Can Nick Johnson Ever Really Slump?

I think I’ve probably visited Nick Johnson’s baseball reference page 100 times already this season.  It’s really a thing of beauty.  We all knew he would walk a lot, but I’m not sure anyone predicted what he’s done so far.  Going into Thursday’s game, he has a league-leading 18 walks.  We’re nearing the end of April and the Houston Astros as a team have the same amount of walks. As a consequence of all his walks, Johnson’s OBP is still over .400.  Yet, you hear every time he comes to the plate what a terrible slump he is in to start the year.  And yes, in terms of getting hits, he is in a terrible slump.  Thanks to all those walks though, Johnson is still a somewhat productive offensive player.  And if he does start hitting as his track record indicates he should?  Well, then he becomes extremely productive. You would think that by now no team would ever throw him a ball.  The thing is though, Johnson not only does not swing at bad p...