Susan Slusser reports that Dan Johnson has been designated for assignment. Johnson is a victim both of the A's roster crunch -- they needed to make room for tonight's emergency starter, Greg Smith, on the 40-man -- and the apparent indifference to his presence by Bob Geren (one at-bat through the first eight games of the season).

I can't confess to having too many Dan Johnson-themed memories. There was his two-homer performance against the Yankees in June of 2006 -- the second one was off Kyle Farnsworth to put the A's ahead for good. But the more memorable homer that day was Nick Swisher's inside-the-park job. I was also in the stands the day DJ went 4-for-4 against Cleveland, but I had completely forgotten his performance up until I looked it up on Retrosheet. Honestly, what I recall about that day was another game-winning hit from Marco Scutaro. Oh, and it was Mug Root Beer Float Day.

When I think about Dan Johnson, sadly, the thing I'm going to think about the most are his assorted injuries -- double vision here, a bad back there. For some reason, that seems totally in line with the story of the Oakland A's the last several seasons.

Best of luck to Dan Johnson for whatever team ends up acquiring him, mostly like via waivers though I suppose it's possible for the A's to consummate a trade in the next 10 days. To whatever team does wind up getting their mitts on DJ, may I suggest that you also make sure Ryan Armbrust has plenty of tickets to your games, to ensure a steady stream of Johnson-smacked taters.