Damon Defects to the Dark Side??

ESPN.com is reporting that Johnny Damon has reportedly accepted the Yankees contract offer of $52 Million over 4 years. This is starting to get ridiculous! The first rant I have about this is Johnny should supposedly 'know' about the bitterness that currently exists between the Yankees and the Red Sox, but yet, after the years of loyalty the Red Sox have shown him, he shoves it in their face and signs a contract with their most heated rival.

I understand that this is a business, however, I'm voicing my right as a fan to complain. The Red Sox have been very loyal to Johnny even though they had every right to trade his ass when he was going through his slump. I'm very, very disappointed in this decision.

But this brings up another question-why didn't the Red Sox pursue Damon? He was a consistant (for the most part) hitter, he had an incredible OBP, and is a decent Centerfielder (stupid errors aside). I'm kind of reminded of the winter of '03-'04 when the Red Sox lost out on trading for A-Rod and George Steinbrenner dropped this nugget: "We understand John Henry must be embarrassed, frustrated, and disappointed by his failure in [trading for A-Rod]. Unlike the Yankees, he chose not to go the extra distance for his fans in Boston. It is understandable, but wrong that he would try to deflect the accountability for his mistakes on to others and to a system for which he voted in favor. It is time to get on with life and forget the sour grapes." Ouch. Something tells me that something similar could be coming in a press release from him if this trade ends up going through.

All of this Red Sox talk has me thinking about one of my favorite writers. He's known as the Sports Guy and writes for ESPN.com. He also has a book out about what it's like to be a Red Sox Fan.