Sunday, February 10, 2008

Nick The Stick At 1st?

According to Joel Sherman, the Yankees may appease an obsessed segment of their fanbase and return former first baseman Nick Johnson to the Bronx should he prove himself capable this Spring.
Over 700 at-bats during the 2002 and 2003 seasons, Nick Johnson hit 29 homeruns and knocked in 105 runs for the New York Yankees. Five years later, Johnson is still recovering from a badley broken leg which forced him to miss the entire 2007 season.
His last year in the bigs - 2006 - saw Johnson hit .290/.428/.520 with 23 homeruns, 46 doubles and 77 RBI. Nick the Stick walked 110 times to only 99 strikeouts. All very impressive numbers considering his home park - RFK - is a drastic pitcher's park.
Should Johnson prove healthy, he would be an interesting option for Brian Cashman, and at the very least provide a potent platoon when paired with the righthanded Shelley Duncan. A lot of "ifs" stand in the way of that, though.

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