Johnny Damon Implies New York Yankees Should Sign Conan O'Brien

Hey, Brian Cashman, have you noticed?  Conan O'Brien is a free agent.

Yesterday in an interview on WFAN, ex-New York Yankee, Johnny Damon, seemed to imply that maybe Cash should contact Conan's agent.

In discussing why the Yankees should have re-signed him, Damon said, "I still have the smile. I still have the personality to be a good influence on the younger players."

Oh, Johnny, we hardly knew ye.

Are you kidding?

Damon also said that, coming off one of his better years, he thought he still had great value and was surprised that he and the Yankees could not come to terms.

Last night on the MLB Network show Hot Stove, analyst Joe Magrane expressed that he was tired of hearing about Damon and hoped that he signed somewhere soon.

The entire crew of "Hot Stove" pointed out that teams will no longer pay players for what they have done in the past, but will only pay for what can be expected in the future.

In 2009, Damon equaled his career high in home runs. But most of his other numbers fell short of what the team had expected when it signed him following the 2004 season.

Damon has been hampered by injuries, especially to his legs and feet. He is no longer the speed threat on the bases that he once was. And he cannot cover the ground in the outfield as he did at one time.

And as another writer on this site pointed out recently, one must now wonder if Damon is truly right-handed. Watching Damon try to throw has become painful.

On yankees.com today, Damon was quoted as saying he could still see himself coming back to the Bronx in the future. Johnny have you checked the ticket prices?

Damon said he would have been willing to take two years at $11 million per year. This would have been a cut of $2 million per year from the salary that just expired. But it is far more than Damon is worth to the Yankees.

This point was verified Thursday night on the Yankees Hot Stove when Cashman said the Yankees had set a value on Damon and that they and Damon's uber agent, Scott Boras, were not close to closing a deal.

Cashman correctly pointed out that Damon is a marginal left fielder/designated hitter and can no longer play the premium position in center field that the Yankees signed him to in 2004.

Not sure what Conan will demand on the open market. But I'm pretty sure he can throw better than Damon at this stage of Johnny's career.