Johnny Who?

Message to Johnny Damon: Shut up and move on. The apologies, the hope for forgiveness, the innocence…it’s enough already.

Because, Mr. Damon, Red Sox fans don’t care anymore. Jeez, our team even signed a new, and possibly more potent center fielder. The talk around the Sox hasn’t been a collective whine and drone over how dreaded the loss of Johnny Damon was as a player and guy in the community, and how awfully terrible the front office screwed up by not shelling out the big bucks to see you crash into walls for the next four years. You are officially a member of the past, and until we meet again, there’s nothing you can say or do to change that.

Honestly, Johnny, you’re simply wasting your precious time. Posting a cute little ad in the Boston Globe begging for apology is like a guilty husband sending their ex-wife an apology card and flowers a month after an ugly divorce- it’s time for both sides to part ways and move on with their lives. The Red Sox seem to be able to do just that, and by signing Coco Crisp, it gives us close to the same chance of winning in 2006 as if you were roaming centerfield. Maybe the advertisement, the open claim that Johnny did whatever the hell he could to remain in Boston in a desperate attempt to direct this blame on the front office, or the story that Johnny and his kids cried when the Red Sox ?®didn’t want him,?∆ will assure himself that he made the right choice. But we just don’t care anymore.

If you love Boston so much, then why didn’t you take the 4 year, 40 million dollar offer on the table? What, is that not enough to provide your family with a decent meal? Will you struggle to pay taxes? Is the difference of 40 million to 52 million really an equal tradeoff to having the vast majority of a fan base despise you? It’s also ironic how this ad comes soon after he met with King George himself and said he’s starting to feel ?®like a Yankee.?∆ He hasn’t even put on the pinstripes yet (besides the press conference, which doesn’t count).

I’m not really blaming Damon that he bolted. If push comes to shove and I really don’t have any intention of accepting a lower offer from the Red Sox, I would love the chance to play in New York. It’s just the fact he keeps re-hashing old stomping grounds and apologizing over and over again that’s beginning to drive me crazy. We even went on WEEI the night he signed with the Yankees to explain his side of the story. If I were a Yankee fan, I would be mad at Damon for the Globe ad. He’s a Yankee now.

If Damon created a magic potion to revive Ted Williams from the dead, Red Sox fans would still dislike him. If he found a way to create a time machine and have the Sox win 46 World Series from 1918-2004, Sox Nation would still look at him differently. As we speak, Damon is enemy #1. And trying to gain the collective acceptance from Red Sox fans can be simply defined as a waste of time.

I thank Johnny for all he did, as I’ve said many times. I’ll never forget his gallop around the bases vs. Oakland in 2004, or the grand slam, or the game winner vs. the Angels last year, or any of the memories from his time in Boston, it’s all fine and dandy. Now that you’ve gone over to the Dark Side, the only real way I can see Sox fans forgiving him is if he hits .200 in 30 games and goes on the shelf in May, and the Yankees end up finishing 3rd in the division.

Otherwise, we’ll see you on May 1st. And at no time before that.