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Quite a catch Johnson was Marlins' prime offseason acquisition
Throughout spring training, CNNSI.com will feature regular dispatches from Sports Illustrated staffers assigned to scout camps in the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues. By Jeff Pearlman, Sports Illustrated TEAM: Florida Marlins SITE: Viera, Fla. WEATHER: Gray skies and a mellow breeze. Perfect workout climate. PLAYER I SAW WHOM I REALLY LIKED AND WHY: Charles Johnson. With the unconditional deification of fellow catchers Pudge Rodriguez and Mike Piazza, the baseball world has sort of forgotten about Johnson, who is back with the Marlins after two-plus seasons with the Dodgers, Orioles and White Sox. For lack of a better word, Johnson is a stud. His 31 homers and 91 RBIs last year were career highs, and he is the perfect cool-headed defensive whiz to handle Florida's young staff. Best of all, he took less money to return to his pro roots. "Getting Charles here was huge," says manager John Boles. AROUND THE HORN
Luis Castillo,
2B
"There are lineups more potent than ours," said Boles. "But
Charles makes us much better. He can hit anywhere from fourth to fifth to sixth.
In a perfect world we'll have five guys with 100 RBIs. That's
utopia."
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