FanHouse Dan Johnson

With the playoff chase coming down to the wire, our MLB editor rounds up the five biggest pennant race stories in Eye Toward October.

- Oh, What a Night: It's easy to get wrapped up in the daily drama of the pennant races this time of year without stopping to smell the roses. If you didn't have playoff fever before last night, there's a good chance you have it now. I'll get to the gory details in a moment, but for now, let's take a moment to bask in the glow of this time of year.

The Red Sox and Rays played one of the better games all season long -- a see-saw affair that saw Boston darling Jason Bay give his new club a dramatic lead in the eighth, followed by the upstart Rays showing surprising fight and scoring twice on closer Jonathan Papelbon to win the game.

The White Sox dropped a pair of games to the red-hot Blue Jays, who are seven games back of the Red Sox with seven left to play against Boston, and saw their lead over the Twins shrink to just one game.

Carlos Delgado's continued resurgence helped the Mets eke out a dramatic, late-inning win over the Nationals. The Cubs and Brewers continued to slump, in the case of the latter creating an intriguing wild-card race where there wasn't one just a few weeks before.

Finally, out west, the Dodgers yet again got Herculean efforts out of Andre Ethier and Manny Ramirez to add another game to their division lead as the Diamondbacks wilted in the wake of ninth-inning rally.

It's all too easy to buy into the mantra that the games in April count just the same as they do in September. Of course, it's completely true. On the other hand, there's nothing more fun than baseball this time of year. Any fan can appreciate that.

The Rays claimed Dan Johnson off waivers from the A's earlier this week, and from jump street it was a little awkward trying to find him playing time. He was supposed to add depth at first base behind Carlos Pena and Eric Hinske, but once it became apparent that Pena's sore right hamstring wasn't going to keep him out of the lineup for long, Johnson never got a chance to get into the game.

And now, he never will.

The Rays acquired Gabe Gross from the Brewers on Wednesday, and he didn't just take Johnson's spot on the roster, he took his uniform number, too. From the Tampa Tribune:

The No. 26 jersey the Rays assigned to Dan Johnson when he joined the team Tuesday had a different name across the back Wednesday - that of the man who had just replaced Johnson on the roster.

The arrival Wednesday of Gabe Gross, acquired by the Rays from the Brewers the previous evening, meant somebody had to go. That somebody was Johnson, who was designated for assignment in a turn of events Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman described as "awkward."

So now, Johnson is right back where he started: designated for assignment, with 10 days to see if the Rays will trade or release him. He's tallied just a single at-bat this year but he could be useful for a lot of teams looking for a 1B/DH type. In fact, it wouldn't be a surprise if he ended up back in the Bay Area, not with the A's but with the Giants. At the very least, he's getting some frequent flyer miles out of this.

Earlier today -- in what was, all around, a pretty sleepy day at the winter meetings -- blog MLB Trade Rumors ran an unsourced rumor from a "trusted New York sportswriter" that was just too crazy for words. Blockbuster, in fact, doesn't really begin to describe the thing:

Minnesota has initiated talks for a three-way blockbuster with the Twins and A's. Here's how it would go down:

Mets send Jose Reyes, Kevin Mulvey to A's
Mets send Hector Pellot to Twins
A's send Bobby Crosby and Dan Johnson to Mets
A's send Dan Haren to Twins
Twins send Johan Santana to Mets

Mets get Johan Santana, Bobby Crosby and Dan Johnson
A's get Jose Reyes and Kevin Mulvey
Twins get Dan Haren and Hector Pellot

Insane, right? What's more insane is that trade actually works out for everyone involved, most notably the Mets.

So MLB Trade Rumors got everyone at the winter meetings scurrying about -- can't you just picture the darting sportswriters and the ducking GMs? -- before Joel Sherman at the New York Post got confirmation that nothing was in the works:

As this baseball season comes down the final stretch, Mike Piazza has found himself on the bench more often than not, even though he's healthy. Kurt Suzuki has taken over the catcher spot, and Mike has to share DH duties with Dan Johnson.

Piazza is well aware that these last couple of weeks will be his last in an Athletics uniform. It's not that Piazza hasn't performed well this season, it's the fact that the Athletics will be going younger next season. What the 39-year old catcher/designated hitter isn't so sure of is whether or not this will be his last few weeks playing baseball for anybody.

"I just think I'm not in the mood to make a decision right now," Piazza said. "You have to detach yourself, take a step back. It's impossible to make a decision when you're in the washing machine - you've got to get out and dry off. You never make a good decision when you're emotionally charged."

Man, the media are so invasive these days. Asking a guy such a tough question while he's inside a washing machine. That's just rude.

My gut tells me Piazza will be back next season. He can still play and I'm sure there's a couple of American League teams who wouldn't mind his bat in the lineup. There were a lot of rumors that Piazza was going to be traded to the Twins earlier this summer, and since Torii Hunter won't be back, I'm sure they'll be looking for somebody to replace his offensive output. Piazza may just be that guy.

I'm not sure if new manager Bob Geren has a habit of starving and beating his minor-leaguers behind closed doors, or whether Sacramento is just that boring of a city, but Athletics players sure are complaining about the team a lot.

It started last week when Brad Halsey openly criticized the organization for passing him up by calling them cheap. Now reserve catcher Brad Melhuse has joined the fray.

"You really know where you fit in on the totem pole," said Melhuse, who had two starts to Jason Kendall's 18. "I'm not naive to think I'm the absolute key piece to the puzzle here, but I'd think over the last five years I've made myself an important part of the puzzle. But maybe not. Maybe I've worn out my welcome here. Maybe those warm, fuzzy feelings they had for me at one time might have changed. Who knows?"

Asked if he requested a trade, Melhuse said, "I haven't thought that far ahead, but I guess that's always an option if that's what'll help them. I'm sure it'll help me."

Melhuse was just optioned back to Sacramento after the Athletics activated Dan Johnson from the disabled list. Though, judging by playing time, you probably wouldn't have noticed Melhuse was on the club.

I'm thinking Nick Swisher and Mark Kotsay need to share some of their stash, and calm these guys down a bit. I mean, what's so bad about being in Sacramento? At least you're not in Oakland, right?


Previously at the Fanhouse:
Brad Halsey Is An Idiot
Brad Halsey Is Not A Happy Employee