2006 was his highwater mark in games played with 146

Although being only a .277 career hitter, he has a good OBP of .402The departure of Hideki Matsui and the stalled talks with Damon have the Yankees looking for someone to be a consistent DH.Johnson has a propensity for winding up on the shelf at least once a season.He has only averaged 390 plate appearances per year and actually missed the entire 2007 season. 2006 was his high-water mark in games played with 146.The $5.5million he presumably will get in 2010 is very high for the expected return on the investment.Can you expect any more than what you have seen in the pastMatsui signed with the Los Angeles Angels for a reported $6.5M one-year deal. Somebody help me.I am trying to see if there is only a million-dollar difference in the past performances of these two men.I say the gap is wider than that.If they could pay that much for a player such as Nick Johnson, why couldn’t they have shelled out an extra $1M for GodzillaJohnson’s defense is a liability. That, coupled with Mark Teixeira playing first base for several years to come, leaves Johnson nowhere but being a DH.Maybe the Yankee brain trust sees more in this deal than I do.I just firmly believe that much money could buy a much better player.What are your thoughts Please visit my website where this article was first published.. By Anupreeta Das Stocks Mergers & Acquisitions Funds News ETFs News Private Capital Media SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Technology companies mayhave wooed rivals with alluring, pricey buyout offers in 2008,but this year, nothing says sexy like safe deal-making.

When they assess opportunities to buy rivals, companieswill be more cautious, preferring to do deals that don't use upall their cash, and where the target company has a healthy,cash-generating business that can be digested painlessly. That means 2009 could well be the year of small- andmedium-sized deals, bankers and venture capitalists said. There could be a sprinkling of multibillion-dollaracquisitions, especially if Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) resurrectsits bid for Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O), but supersized plays will makeup a smaller percentage of the volume of technology deals thisyear, compared with the past five years, they said. Bankers said they are thus gearing up for business in the"middle market" loosely defined as deals below $500million. "Large, cash-rich strategic companies are unlikely to makelarge, transformative acquisitions," said Jeff Bistrong, whoheads the technology group at investment banking firm HarrisWilliams Rather, he expects more "bite-sized" acquisitions. "Most (companies) will keep as much dry powder andliquidity as they can because of the indeterminate duration ofthis downturn," Bistrong said. A TRICKLE OF SMALL DEALS Technology bankers said there won't be too many deals inthe first few months of the year, but the pace will pick upmodestly in the second half as values of target companiesplunge further.

Even then, most deals will range between $50 million and$250 million, he said. Such deals even if buyers have the money often carry huge integration risks, which companies areunwilling to undertake in a market in which growth prospectsare dull Big banks like J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and CreditSuisse, which traditionally go after the meatiest deals, willbe fighting "with the mid-market (banks) for sub-$200 milliondeals," said the head of the West Coast technology group at alarge bank. The banker declined to be identified because thecomment relates to the firm's strategy.