Johjima demotion minimizes damage behind the plate

For the record, I’ve never been accused of leading the Kenji Johjima fan club. In fact, I can’t think of another major league catcher who has created a more visceral negative reaction when he’s behind the plate. In a word, he’s terrible. So, it was with open arms that I accepted the news that M’s catcher Rob Johnson was “officially” going to be handling the club’s best hurlers.

If one were to look at the stats, Johjima has Johnson beat in just about every offensive and defensive category. Johjima hits for better average and power and he throws out more runners. Still, I’ve rarely seen a worse backstop than Johjima. Catching is a lot like umpiring. Aside from when he throws out a runner, you shouldn’t be constantly aware of his presence on every play. I’m not sure how they approach the position in Japan, but it’s a like watching a gymnastics routine with Johjima. He seems to be fooled on every pitch, like he doesn’t know what’s coming. Lunging to his left or his right. Leap frogging from his crouch on a pitch high in the strike zone. Framing a pitch? Forget about it. Does Johjima think he’s being flamboyant, showing off his athleticism maybe? This has to infuriate pitchers even more since they spend half their time on the mound shaking off Johjima’s signs.

The team will have some interesting decisions to make very soon about the long-term health of this position. Johnson can’t hit for average and Johjima will receive $8 million a year through 2011 thanks to former GM Bill Bavasi’s keen talent evaluation skills. It’s possible that in a couple weeks two thirds of the M’s top rotation guys will no longer be on the club. Does that mean Johjima will get the chance to once again justify his salary?

The M’s have carried a light-hitting catcher on its roster before and had team success. Dan Wilson wasn’t a threat with the bat, but was a solid game manager behind the plate. Unfortunately, the 2009 version of the Mariners doesn’t have the big bats in their lineup to pick up the slack like they did in the early ‘90s.