Jennifer Langosch of MLB.com has a great article today about Chris Johnson. I highly recommend this personal and touching read that gives a fascinating view into the rising star‘s rookie season.
One thing I found particularly note worthy as I and some other fans grapple with recent decisions of the Astros was this passage toward the end of the article:
A torrid stint in Triple-A prompted the Astros to summon Chris to the Majors in mid-June. This time, Chris was there to play. Given management’s promise that he would keep starting regardless of the results, Johnson relaxed. Then he shined.
Interesting that a guy would relax when he doesn’t think that every pitch of every at-bat is an audition for his life, and that relaxing would provide better results. Not all players work this way. Some thrive under pressure and some need it to succeed.
But others need the comfort and reassurance of knowing that if they have a bad at-bat, you’ll want them back for another.
It’s an interesting perspective to keep in mind as we see how they handle Brett Wallace, and even guys like Jason Castro, Mark Melancon, Fernando Abad, Jason Bourgeois and Brian Bogusevic. Not all of them can be guaranteed a starting job, but I don’t think it’s coincidence that Johnson started performing really well when he was promised that he was their guy. That they’d stick with him.
That they wouldn’t take a veteran who’s having a hideous down year and move him out of position just to take yours in a desperate attempt to justify continuing to pay him the too-large amount they have been for three years already.
Handling young players is hard. Rebuilding is hard. Let’s see if the Astros manage to learn from their own recent history.
I found this article on Twitter. See what gems you can find there, and swing by my feed while you’re at it: http://twitter.com/astros290
