COULD DAN REALLY BE THE MAN?

(In Photo: Dan Johnson)
Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record brings up the name everyone has been wondering about ever since Mark Teixeira was put on the shelf for 8 to 10 weeks. Could Dan Johnson really be the guy we want to fill in a first base until Tex comes back? You can read about Johnson HERE from Caldera, but he writes:

"... with Mark Teixeira sidelined until May because of a strained right wrist, the lefty-hitting Johnson suddenly has the odds in his favor to play a good chunk of time at first base. He’d arrived at camp as a non-roster player attempting to fill Eric Chavez’s role as a backup corner infielder.

'There were a lot more safer jobs, but I feel like the upside is so much greater here,' Johnson said of turning down better opportunities on weaker teams. 'I’m willing to take the risk to come here and prove myself...'"

(In Photo: Aaron Small)
So in other words, or at least the way I'm understanding it, coming to the Yankees was a big deal, and probably is for many players looking to play. The pinstripes do something to players. We've seen players either get traded or called up and the magic happens. We've seen it happen dozens of times in our past history.  Scott Brosius, Shane Spencer, Aaron Small, Shawn Chacon.  Yeah, true, it's a Motley Crue I chose, but the reality is, those names remind me alot of Dan Johnson... never a superstar, but had flashes of success in the Bronx.  Johnson could in fact do the same.

Look, I understand we're gonna miss Tex, but the bottom line is, we either go out and get a guy like Michael Cuddyer, read HERE, or we stick with what we have in Dan Johnson and hope he catches on nicely.

Johnson told Caldera, "It’s just the lure overall of being a Yankee...". That it is Dan, we just hope you do your best and make us proud in Mark's absence.

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.