After the World Baseball Classic, Johnny Damon tried to bring his past and present together, attempting to charter a plane for his new Yankee and former Red Sox teammates.

01:00 AM EST on Sunday, April 2, 2006

TAMPA -- Johnny Damon wants to be over the Red Sox. He wants the Red Sox to be over him. And, in his ideal world, he would like everyone to be friends, too.

Despite saying several times this winter that he felt the Red Sox organization showed him disrespect because of how they handled his free agency, Damon is still close with some of his former teammates, and, in a gesture that he admitted might have appeared a little strange, even tried to bring his past and present together at the World Baseball Classic.

After the U.S. team was eliminated, Damon said he tried to get a charter plane to take both his new Yankee teammates, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, as well as old Red Sox pals Jason Varitek and Mike Timlin back to Florida.

Yankees and Red Sox traveling together?

Ultimately it didn't happen since "the shortness of time made it hard to put together," Damon said, but "it would have been great if we could have done it."

But wouldn't it have been a little awkward for players on both sides of baseball's biggest rivalry?

"Nah," said Damon. "I think the media brings the rivalry to hatred, but it's not quite like that."

And what about Varitek and A-Rod, who famously traded blows in 2004?

"I'm sure it would have been fine. Alex is so into his daughter and family anyway, it wouldn't have been any issue," Damon said.

Whether that's just the latest example of Damon's perpetually happy-go-lucky attitude remains to be seen, but it's clear he's pretty secure with his new team.

As for his old one, Damon said Varitek and Timlin were a little overwhelmed when the WBC was over . . . because it meant their time as teammates was finally over.

"They were just kind of shocked," he said. "They were saying to me, 'This is really going to be the last time,' that, you know, they're playing with me. They were pretty saddened. And obviously I loved having them as teammates. But they understand the business side of the game and what comes with it."

Still, as much as he wants to be a Yankee now, Damon can't deny that he'll always be remembered for what he did as a Red Sox.

"It's never going to be over," he said recently. "I'm forever in the Red Sox history. That's how the sport is."

Even so, Damon would like nothing more than to make conversations about his career extend beyond his Boston accomplishments. Bringing a Series to Red Sox Nation may always be the greatest of his achievements, but Damon doesn't want it to be the only one of them.

"I think if you do something special in a place, people will always remember," he said. "You try and leave a mark on the game. That's another reason why you play -- obviously money and the fact that you like it is great, but you want to leave a mark on the game"

He smiled then, and shrugged.

"I definitely left a mark [in Boston]," he said, "and hopefully I can leave one [in New York], too."