Mark Johnson was designated by the A's. Dunno if anyone posted this. Just thought some people might wonder where he went. Anyways here is the link...

 

 

http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/NASApp/ml...t=.jsp&c_id=oak

good catcher.

 

no stick.No power. No average. No speed.

 

somebody else will give him a chance because he's left-handed and gets a fair number of walks.

 

but for Oakland to give up on him after Billy Beane allegedly loved his potential is not good.

If he can be claimed off waivers he might be a good pick up for the Sox. He was highly regarded as a back up catcher.

If he can be claimed off waivers he might be a good pick up for the Sox. He was highly regarded as a back up catcher.

The other guy they designated for assignment was John Halama. He would be a good pitcher in da pen

If he can be claimed off waivers he might be a good pick up for the Sox. He was highly regarded as a back up catcher.

Can I beg to differ.....

 

good catcher.

 

no stick.No power. No average. No speed.

 

somebody else will give him a chance because he's left-handed and gets a fair number of walks.

 

but for Oakland to give up on him after Billy Beane allegedly loved his potential is not good.

1. The Baseball Prospectus guys really ripped KW last winter for letting Oakland "steal" Mark Johnson in the Koch trade. I think they were so into ripping KW they lost objectivity. MJ was/is not aggressive enough at the plate - so many times trying to lay down a perfect bunt rather than hitting a liner somewhere. He had a good arm though.

2. However, he's another White Sox first round draft choice that really couldn't be described as a success story.

 

Remember the stink management raised by putting Josh Paul on the 2000 playoff roster and dropping MJ?

I also remember all the talk on this site last winter bemoaning the fact that Beane "stole" Mark Johnson from the Sox ...

 

Maybe he stole Foulke for Koch, but guess what ... Foulke was a one year fix for Oakland. Koch sucked this year, so Oakland won the trade for now, but Foulke will be elsewhere next year.

 

But Mark Johnson???

 

Please ...

I never had any problem with Johnson being included in that trade. He was OK behind the plate, sucked in the batter's box.

I also remember all the talk on this site last winter bemoaning the fact that Beane "stole" Mark Johnson from the Sox ...

 

Maybe he stole Foulke for Koch, but guess what ... Foulke was a one year fix for Oakland.  Koch sucked this year, so Oakland won the trade for now, but Foulke will be elsewhere next year.

 

But Mark Johnson???

 

Please ...

Let's hope that Neal Cotts has the ability to swing that trade into our favor. And if he can have a 15 win season sometime soon, I'd say that would do the trick.

I also remember all the talk on this site last winter bemoaning the fact that Beane "stole" Mark Johnson from the Sox ...

 

Maybe he stole Foulke for Koch, but guess what ... Foulke was a one year fix for Oakland.  Koch sucked this year, so Oakland won the trade for now, but Foulke will be elsewhere next year.

 

But Mark Johnson???

 

Please ...

Let's hope that Neal Cotts has the ability to swing that trade into our favor. And if he can have a 15 win season sometime soon, I'd say that would do the trick.

how soon?

If only Mark Johnson could have been as good as a hitter as Paul Bako ......

The A's will undoubtedly make a qualifying offer to Foulke, and thus get a draft pick for him from the team that signs him. We, however, get to pick up Koch's salary for another year, before he is gone for good. No way you can dress up that trade to make it look good for the Sox. It cost us a playoff spot in 2003. End of story.

The A's will undoubtedly make a qualifying offer to Foulke, and thus get a draft pick for him from the team that signs him.  We, however, get to pick up Koch's salary for another year, before he is gone for good.  No way you can dress up that trade to make it look good for the Sox.  It cost us a playoff spot in 2003.  End of story.

If the A's make a qualifying offer to Foulke he should stay, unless he gets word the Yankees or Red Sox are willing to pay up. Otherwise he isn't going to make near the money he has been. There are going to be way too many people on the market, and no teams willing to spend anymore money.

If the A's make a qualifying offer to Foulke he should stay, unless he gets word the Yankees or Red Sox are willing to pay up.  Otherwise he isn't going to make near the money he has been.  There are going to be way too many people on the market, and no teams willing to spend anymore money.

Cubs

The A's will undoubtedly make a qualifying offer to Foulke, and thus get a draft pick for him from the team that signs him.  We, however, get to pick up Koch's salary for another year, before he is gone for good.  No way you can dress up that trade to make it look good for the Sox.  It cost us a playoff spot in 2003.  End of story.

What is a qualifying offer? You mean arbitration, right? They may not want to risk Foulke accepting arbitration, what with his 40 plus saves comparing to oh, I don't know, Koch's salary. Foulke's people will say if Koch's Krap is worth 6 milllion, our 40 plus saves should be 9 million.

I wouldn't mind picking up MJ again. For a catcher, he has good speed, and for a backup catcher, a good bat. He can lay down a bunt and he can steal a base. He also has a pretty damn good arm.

 

If Sandy retires, I wouldn't mind seeing MJ again. Miguel would just have to be ready to take a step forward and kick some ass.....and by that I mean hit .250 10 50 with 15 steals or so. If he could do that, we would have wonderful production from our catcher. Any catcher who can shut down the running game is a deadly weapon, and he can shut down even the deadliest running games. And then when Miguel needs a day off, MJ steps in and does what a backup catcher is supposed to do...call a good game and help the team score a run or two, somehow, some way.

MJ is a AAA catcher.