Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
You know that saying, out of sight, out of mind?
Well, for the Toronto Blue Jays and Josh Johnson, the best-case scenario to close out their mutual disastrous 2013 season may have come in an the form of an old friend, Mr. Forearm Strain. Normally, just even starting at the word “forearm” would probably elicit audible groans from Blue Jays Nation, but in this case, it might just be what the team needs best to move on.
And move on they’ll have to, because there’s little to no way that Johnson is going to return to Toronto for some sort of redemption tour next season — and the feeling is mutual.
Now, it is worth pointing out that the team did have an MRI done on the right-hander on Thursday which suggest that his ailment is simply a strain instead of a tear, which is good news for the embattled pitcher, who will already have his work cut out for him to find a decent payday … by the standards of what he could have made even just one season ago.
Then again, according to John Lott of the National Post, the Blue Jays are getting a second opinion on the MRI results from Dr. Death James Andrews, and we all know nothing bad has ever stemmed from that, right?
Though the team haven’t quite come out and said it, Johnson’s latest DL stint likely marks the end of a tumultuous era that has been filled with little bit bad news, and as the Blue Jays are looking to find something to play for through the last two months, any sort of respite from that kind of negativity has to be welcomed.
No, there’ll be no more dilemmas about whether or not he’ll stay in the rotation, or more frustrations the next time he implodes, stressing an already-overworked bullpen even more — you know, all the fun stuff.
Instead, Johnson’s last impression on the Blue Jays could end up being one that was seldom seen in 2013: five innings of five-hit, shutout ball with five strikeouts that was as close of a glimpse of what Toronto hoped to get when they traded for him … before everything went downhill.
And if that’s the last memory that bluebirds fans will have of Johnson before the DL stint turns into a rest-of-season shutdown, at least it’d be bittersweet, yes?
Thom is an MLB writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @BlueJaysRant, or add him to your network on Google
