The Orioles seem to have had enough of this particular one, though, dropping him as he became arbitration eligible. The word on the street was that his performance would probably push his salary to the $3.5M range, and that's exactly what the Tigers just offered in his new two year deal. The Orioles obviously felt this was going to be too high for their tastes as Johnson reached 30 with six years of ML experience.

A year ago, we noted that Johnson still had to come up with a way to cut down on his gopher balls, and he wasn't able to do it in a significant way, breaking the 20-allowed mark for the third time in his five years. Even though he did manage an improvement in his HR ratio, he fell back in the hits and walks allowed departments. His 4.18 ERA was deceptive; it could have easily been a half run higher, which is more in keeping with his career numbers.

Jason did get off to a blistering start this past season, pitching to a 2.12 ERA and a .192 BAA in April, but, except for a decent August, that was it. The rest of the time, he was pretty much vintage Jason, only a little more so.

Jason Johnson has stamina problems, a side effect of the diabetes he lives with on a daily basis. His September meltdown in a season in which he managed his second-highest innings total was probably a reflection of this, and may be another reason the Orioles did not offer him arbitration. He gave up a .293 BAA in the second half, and his career as an Oriole came to an end.

Jason pitched five seasons for the Orioles. He and his wife were solid members of the community, and they will be missed. We wish him well in his time with the Tigers.

NOTES: his batting average against, walks, and slugging against numbers all increased as the games went along, again calling the stamina concern to the forefront...only allowed one hit in 11 AB with the bases loaded...cleanup hitters managed a .366/.475/.695 off of Johnson...pitched to a 3.76 at home with a .259 BAA.