 million with the Tigers last season.

* Andruw Jones: The outfielder is getting $2 million from the Yanks in 2011, plus a potential $1.2 million in incentives. He's made $103 million in his career, with a top salary of $14.725 million in 2008. Then Jones made just $500K for the following two seasons. (Come to think of it, I guess his new contract with the Yankees is a raise of sorts for him!) It's interesting to me that Jones could actually make more money than Manny. How the mighty have fallen!

Derek Jeter's $15 million 2011 salary looks awfully good in comparison, even if it was a $4 million drop from the average annual value of the $190 million, 10-year contract he just finished up with the Yankees. Not to mention that Jeter has two more years at that salary, plus an option year, so he won't be in the position of these big names in having to take such a drastic pay cut.

BTW, have you seen the pictures of Jeter's 30,000 square foot new house, aka St. Jetersburg? I wonder if astronauts can see it from space!

Anyhow, I was wondering on Facebook last night whether the Rays would reunite even more of the 2004 Red Sox. Could Pedro Martinez be pitching for the team? What about hauling Kevin Millar out of retirement?  Or Keith Foulke?

There are a ton of Red Sox fans in Florida (and a few of them are regular Squawkers readers!), so in theory, this could get some of them out to Rays games. However, isn't it also possible that Boston fans might hold grudges against Manny and Damon because of their respective exits from Boston?

Damon and Ramirez facing the Yankees -- and the Red Sox -- 19 times a year should add a little more drama to the games. Damon was one of my very favorite Yankees ever, so I'm looking forward to seeing him again. And Manny is one of the top five most entertaining hitters I've seen play, even though way too many of those hits were against the Yankees! At the very least, he'll add some entertainment value to the games -- as long as he stays healthy, that is.

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Merry Christmas, but I don't want to see Manny Ramirez under the Yankee tree

Squawker Jon and I would like wish all our Subway Squawkers readers a very merry Christmas, or whatever holiday you're celebrating this year.

This is our fifth season of writing this blog, and we're happy that we've had this opportunity to squawk about our teams -- and about each other. We also really appreciate that we've gotten to know our readers a little better, via Facebook, Twitter, and real-life meetings. Thanks for reading us!

Anyhow, I went to church for Christmas Eve, and they had a Las Posadas ceremony as part of the service. But there was no mention of Jorge!

Now, I did get the Bruce Springsteen box set The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story under my Christmas tree. But I don't want to see Manny Ramirez under the Yankee tree!

There have been rumors flying about that the Yankees are targeting him and Johnny Damon. I wanted Manny as a Yankee after the phenomenal end to his 2008 season, and I of course wanted Damon back last season. This year, not so much.

Sure, Ramirez might be the all-time Yankee killer with the bat, and Damon is one of my favorite Yankee players, but neither of them really fit on this team right now, in no small part due to Jorge Posada being paid $13 million for 2011 to be the DH.

I can't see Damon being happy to be a part-time player. And Manny hasn't been the same hitter ever since The Man took away his right to take fertility drugs! Besides, I think the Yanks have enough superstars on the decline right now. They don't need another one.
Anyhow, I told Jon that Posada ought to send a big Christmas card to Omar Minaya -- their meal at the Four Seasons when the catcher was a free agent got Posada a fourth year!

Anyhow, thanks again for reading us. If you got any cool Yankees- or Mets-related loot under the tree, let us know!

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Sorry, Tino, but Derek Jeter IS being greedy

Today's New York Post features interviews with former Yankees Tino Martinez and Johnny Damon on -- what else -- the Derek Jeter contract situation. Tino tries to tell George King that even though Derek Jeter reportedly wants between $24-25 million for the next four to six seasons, the captain really isn't being a money-grubbing egomaniac who has a delusional opinion of how much he's worth:

A byproduct of this process is the perception that Jeter has gotten greedy. That bothers Tino Martinez, a close friend of Jeter and a special assistant to Cashman.


"It's making it seem like he is greedy, Martinez said of the public opinion. "He is not being greedy. He is going through a baseball negotiation like everybody else. It's made him look like he doesn't know what's happening in the real world, and he is not like that.


"This guy gives millions to charity. He is only going through a baseball negotiation and for people to think he is greedy, that bothers me. Derek is my friend, and I would say the same thing about Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera. They all are quality people. 

If Jeter asking for more money per season than he ever earned in his career, after the worst season he ever had, during the most brutal economic times since the Great Depression isn't greedy, then what is? I mean, really.

While it's great that Jeter gives money to charity, that doesn't mean that he deserves to be paid $80-100 million more than he's worth for doing so. It doesn't work that way.

And Tino sets up a bit of a straw man for his good friend by bringing Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera into the conversation. They're all going through negotiations with the Yankees, but by the accounts so far, Mo and Andy don't appear to be asking for anything unreasonable. Jeter is.

As for the idea that asking for such a huge contract is a standard part of negotiations, Johnny Damon is living proof that this doesn't always work with the Yankees. Heck, Damon had a great 2009, with 24 homers and the most memorable play of the World Series. But when he started making noise about not taking a pay cut, Brian Cashman lost interest pretty quickly.

Granted, I thought the Yankees should have re-signed Damon, and that Cashman's last-minute, $2 million offer to Johnny was insulting. That being said, Damon and agent Scott Boras' initial demand for two years at $13 million each season was unreasonable.

Damon talked to George King about Jeter's contract situation, saying:

"There is no way around it, older players are being looked at differently," he said. "But what a lot of people forget is that guys like me and Jeter, we came out at the same time and we are special players. If things need to get done on a baseball field, we get it done."

If I were Damon, I would have told King in the Post's interview to tell Jeter to lower his demands right now. But King didn't appear to directly ask him about how his negotiation failed for him. The Yanks offered him $7 million, he balked at that, then Cashman did the $2 million offer, then Damon finally ended up signing with the Detroit Tigers for $8 million.

What do you think? Tell  us about it!

WWJD: What Will Johnny Do? Could Damon be a (gulp) Red Sox again?

What a nightmare. I was driving in the car yesterday when I heard that the Boston Red Sox had claimed Johnny Damon on waivers. I went all, "Nooooooo!" and nearly drove off the road when I heard the terrible news!

Anyhow, since Damon has a no-trade clause involving the Sox, he has the right to reject going back to Beantown. And so far, he has said he's "leaning toward" staying with Detroit, also saying, "My gut and everything else tells me Detroit’s the place for me."

Now, did the Red Sox really want Damon back, or did they want to prevent him from being dealt to Tampa Bay? Peter Gammons is reporting this on Twitter:

"Tigers explained to Damon Boston didn't claim to block, they want him. Tampa didn't even claimed him"

Very interesting! Unfortunately, while I hope Damon does the right thing and spurns Boston, I'm afraid he is going to go back there. I wrote on Facebook yesterday that a competitive player like him would want to be in a pennant race. A Sox fan friend was surprised to hear me think that the Sox were still in the pennant race. I said that they were like the villain in a horror movie -- you could never count them out!

Anyhow, I'm not going to be happy to see Damon wearing Boston red again, but I'm not going to boo him the way Sox fans did when he went to the Yankees. If only Brian Cashman had done the right thing in the first place and re-signed Damon this winter, none of this would be an issue.

What do you think? Tell us about it!