Johnny Damon Would Love to Be a Tiger

The final true high-profile free agent left on the market would love to play for the Detroit Tigers, according to his agent.

If that sounds like desperation from left fielder Johnny Damon (via his representative Scott Boras), that's because it probably is. It's February now, after all. Pitchers and catchers from Damon's former team -- the Yankees -- will report to spring training in Tampa in a little more than two weeks.

It's especially cold out there for a 36-year-old outfielder, so it's no surprise that Boras would go to bat for his client with a potential suitor even if it smacks ever so slightly of begging.

"Johnny believes the addition of him to Detroit's lineup would make the Tigers a winner," Scott Boras, Damon's agent, said during a Monday phone conversation with the Detroit News.

Boras agrees.

"He's batted .363 at Comerica Park, he has a .412 on-base percentage at Comerica," Boras said.

Boras added, quoting Damon before Damon signed earlier contracts with the Yankees and Boston Red Sox: "I told you I could make the Yankees a winner, and I told you before I left Oakland (where he played in 2001) I could make a Boston a winner."

Boras says Damon has the same disposition toward the Tigers in 2010: "I can make the Detroit Tigers a winner," Boras said, citing Damon's words to him in December.

It'd be easy to mock those words. Indeed, it's not easy to resist doing so right now. Damon and Boras won't be confused for sympathetic characters in baseball circles any time soon. They have backed themselves into this corner by believing these Yankees would act like the Yankees of old and simply fork over a raise to any player who was a significant part of a championship run.

If you don't believe me, ESPN's Buster Olney authored a pretty complete takedown of Damon's posturing early on in the offseason and his subsequent exceedingly hollow jilted lover act over the past few weeks.

Instead, how about a little perspective?

Damon would seem to have very few options right now. The Yankees and A's have taken themselves fully out of the running for the left fielder with recent acquisitions. The Detroit connection seems to be coming almost entirely from Damon's camp and idle speculation. A source told FanHouse's Ed Price the Reds aren't interested even after ridding themselves of Willy Taveras and saving some serious coin in the process.

That leaves, uh, the Rays? Maybe the Blue Jays?

Which in turn leaves the very clear impression that Damon has to swallow some pride and drop his asking price significantly, perhaps even more than he anticipated doing a week ago, if he wants to play in 2010. That might be tough to come to grips with, but it should happen eventually.

And when it does, Damon will find a home quickly.

It's easy to compare Damon's situation to Bobby Abreu's last winter. Both left the Bronx and found an inhospitable free-agent market waiting for them, despite similar skills and deficiencies (durability, plus offensive skills and declining glovework).

Abreu didn't sign until Feb. 11 of last year, and he settled for $5 million, an $11 million paycut from the year before. If Damon takes a similar cut percentage-wise, he'll make a little more than $4 million this year, and if we carry that logic a step further, he'll also make a great bargain.

Settling on that took time for Abreu. Clearly Damon isn't any different.