Kenji Johjima started back-to-back games Sunday and Monday for the first time since July 4-5. And, after Johjima caught another solid game and then won it with his two-run homer in the sixth inning, manager Don Wakamatsu said he’ll start Joh again tonight.
Wakamatsu said after the game last night what he said before it, that there’s no real No. 1 or No. 2 catcher on this team, that he is writing his lineup with matchups in mind from both an offensive and defensive standpoint.
But let’s get real. It’s easier to do now that the pitching staff includes young guys named Rowland-Smith, Snell, French and Fister, who aren’t in any position to mandate who catches them. And it’s also easier to write Johjima into the lineup when Rob Johnson (the preferred catcher of recently traded Jarrod Washburn and recently injured Erik Bedard) developed a sore elbow a few days ago.
So look for Johjima to catch again tonight when Fister makes his big-league starting debut.
It’ll really be interesting to see if Johnson returns to catch Felix Hernandez tomorrow night in a cool matchup against Mr. Perfect Game, Mark Buehrle. The last time Johjima caught Hernandez was May 19 when the Angels beat him. Felix lost three of his first four starts in May, and Joh caught all of those games. Since then, either Jamie Burke or Johnson have caught all of Hernandez’s starts (although Joh missed some time during that stretch with a toe injury).
Johjima is 0-for-5 in his career against Buehrle (an argument to start Johnson) although Johnson has never faced Buehrle. Also, what if Johjima continues to swing a hot bat and rips on White Sox starter John Danks tonight? Does that keep him in the lineup tomorrow when Felix starts?
I’m kinda thinking not, unless Johnson’s elbow is worse than we think. He’s dealt with this earlier this season and came back after a little time off, and an X-ray a few days ago showed no major issue.
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