While the real baseball season hasn’t even started yet, all Sox fans have been eyeing new Yankee Johnny Damon ever since that first press conference with his long locks chopped off for Steinbrenner’s organization. There hasn’t been much to comment on since Damon just recently returned to the lineup after sitting out since March 10th with a shoulder injury. (Not that it wasn’t a bit fun to see the replay of him missing that first pop fly when he returned to face the Devil Rays on March 25th.)

Well, today's Herald brought to our attention a nice little article about him that we had to read for ourselves. Damon can be still be classified as an idiot in the latest issue of New York Magazine. The mag article, “And an Idiot Shall Lead Them” did give Bostonist some perspective into the integration of Damon into the Yankees lineup. While A-Rod can’t be bothered with autographs and photo ops, Johnny stops to see fans after practice. A-Rod is secretive about his personal life; Johnny is mentioned telling a teammate about how he and his wife are installing a swing in their bedroom. “’We’re married; you have to keep it interesting.” (Possibly more information than Red Sox Nation needed to know?) Despite how different the two players may be, the article does mention that A-Rod called up Damon and tried to persuade him to come to the Yankees (an order from GM Brian Cashman according to A-Rod). Bostonist also learned that the Yanks weren’t the only ones helping Damon make up his mind about staying in Boston.

It was A-Rod’s call and talks with Bill Mueller and Kevin Millar, two of Damon’s Red Sox teammates and friends, that sealed the deal. “They told me, ‘Think about all the money you’re leaving on the table. Think about your kids,’ ” says Damon. They also said that “the world revolves around you,” playing in New York, Damon says.

Bostonist can’t be too angry with Mueller and Millar and their words of wisdom, but it just stings a bit to hear them talk so candidly about the Yankees. The “world revolves around you” comment hurts, boys…not that either of you will be wearing a Sox uniform this year.

What hurts the most though, in our humble Bostonist opinion, is Damon’s change to his autobiography, “Idiot : Beating "The Curse" and Enjoying the Game of Life.” Released last year, the book included a comment about now fellow teammate A-Rod:

And it was just a year ago that Damon’s autobiography called A-Rod’s swatting of the ball from Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo’s glove during a critical play in the 2004 ALCS “an unsportsmanlike act of cheating the likes of which none of us had ever seen.”

It turns out that text has been taken out in later printings of his book. For the love of publishing, Johnny, you had to change it? Even James Frey, who was grilled by Oprah a few months ago in front of millions, added a disclaimer in “A Million Little Pieces” but he didn’t go in and alter the text. Changing the text to appease a new teammate? Now that is idiotic.