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Sox sign Dan Johnson 1B


southsider2k5

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QUOTE (Tex @ Feb 1, 2012 -> 01:03 PM)
I love the off season. I actually spent a moment or two thinking about Don Johnson. Miami Vice was a decent, and entertaining show. The warm pastel colors and pink flamingos made me think of spring in a much nicer way than thinking about this team heading into spring. I'm just not feeling the excitement yet.

 

Nash Bridges all the way.

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I did not know about the wrist injury.

 

http://blogs.suntimes.com/whitesox/

 

Johnson "shooting for stars" with White Sox

By Daryl Van Schouwen on February 1, 2012 1:07 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

 

Left-handed hitting first baseman Dan Johnson, who batted .119 in 91 at-bats for the Tampa Bay Rays last season, has been signed by the White Sox to a minor-league contract.

 

Johnson, 32, is best known for his two-out, two-strike home run against the New York Yankees on the final night of the 2011 regular season. It capped a seven-run comeback in an 8-7 Rays victory that clinched the American League wild card for Tampa Bay.

 

A career .235 hitter, Johnson's other home run in 2011 was a three-run shot against Sox lefthander Matt Thornton during the ninth inning on April 8. The Sox were leading 7-6 at the time, and Rays held on for to a 9-7 victory after they had trailed 7-4.

 

Johnson's flair for the dramatic extends further. Seven of his 11 career home runs either tied the score or gave the Rays a lead. He hit eight homers against the Rays' AL East rivals Boston and New York, including a tying shot against Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning of a September 2008 game in Boston. It was his first at-bat as a Ray, and the Rays went on to win.

 

Johnson, who was slowed by a wrist injury in 2011, declined an assignment to AAA Durham in October. He told the Tampa Tribune he believes he can make the Sox Opening Day lineup.

 

"I have to take it day by day, but that's the plan," Johnson said. "You don't play this game to shoot low. I'm going in there shooting for the stars."

 

Making the Opening Day roster will be a big enough challenge, even if Johnson's wrist is healthy. Paul Konerko is the Sox first baseman and $56 million man Adam Dunn is the designated hitter. The Sox are looking at Johnson as a possible backup and pinch-hitter.

 

Johnson batted .275 with 15 homers and 58 RBI as a rookie with the Oakland A's in 2005. In 2007 with the A's, he batted .236 with 18 homers and 62 RBI. He has also played one season in Japan.

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I was just thinking, is Johnson looking at Dunn thinking he can get past him in the lineup? And, I wonder what promises they made to Johnson. I still believe AAA is his destination, but that quote has me intrigued. Maybe there will be something interesting during spring training this year. Besides the Ventura watch.

 

 

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,2399786.story

 

By Mark Gonzales Tribune reporter

 

8:29 p.m. CST, February 1, 2012

Dan Johnson played a heroic role in one of the most memorable nights in Major League Baseball history.

 

Now Johnson gladly would settle for a contributing role with the White Sox after agreeing to a minor league contract.

 

"I sense there's an opportunity there," the left-handed-hitting Johnson told the Tribune on Wednesday. "With that said, it's one of those things where I got the opportunity to come back."

 

Johnson is revered among Rays fans for hitting a game-tying home run with two strikes and two outs in the ninth inning against the Yankees that set up a 10th-inning victory on the final day of the 2011 regular season. His team, tied with the Red Sox entering play that day, subsequently made the playoffs when the Red Sox lost.

 

The home run was only the second of the season for Johnson, who batted .119 in 91 at-bats as he coped with a painful wrist injury. The other home run was a three-run shot off Matt Thornton that helped transform a 7-4 Sox lead into a stunning 9-7 Rays victory on April 8.

 

While Paul Konerko is entrenched at first base for the Sox, and Adam Dunn returns as the designated hitter, Johnson, 32, can play first and third base as well as the corner outfield positions. The Sox received only 82 RBIs from their left-handed hitters last season, and Johnson would serve as a left-handed pinch hitter and spot starter if he makes the team.

 

"Obviously, any way I can get into a game situation and have a chance to help the team win would be great," Johnson said. "But I have to show I'm healthy and then produce."

 

Johnson, who hit 18 home runs with the A's in 2007, took over for Carlos Pena as the Rays' starting first baseman in 2011 but his season took a severe turn when a pitch from the Twins' Matt Capps drilled him on the left wrist on April 17.

 

"I kept being stubborn like a former hockey player and kept trying to play," said Johnson, a native of Minnesota. "There was nerve damage and trauma to the bone. I started questioning myself. I was taking one-handed swings. Here I was, a power hitter who had to revamp his game and try to slap the ball past the shortstop."

 

Johnson said his condition relegated him to only one quality at-bat, usually in late-inning situations such as the heroic at-bat against the Yankees for which he is acclaimed in Rays history.

 

"After having a letdown of a season, it was a great way to contribute," Johnson said. "Being down to the last out of the season and succeeding, it changes the way I looked at the entire year."

 

It also made Johnson's offseason more special, especially because his wife Holly was six months' pregnant with the couple's third child at the time he hit the home run.

 

Agreeing to terms with the Sox capped an eventful offseason for Johnson, who became father to a baby girl, Ellison, in December.

 

"She's an awesome baby," Johnson said. "You can just tell from the happy look on her face."

 

[email protected]

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