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June 21, 2006
The quote from the Cleveland Plain Dealer was prescient:
"The surprising thing about the Indians dumping Jason Johnson on Tuesday isn't that they waited so long to do it. It's that GM Mark Shapiro feels he can trade him."
The quote from Shapiro was surprising:
"There are more than a few teams who have had interest," Shapiro said. "And they're contenders."
The comment from Plain Dealer reporter Paul Hoynes was dismissive:
"That a contender would want Johnson offers chilling evidence of the state of pitching in the big leagues. After winning his first two decisions this year, Johnson went 1-8. His career record is 55-94."
And the end result, from the point of view of a Red Sox fan, was stunning: The Sox were that contender.
They acquired Jason Johnson from the Indians this afternoon for cash or a player to be named later.
Johnson, 32, is in his 10th year in the major leagues and his first with the Indians; he signed with Cleveland as a free agent last winter after posting back-to-back eight-win seasons with the Tigers. He spent most of his career with the Orioles (1999-2003), never winning more than 10 games in any season.
He will replace Kyle Snyder on the Red Sox roster. Snyder, who was the winning pitcher in Monday night's win over the Nationals three days after being claimed on waivers from the Kansas City Royals, was optioned to Pawtucket to make room for Johnson.
Johnson -- a diabetic who has managed to control his disease well enough to pitch in the major leagues -- is a back-end-of-the-rotation starter who depends more on guile and finesse than power. He started this season well, going 2-1 with a 3.41 ERA in his first four starts, but his downward spiral began when he allowed seven runs in two innings in a loss at Oakland on May 4. He's only won one game since then, on May 28, In his last four starts, he was 0-4 with a 6.35 ERA.
The Indians have had an extremely disappointing season -- they expected to contend for the Central Division championship but are currently 15 games out of first place -- and struggling veteran free agents are frequently made the scapegoats when such a team stumbles. The Sox, seeking replacement for injured veterans David Wells and Matt Clement, are hoping Johnson can stablize the lower portion of their rotation. They're not looking for a Cy Young-type performance -- and good thing, too, because Johnson can't provide it -- but they're hoping he can be the type of six-inning/three- or four-run pitcher he's been for most his career.
We'll have more when it becomes available.
-- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art 
at 2:14 PM | Permalink
