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As I sit here twiddling my thumbs because I'm missing tonight's game (thanks Verizon FiOS) a thought came to me: whatever happened to Nick Johnson? Surprise surprise surprise. He's injured. Didn't see that coming. A quick scan of his player card on Yahoo tells me that he's been out of action since May 7th. He's appeared in all of 24 games and is getting paid $5.75 million dollars for his troubles. It was a horrible signing when it happened. It's a horrible signing now. Just take a look at these 3 off-season signings and their 2010 stats (salary info from Cot's Baseball Contracts):
- Nick Johnson, signed on 12/18/09, 1 yr @ $5.75 million, 24 G, .167/.388/.306, 8 RBI
- Vlad Guerrero, signed on 1/11/10, 1 yr @ $6.5 million, 93 G, .309/.358/.521, 76 RBI
- Hideki Matsui, signed on 12/16/09, 1 yr @ $6 million, 94 G, .255/.333/.429, 55 RBI
At the time of the signing I wondered why Cashman didn't resign Hideki Matsui considering the money was pretty much the same. Nick Johnson may get on base a lot but what good does that do when you're always on the DL. If memory serves me correctly he had to leave the very first spring training game because he was hurt. I typically like Brian Cashman's moves but he totally missed the boat on this one. He done messed up and he messed up pretty good if you ask me.
The non-waiver trade deadline is less than 4 days away. The Yankees are reportedly in the market for improving their bench. I hope Cashman exercises better judgement here than he did with the Johnson signing. That signing after all is one of the main reasons the team finds themselves looking for bench help. That horrible signing could cost the team a prospect or two depending on what happens. We'll find out soon enough what, if anything, it'll end up costing them. Deadline is this Saturday. Fun fun fun.
Peace, love and Pinstripes,
J-Boogie
2 comments:
Hindsight is 20/20.
Matsui wasn't retained because Cashman wanted to keep the DH position open so guys such as A-Rod, Jeter, Tex, Posada could get a day off in the field and still be able to bat. Matsui wouldn't allow that to be possible.
Vlad was coming off of an injury this season, no one expected him to put up the numbers he is putting up. Vlad may very well end up with better than career average numbers (which are fantastic to say the least) in a few categories.
But I can agree with you, based on track record Nick Johnson might not have been the best option out there... but if he hadn't gotten injured, things might look totally different at this point.
Can't wait for the deadline. I'm not sure if they will make a move to grab a stop gap DH until Johnson comes back because the Thames/Miranda platoon seems to be working out alright. I'd rather them exhaust resources elsewhere. A utility INF with a bat and a dependable bullpen arm.. or two.
DJ Carrasco (Pirates) comes to mind. He should be cheap.
-- Also to address the whole NJ thing again though, I know it's a silly thing to say. But.. the Yankees are still in 1st place, so it's not the end of the world. We haven't exactly felt any repercussions of the move not working out perfectly.
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