01:00 AM EST on Sunday, January 30, 2005

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Johnny Damon hasn't had time to relax during this offseason.

Not that he's complaining since being a World Series champion with the Boston Red Sox has kept him and his teammates in demand during the winter months.

Not only did the Red Sox center fielder get married this offseason, he's been whisked around the country for charity events, signings and meet-and-greets. Certainly, the Red Sox players are reaping the benefits after ending Boston's 86-year championship drought.

For Damon, before he heads to spring training, there are still magazine covers and commercials on the agenda, but a recent stop brought him here.

He spent a couple of days in Rhode Island last week and was part of a charity event at Foundry Sports Medicine on Wednesday. Proceeds from the event will benefit Friends Way, The Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Women's Oncology program at Rhode Island Hospital.

Damon was the main attraction and when he entered the room and spoke from a balcony, the group greeted him with a loud roar.

He said it means a lot for him to be part of different charity events. Still, the talk quickly switched gears and people wanted to know about beating the New York Yankees in one of the most dramatic playoff series of all time, and winning the World Series in a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.

More importantly, what does the coming season have in store?

"Winning the World Series is the reason I started playing baseball," said Damon. "That's what I always wanted. You really don't expect to be this busy and you try to enjoy it as much as possible, but I can't wait to start up again. That's the time I can relax and just play baseball. When people want you to go here and there, you can't because you're playing ball."

During the offseason, the team has undergone significant personnel changes. While several key members of last year's team are gone, the soul of the club remains intact.

"We're going to have a good group of our team back, a good core" said Damon, "which is important when you step into a new season because it's tough when everyone is new, kind of like the Marlins of 1997. It's been a very busy offseason and you think you can go home and relax after we won the World Series, but this job is never done.

"There are teams out there getting better and we have to get better with them. It's going to be interesting. We brought in guys like David Wells, Wade Miller and Matt Clement after we lost Derek Lowe and Pedro (Martinez), so things are going to be different. But, it gets more magnified because it's Boston. It's intense here and the fans know a lot more than any place else."

Speaking of Martinez, Damon admitted he was quite surprised by the ace's comments after he left Boston and signed with the New York Mets. Martinez tossed just about everyone in the Red Sox organization under the bus, including manager Terry Francona.

"Boston was very good to him," said Damon. "Anything he wanted, it happened. Boston took care of him and he was a god here. I hope he has success in New York, and we're going to miss him. He just had some things on his mind, and had some bad feelings about our team. I don't have any bad feelings about our team after what we just accomplished."

When he was asked what he would have done with the ball if he made the final out of the World Series, Damon said "Knowing me, I probably would have thrown it in the stands."

A fan should be so lucky.