Master Index of Archived Threads


Meet Ben Johnson

Johnny Dickshot Mar 12 2007 11:32 AM

NY Times is paonting this as a battle betyween Newhan and Johnson for the final reserve slot. I think tho that means a 7-man bullpen too. I'm confused. I'm rooting for Johnson. March 12, 2007 For a Roster Spot, a Met Is Prepared to Get Dirty By BEN SHPIGEL PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla., March 11 — In passing up a chance to play football in the Southeastern Conference, Mets outfielder Ben Johnson traded one helmet for another. The decision was not difficult: Either way, he would wear a helmet. “I’ll put it like this: I do enjoy contact — maybe a little too much,” Johnson said. “I’m not afraid of breaking up double plays. If there’s a bang-bang play at the plate, I don’t mind dropping my shoulder.” Johnson, however, may be saving his best contact for pitchers. Battling with David Newhan for the final reserve spot, Johnson leads the Mets in hits (10) and batting average (.385) and shares the lead in home runs with two. If hustle points were awarded, Johnson, 25, could rank atop that category, too. His defining moment this spring came in the exhibition opener, on Feb. 28 against Detroit, when he skied a ball toward the right-field line. Three Tigers converged, and the ball dropped in. Johnson never stopped running and was sliding into second when the ball was retrieved. “That’s the sort of thing I’ll do 100 out of 100 times,” Johnson said Sunday before traveling to Lakeland for a split-squad game against Detroit. “That’s the only way I know how to play.” Johnson went 1 for 4 and drove in a run Sunday as the Mets won, 4-2. Pitcher Jon Adkins, who was traded to the Mets with Johnson from the San Diego Padres last November, recalled coming away from their first meeting, at an Arizona Fall League game in 2002, thinking the same thing. “Everything Ben does is old school,” Adkins said. “His jersey’s always dirty, he doesn’t wear batting gloves, he goes all out all the time. He’s a total throwback.” About those batting gloves: In high school, Johnson owned a pair but did not use them. They never felt right, he said. He admired players like Moises Alou and Vladimir Guerrero, who did not wear batting gloves. “For me, it’s like tying your shoes with gloves on,” Johnson said. “You wouldn’t do that, would you?” A talented defensive back and kick returner in high school, Johnson, who is 6 feet 1 inch and 230 pounds, declined a scholarship from Mississippi State when the St. Louis Cardinals, who selected him in the fourth round of the 1999 draft, offered him an attractive signing bonus. Johnson’s plan was to ascend through the minor leagues, stopping briefly in his native Memphis, where the Cardinals’ Class AAA affiliate plays. Then he would roam the same Busch Stadium outfield as his boyhood heroes. But after a year, he was traded to San Diego, where he spent parts of six seasons in the minors before joining the Padres in June 2005. He was impressive enough to be included on the playoff roster, and in 2006 he made the team out of spring training. Shuttling between the majors and Class AAA, Johnson received only 120 at-bats with the Padres and missed a month with a shoulder injury sustained in an outfield collision with Mike Cameron. “I figured out that going from 0 to 90 at all times can hurt,” Johnson said. “I had to learn to back off a little bit and let the game come to me sometimes.” Johnson ended last season confident that he could compete for a starting spot in the Padres’ outfield. But while he was driving to a dentist’s appointment in Phoenix, he received a call from General Manager Kevin Towers telling him that he had good news. “He said that I’d been traded,” Johnson said. “And I was like, that’s good news? Obviously, I think that’s good news now.” At the time, Johnson knew two things: Adkins, his fantasy football teammate, was accompanying him, and with Cliff Floyd unlikely to be re-signed, there would be a vacancy in left field. A few days later, however, the Mets signed Alou. Six weeks later, they signed Newhan, further crowding the outfield picture. Johnson reminds some people of another right-handed hitting outfielder the Mets acquired in an off-season deal with San Diego: Xavier Nady. He occupies the locker Nady had last spring, before the Mets traded him to Pittsburgh. “I’d say there are a lot of similarities,” Mets General Manager Omar Minaya said. “I’d say Nady had more power, but Johnson is more versatile in the outfield and has more speed.” The Mets may be inclined to keep the versatile Newhan (who can play any outfield position or any infield position except shortstop) over Johnson, who has minor league options. But Johnson could still make the opening day roster. If Carlos Delgado’s wife gives birth on or near her due date, April 1, which coincides with the Mets’ opener in St. Louis, Manager Willie Randolph may shift Shawn Green to first base and, for a day or two, fill the open roster spot with someone like Johnson. Such things do not concern him, Johnson said. All he can do is what he has always done: Just keep hitting.

Edgy DC Mar 12 2007 11:35 AM

I enjoyed that article also. We need a third outfielder in camp who missed significant time because he collided with Mike Cameron.

metirish Mar 12 2007 11:48 AM

If it's a battle between Johnson and Newhan then I am rooting for Ben,nothing against Newhan but Johnson would seem the better player and younger too.

