My 2002 Toyota Camry, which I’ve owned since its birth, hit 50,000 miles today. I suspect my car is now entering the “teen” years – that period of time when it will probably start acting up and changing appearance. With any luck, Toyota’s near-pristine reputation for performance and longevity will translate to minimal problems, but it’s clear a threshold has been hit and I’m trying to be realistic about it.
Currently, the mileage stands at 50,031 after a trip to Best Buy to pick up a new cordless phone. For those of you scoring at home, since I purchased the car on June 1, 2002, that’s an average of 39.3 miles per day and 1,191 miles per month. I’m recording this mundane fact for no other reason than someday I’ll go back and read this post and say “ah, yes, I remember that Camry. That car was _______.”
So, Johnny Damon has gone to the Yankees. Big whoop. Let’s face it, Damon was a fan favorite largely because of his hair, not because he was amazing or anything. Above average? Certainly. The straw that stirs the drink? No.
While the Yankees will, in all likelihood, initially get solid production out of Damon (say, years 1 and possibly 2), the signs have already started bubbling up that Damon’s already peaked. Check his post-AllStar Game stats the last few seasons – the guy wears down. This past season in particular, Damon was prone to nagging injuries and admitted himself he was ragged. It will certainly be interesting to see how things go down there, but this one doesn’t move my needle much. I kind of feel like we got what we needed out of him. His numbers may not be replicated by the next Red Sox leadoff hitter, but with that lineup Boston has, you can easily plug someone in there who’ll approach Damon’s output. Watch.
Remember, we all thought Randy Johnson was going to put NY over the top last year. Gary Sheffield the year before that. Jason Giambi the year before that…….and so on.