BOSTON (AP) – It was an ugly start to the day for Laura Cipriano. She awoke at 6 a.m. Wednesday to a call from a New York Yankees-loving friend breaking the news that Johnny Damon had defected to New York.

“She was taunting me,” said Cipriano, 30, of South Boston. “She was laughing. She was saying, Your favorite Red Sox player is leaving.”‘

Damon, the team’s leadoff hitter and center fielder, took a four-year, $52 million offer from the Yankees, leaving behind his famous hair and Boston’s best offer – $12 million less than New York’s. Damon was admired here for various reasons, from fan Eric Rose’s (“He’s a great player.”), to Cipriano’s (“The hair. The beard. He’s hot.”)

Regardless of why Boston fans liked Damon, to many, he had a rock star quality and symbolized the free-spirited team that dubbed itself the “Idiots” and won the World Series in 2004, breaking the famous championship drought.

“He brought a lot of pizazz to the Red Sox, not just in Boston but around the country,” said Richard Gold, 50, a Marblehead physician.

“I’m sure Red Sox sales, shirts and paraphernalia will go down, because he really was the face the Red Sox.”

Damon, 32, is coming off one of his best seasons, batting .316 with 75 RBI and 197 hits. The center fielder is also known for his speed and range in the outfield, though his throwing arm is notoriously weak.

The acquisition gives the Yankees a badly needed leadoff hitter, but he’ll have to cut his trademark hair and beard to comply with owner George Steinbrenner’s grooming rules. Boston fans say a new-look Damon will help their most hated rival.

“Where’s the loyalty?” said Dick Curtis, 48, a cranberry farmer from Plymouth. “It’s a lot of money, but where’s the loyalty? Boston made him, he made Boston. They should have taken care of each other.”

Some fans said the loss of Damon exposes weaknesses in the team’s new “co-general manager” management structure, which Boston adopted after former GM Theo Epstein bolted this fall for reasons that remain unclear. Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington are the co-GMs, with Larry Lucchino remaining as team president.

“It’s like having two head coaches,” said Rose, 27, a network administrator from Franklin. “Who’s going to take the fall? Who’s going to take the responsibility?”

Rose could only hope Damon’s hair had Sampson-like qualities.

“Players are very superstitious,” he said. “Cutting his facial hair and trimming down, that’s probably going to affect his batting average.”

AP-ES-12-21-05 1343EST