Edgy DC Mar 12 2007 11:59 AM

Johnson's option and Newhan's (modest) infield ability work against Ben.

iramets Mar 12 2007 12:00 PM Re: Meet Ben Johnson

Johnny Dickshot wrote: “I’ll put it like this: I do enjoy contact — maybe a little too much,” Johnson said. “I’m not afraid of breaking up double plays. If there’s a bang-bang play at the plate, I don’t mind dropping my shoulder.” O, rare Ben Jo(h)nson

Farmer Ted Mar 12 2007 01:50 PM

Mets.com lists Newhan as the #3 guy at five positions on its depth chart. That's one multi-faceted mofro.

Farmer Ted Mar 12 2007 01:51 PM

Mets.com lists Newhan as the the #3 guy at five different positions. That's one multi-faceted mofro.

smg58 Mar 12 2007 02:25 PM

I'd like to see them find a way to move or retire Franco so the decision becomes easy. Newhan has been playing pretty well too, actually, so I wouldn't sell him short either. Given all the uncertainties in the rotation, now is not the time to shrink the bullpen.

Johnny Dickshot Mar 12 2007 03:04 PM

I'm in favor of Franco's retiring too, that is, if they're convinced one of those other guys can be counted on to hit a single to right field when necessary.

Gwreck Mar 12 2007 03:44 PM

I don't think Julio's second half made me exactly sure he can be counted on for that, either.

Johnny Dickshot Mar 12 2007 03:44 PM

Today against the Nats, Johnson singles and scores on a double by Newhan. And Milledge -- who looks like a guy earning a job, is 3-4 with 2 RBI. It's 6-6 now. Park was OK for 3 innings but got roughed up in the 4th. Soler in relief hgave up a HR to the first guy he faced and 2 ER in 1.2 IP

Frayed Knot Mar 12 2007 04:07 PM

Mgmt obviously likes Franco, plus he apparently provides some measure of those good ol' intangibles to the bench. It's also not as easy as fans often suggest to simply move the guy to a coaching position. There's a finite number of uniformed coaches allowed so adding him would neccesitate subtracting someone else. On the other hand if he can't hit one would hope they'd find a way to ease him aside somehow. I can't see him not starting the season on the roster but, if this year's first half starts to look like the back half of '06, I could see him playing himself out of a job at some point.

Nymr83 Mar 12 2007 04:15 PM

]Mgmt obviously likes Franco or mgmt doesnt like admitting that a 2 year deal to a 46 year old wasnt the brightest move?

Edgy DC Mar 12 2007 04:16 PM

Thing about the second half is that there was seemingly nothing wrong with his bat, but (1) his eye was off, and (2) he got a few bad calls and that seemed to aggravate (1). I think he's better off on a team with either a DH or a less set-in-stone situation at first, in order to keep his bat fresh.

Frayed Knot Mar 12 2007 04:26 PM

]or mgmt doesnt like admitting that a 2 year deal to a 46 year old wasnt the brightest move? I honestly don't think that's the problem. The money's not so much that they just can't eat the remainder and they made no secret about bringing him here as much for the "intangible factor" as for any unique baseball skills he still had. I just hope they recognize if/when the balance tilts to far to the one side.

metirish Mar 12 2007 04:31 PM

Having Franco when you are running away with the division is fine but what happens if the Mets are in a tight race and Franco isn't doing his job and looks lost at the plate,would Omar cut him?,I like Franco and think he's probably a good fella to have on the bench so I hope he hits this year.

Nymr83 Mar 12 2007 04:32 PM

I think the balance will already have tilted if the Mets have a better hitter who is kept off the roster because of him. He is pretty much worthless defensively as he only plays one position and thats a position the mets are set at. He is of no use as a pinch-runner eiher, so his usefulness is entirely in his bat. Do the Mets have a better hitter right now? I'd say Ben Johnson is definetaly a guy I'd rather have around. If he's going to miss the roster (taking Newhan for versatility and carrying 12 pitchers) then Franco should be gone instead.

Yancy Street Gang Mar 12 2007 04:33 PM

He wouldn't necessarily have to cut Franco. He could send him to Norfolk New Orleans and warehouse him there until September. Maybe he could act as a mentor at Triple A. I'm not sure if this is a great idea or not. (If he struggles, I'd probably prefer to cut him. At 48, I'd assume that his next slump might as well be his last slump.) But it's an option.

Nymr83 Mar 12 2007 04:37 PM

can he be sent there without his permission?

metirish Mar 12 2007 04:39 PM

That's the thing,I don't think Omar would just send him to AAA, maybe I'm wrong.

Yancy Street Gang Mar 12 2007 04:46 PM

Nymr83 wrote: can he be sent there without his permission? Maybe not. But he might agree to go if he's promised a September callup and he might prefer that to being cut loose. It's all very hypothetical at this point anyway. Hopefully Franco will be all that and a bag of chips for the next seven months and no such decisions will have to be made.