Checking in on Larry Johnson

After his release from the Kansas City Chiefs, many experts expected that Larry Johnson could be waiting for some time before another team would take a chance on him.

However, Johnson's wait was much shorter than expected. The running back who was forced out of Kansas City for his off-putting behavior signed with the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday. The AFC North-leader made the move in an attempt to add depth to its backfield.

NFL veteran contracts are guaranteed at the start of the regular season, so Johnson will still collect $4 million from his Chiefs' contract and an additional $255,290 -- the veteran minimum for the remainder of the season -- from the Bengals.

MLB players slow to embrace social media

According to MLB.com’s Connect with the Game, there are 25 confirmed Major Leaguers on Twitter — less than the total number of teams in the league. Major League Baseball's verification process seems very simplistic, so even some of the verified accounts seem suspect. Clearly, though, there are only a small number of MLB players who embrace this form of social media. 

Player	Twitter Account	Club
Jeremy Affeldt	@JeremyAffeldt	Giants
Carlos Beltran	@carlosbeltran15	Mets
Coco Crisp	@coco_crisp	Royals
Carlos Delgado	@carlosdelgado21	Mets
Chad Durbin	@ShowcaseU	Phillies
Curtis Granderson	@detroit_tigers	Tigers
Jason Grilli	@GrillCheese49	TBD
Blake Hawksworth	@BlakeHawksworth	Cardinals
Dirk Hayhurst	@TheGarfoose	Blue Jays
Orlando Hudson	@orlandohudson	Dodgers
Matt Kemp	@mattkemp27	Dodgers
Matt LaPorta	@Gator4God	Indians
Seth McClung	@73_MC	Brewers
Jamie Moyer	@moyerfoundation	Phillies
Joe Nathan	@JoeNathan36	Twins
David Ortiz	@davidortiz	Red Sox
Roy Oswalt	@royoswalt44net	Astros
Ryan Rowland-Smith	@hyphen18	Mariners
CC Sabathia	@cc_sabathia	Yankees
Joakim Soria	@joakimsoria	Royals
Nick Swisher	@nickswisher	Yankees
Mark Teahen	@ESPY_TEAHEN	White Sox
Rich Thompson	@chopper63	Angels
Todd Wellemeyer	@todalion	Cardinals
C.J. Wilson	@str8edgeracer	Rangers

Also, the Reds' Chris Dickerson co-founded @weplaygreen.

Of these players only a few actively use Twitter on a regular basis:


Durbin, Grilli, Kemp, Moyer, Swisher, Thompson, Wilson, Teahan, Hawksworth, and Crisp

A few others update regularly, but only these players are involved, informative and often amusing. They answer fellow Twitter users’ questions and post links to share with their followers. They also post about baseball and their lives in general multiple times each week. 

Below is further analysis from Mashable writer Gail Sideman:

"A common element among many of those who actively use Twitter is that they have other interests to share with their followers in addition to baseball. Durbin, for example, operates a business separate from his day job, and pitcher Jamie Moyer uses his Twitter page to publicize his charitable foundation that helps children who experience physical, emotional, or financial distress.

Other players who have joined Twitter recently, haven’t seemed up to the task of maintaining their activity. I would have put NY Yankees’ pitcher CC Sabathia on the “doing it right” list if I considered only his Spring Training months, for example. He posted his first tweet on January 20 and was on a roll through the spring, but has not written anything since April 30, despite having 23,000 followers and a teammate (Nick Swisher), who is one of the most active pro ball players on the service. To be fair, Sabathia does appear to invite fans to stay up-to-date with his official web page, and some other players, such as David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox, use Facebook or MySpace fan pages to post up-to-date reports.

Still, it’s a mystery why so many Major League Baseball players do not take advantage of the quick hit opportunity to connect with valuable fan bases via Twitter. It’s true that baseball isn’t as much of a star-driven sport as basketball or golf, but especially for teams in smaller markets, encouraging players to connect with fans on Twitter could help put people in the seats.

Only when players start to follow the lead of compatriots like Nick Swisher, who inform, entertain and share, will they be able to benefit from growing fan bases simply because they take the time to interact. Next year Twitter might even help someone make the All-Star team."