The Yankees and Johnny Damon

We just put up a story about the Yankees and Johnny Damon, their recent communication and a possible reconciliation for 2011.

If I were a betting man, I'd wager on this not happening. I'd say that Damon waits out the market some more and finds more certain at bats in a place like Tampa Bay or Baltimore. 

But stranger things have happened. If the Yankees can't find any help on the pitching front, then they have to try to get better somehow - it's all about run differential, ultimately - and Jorge Posada doesn't have great career numbers as a DH (scroll down). The Yankees still like Damon, despite the acrimony of a year ago, and he can still get on base. And he is a value add in the clubhouse, for whatever that's worth.

An interesting component of this, IMO, is that Damon has been communicating with his pal Alex Rodriguez about the Yankees' situation. While A-Rod surely would love for Damon to come back, if he's being perfectly honest with Damon, can he really recommend a return? After all, as much as Damon would like to add a third World Series ring, he's still looking to add to his career hits count of 2,571.

My hunch is that Damon takes a while to come to a decision, as he did last year. And if he does come to the Yankees, he'll do so making a conscious choice that he's just in it for the ring. Of course, that's hardly a guarantee with the Yankees at the moment.

By the way, through my reporting for this story, I learned that one team Damon was targeting was St. Louis, and that he was disappointed when the Cardinals signed Lance Berkman, instead. Berkman, of course, wound up replacing Damon (sort of) with the Yankees last year. Such is life in baseball.

Have a good night.