Of all the things projected for the Braves this season, this one wasn't one of them: Chris Johnson would be the lineup's best hitter and a really important player. Now, we can add this to his unexpected list of assets: Self-effacing humor.
A camera shot of the Braves' dugout before Sunday's game against Florida shows manager Fredi Gonzalez getting umpire Jim Joyce's attention and pointing to Johnson, who had been thrown out of Saturday night's game for arguing balls and strikes with Joyce. Johnson apparently has a reputation for being a excessively mouthy at times. But at least he bounced back Sunday with this amusing moment:
Johnson, who's hitting .336 this season, was thrown out Saturday for throwing his helmet and uttering a few unpleasant words at Joyce following a strikeout in his first at-bat. He was replaced by Paul Janish, who went 0-for-3 and struck out looking to end the game, a 1-0 loss to Florida that ended a 14-game winning streak. Gonzalez was hamstrung and felt he couldn't send up a pinch hitter for Janish in the ninth inning because the Braves didn't have anybody else who potentially could play third base in the 10th inning. (On the bench: Jordan Schafer and Joey Terdoslavich.)
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