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March 11, 2007

Damon, In Retrospect

Via the Cape Cod Times -

Damon is known as Mr. Laidback, the guy who chills everyone else out. He says he got away from that to an extent last year, his first as a New York Yankee. He had just crossed enemy lines, so to speak, donning pinstripes after four years with the Boston Red Sox, where he helped them beat the Yankees en route to the 2004 World Series championship.

''I think I just tried to do too much,'' Damon said. ''I wanted to succeed all the time, and I'm not that type of player. I normally have been able to relax and just go with the flow. Last year I just tried to do a little too much.''

The results were most evident, Damon believes, with runners in scoring position. He hit .260 with runners in scoring position last year, compared to a .295 career average.

''I never looked at baseball as life or death,'' Damon said. ''I always had enjoyed going out and playing, and there's no reason to put all that extra pressure on yourself. Pressure is guys fighting for our country in Afghanistan or Iraq. That's pressure.''

Although Damon may think he was too uptight last year, that's only true by his own standards. For most, his attitude was one that helped others breathe a bit more.

''His presence is apparent, there's no doubt - in the dugout, in the clubhouse,'' Yankee manager Joe Torre said. ''He's an upbeat guy. He's a positive guy. He's a funny guy. He's goofy, and I say that in a very loving way. It helps when there's so much pressure that builds up because he's used to dealing with the pressure. It certainly helps people around him here that haven't really been exposed to a great deal (of pressure).''

Back in February of last year, I made a prediction on what Damon's 2006 stats would look like...this was my forecast:

Games: 149
At Bats: 615
Runs: 114
Hits: 177
Batting Avg: .288
On Base Avg: .350
RBI: 72
Doubles: 33
Triples: 7
Homeruns: 14
Steals: 25

So, how did this prediction compare to his actual stats last season? Here's the side-by-side:

DamonComp.jpg

As you can see, my prediction was dead-on - with the exception of homeruns. Last year, Damon hit flyballs at a rate like he's never done before in his career - he was 6-8% higher than "normal" for him. This led to more homers.

I appreciate Damon wanting to do better. But, in reality, according to my stats, he did exactly what he was supposed to do, playing in New York instead of Boston. He's got nothing to be ashamed about - his numbers were right in line with what should have been expected from him.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at March 11, 2007 09:34 AM

Comments

his numbers were right in line with what should have been expected from him.
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You're right; with the exception of hr's, his numbers were right in line with his career

Posted by: Raf [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 11, 2007 11:24 AM

Damon's numbers could have potentially been more impressive. His injuries finally caught up to him in September and he slumped badly at the plate. He had a particularly un-Damon-like line of .205/.286/.307 for the month.

It was similar to what happened with Giambi -- injuries caused him to completely fall off at the end of the year.

Considering the lead the Yankees had late in the year, both of these players played too much when they should have been resting. Especially Giambi.

I think shoehorning Sheffield back into the lineup was a huge detriment to the team, changed the style they had won with, and definitely had something to do with the post-season collapse -- but Damon and Giambi's injuries and eventual slumps probably had just as much to do with it, too.

Posted by: baileywalk [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 11, 2007 12:36 PM