Without Reed, Will Not We Succeed?
Reed Johnson + gulls
We’ve known all along that getting Reed Johnson back this year would be a long shot. Once the Cubs signed Cliffy Six Nad, that chance faded away completely, yet I still kept my fingers crossed. MLBtraderumors.com is currently reporting that Johnson is close to signing with the Dodgers. I’m not sure if the majority of the fan base will care very much, but personally, I am disappointed to see him go. Though his strippy hookbeard only annoyed me when the Cubs first acquired him in ’08, he won me over eventually with copious amounts of hustle and hard play. I’ve always been an advocate for getting Johnson more playing time, but it just has never worked out that way with the Cubs. He did appear in 108 games for the Cubs in 2008, and he posted a .303 batting average in 274 plate appearances, and when he was with the Blue Jays, he showed signs that he could be a viable every day option for a team as well. I don’t think that his injuries last year helped his case for staying with the Cubs either.
There will be several feats of Johnson that will stick with me always (sorry that sounds so filthy). He is responsible for one of the best catches I have ever seen/will ever see:
He also got the game-winning hit in the game I went to in ’08. During his rehab assignment I attended in Peoria, Johnson’s hustle was stunning. He almost had a foot on second base on both of the routine infield pop-ups he hit. And of course, who can forget Reed robbing Fielder of his first grand-slam?
Who will entertain us in the outfield the way Reed Johnson did? We might just have to settle for a few nice Fukudome and Fuld plays and a few bunny hops.
As far as the Nady signing is concerned, I remember thinking how stupid the Pirates were when they let him go. I have come to view that whole thing as the beginning of the Pirates’ string of head-scratching trades. Of course then he proceeded to get injured. Nady is an awesome player when he is healthy. How often have we heard that refrain as Cubs fans? We will miss having Reed.
Reed was a great pick-up for the Cubs. I think if he had a little more power and he wasn’t injured last year, he’d probably be playing on the Northside this year.
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