Olney: Yankees Are Not to Blame for Loss of Damon

The other day we took a look at the timeline of events that took place this offseason between the Yankees and Johnny Damon.

Most of the information on the timeline came from NY Post reporter Joel Sherman. Today we got an update from Buster Olney of ESPN . Olney’s information isn’t at odds with what Sherman reported, but it does give us another point of view to clarify some of the cloudy areas.

Olney uses a pretty good metaphor to describe the situation. He said the entire process was similar to looking for a prom date. Damon was the one the Yankees really wanted to go with and they called him early, but were promptly told no. So they took Nick Johnson . Still, the Yankees wanted to go with Damon and after a few weeks he still didn’t have a date so they asked him again, still he said no. This time there was Randy Winn to fall back on.

What exactly am I talking about? Let’s look at another timeline:

Early November : Posturing for his client, Scott Boras compares Damon to Derek Jeter and said he is looking for a three or four year deal.

Winter meetings : Post-Granderson trade, the Yankees attempted to engage Boras and Damon in contract negotiations and were told that if they are not making an offer for at least $13 million not to even bother . According to Olney at this time the Yankees are having internal discussions to make an offer similar to the one Bobby Abreu got from the Angels, two years $19 million.

December 17 : But with Damon not even willing to talk to the Yankees, instead of waiting, they moved on to Plan B, Nick Johnson , who was in deep negotiations with the Giants. Because he is nearing a deal, the Yankees had to move quickly on an eventual one-year $5.5 million deal. After a deal was in place with Johnson, but before it was finalized, Boras approaches the Yankees to let them know that he is willing to negotiate below $13 million per season. Even with a deal for Johnson in the works, the Yankees mentioned a 2-year $14 million offer, but that idea was rejected by Damon and Boras.

After Johnson Signs : The Yankees shift their attention to the rotation eventually working out a trade with the Braves for Javier Vazquez .

Approximately January 22nd : Damon reaches out to the Yankees. Yankees make a one-year $6 million offer and are told that isn’t going to be enough, that other teams have offered multi-year deals. At this point Cashman is fed up with being toyed with .

January 27: Coming off being told that Damon would not play for $6 million and that he had other multi-year offers the Yankees hear that Randy Winn is close to signing a deal with the Washington Nationals, but that he is willing to take the Yankees $2 million offer if they do the deal. The Yankees do the deal and sign Winn.

The Yankees could have waited around for Damon at that point, but they were being stonewalled by Boras who was expecting them to pay more than what any other teams would have come close to offering.

All things considered, I think the Yankees played this the right way. They could have caved and paid Damon top dollar, but that would have been stupid. They could have waited him out, but if another team ever did get aggressive and sign Damon, they would have been left without Damon, without a No. 2 hitter, and without a good, cheap, outfield option.

So, assuming Buster Olney is on his game, are you upset with the Yankees for not getting this deal done?

Related Stories

• January 30, 2010 -- Damon Likes Idea of Bronx Return (3)
• January 28, 2010 -- Damon and the Yankees: A Timeline (4)
• January 27, 2010 -- Yankees Sign Randy Winn…So Long Johnny (9)
• January 27, 2010 -- Johnny Damon to Cincinnati Reds? (2)