Yesterday, Red Sox principal owner John W. Henry confirmed that Damon's agent, Scott Boras, had called the day before and expressed some urgency about getting a deal done.
''He called to say that he had a six-year deal but would sign with the Red Sox for five years," Henry wrote in an e-mail. ''We weren't willing to do that. [Tuesday] night he again called to tell me that he had a 'hot' offer of $65 million over five years, and might take it.
''We discussed it internally and unanimously felt that it was well beyond the range we wanted to go. Then, after the signing, I called Scott, who told me that Johnny turned down that offer to go to New York. We were very surprised to learn that it was a four-year deal, but we wish him the very best."
In a phone call yesterday, Boras said he had called both Henry and the Yankees and said that Damon was now willing to accept a five-year deal -- the agent originally had sought a seven-year contract -- and that Damon was ready to do business with whichever club satisfied that request. The Yankees, both Boras and Damon said, called back and offered both a five-year proposal and a four-year deal.
When Sox co-general manager Jed Hoyer called back that evening, Boras said, Hoyer said he was calling about someone other than Damon. ''I asked him if he was aware of my conversation with John Henry," Boras said. ''He said yes.
''We didn't get any economic response from the Red Sox. The Yankees made proposals and we worked on them."
According to industry sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations, that's not quite how it went down: The Yankees made Boras a take-it-or-leave-it offer, and gave him until yesterday to respond. The proposal was never for more than four years, guaranteed. Technically, Boras was not fibbing when he told the Sox that he had a five-year, $65 million offer -- he insisted yesterday that Damon didn't take the highest offer, suggesting a third team was involved (perhaps Baltimore, though that could not be confirmed) but if it was the Yankees' offer to which he was referring, he never made it clear the fifth year was a club option, and that the guaranteed money was the same in a four-year or five-year proposal.
