Utterly Hittable
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by user The shark
Hoo-boy. How do you go from 12 straight wins and 14 of 15 to three straight losses? Well, the answer is quite simple actually. Rely on Jason Johnson.
Okay - here's my contention: The Tigers have the best record in baseball for one reason - they were smart enough to get rid of this raggedy-armed nobody. Jason Johnson is a terrible pitcher. Always has been. Theo Epstein and Tito Francona have been among the smartest men in baseball over the past two-and-a-half years and there's a World Series trophy lying around somewhere in Massachusetts to prove it. So why in the hell did either one of them think adding this bum to the starting rotation was a good idea?
What is the value of a #3 man in the rotation? Basically, it's to stop the bleeding with a strong outing in case your #1 and #2 guys both get beat. Put simply, you don't have to win every time out, but you are going to be relied upon to produce a solid outing every now and then. That being said, why was Jason Johnson obtained from the Cleveland Indians? And why is he scheduled to start a game immediately after Beckett and Schilling have lost back-to-back games against the Devil Rays? The guy is a hack, plain and simple. Where is Kyle Snyder when you need him?
Since 2000, Johnson is 45-81 (.357) with an ERA of 4.97. So far this year, he has been the root of at least 25% of the Tribe's problems. So how do two of the brighter guys in MLB decide that it's a good idea to add this "pitcher" (I use that term loosely) to the heart of a playoff contender's pitching rotation?
With the Indians in 2006, Johnson was 3-8 with an ERA of 5.96! No, you read it right - 5.96!! He surrendered 108 hits in 77 innings, carried a 1.69 WHIP, and allowed a batting average against of .380. Am I missing something here, or are there some numbers hidden in there somewhere that scream "pick me up and throw me into the heart of your rotation - especially if you're a playoff contender!"? And as bad as those numbers look, he has been far worse than that (ERA over 10.00) in his 0-3 run for the Red Sox.
I do realize that there are injuries involved and options become limited, but c'mon!!!
Hey - Larry Lucchino - sign me for $50 a game and I'll give you numbers equal to these. Hell, I'll pay you $50 a game for the privilege.
- Think of the money you'd save and, rest assured - I wouldn't be much worse.
Date
Wed 07/05/06, 6:12 pm EST
