News
Well-rested Unit takes first try at 300th win
Giants lefty starts today against organization that drafted him
By Chris Haft / MLB.com
06/04/09 1:56 AM ET
WASHINGTON -- Excess rest isn't necessarily a good thing for a starting pitcher. But in Randy Johnson's case, he might be able to cope with his prolonged inactivity as he pursues victory No. 300. Given Johnson's age -- 45 -- and the vast experience that has helped him adjust to various on-field challenges, pitching with a few extra days' rest shouldn't excessively hamper him. |
Specifically, Johnson will work on seven days' rest, three more than usual, when he confronts the Washington Nationals in the first game of Thursday's doubleheader. Johnson's track record in such situations isn't remarkable, but it's certainly capable. In 67 career starts with six or more days' rest, Johnson's 28-22 with a 3.11 ERA.
Needing just one more triumph to become the 24th Major Leaguer to win 300 games, Johnson, who's no stranger to great accomplishments, wonders how he'll react once he finally reaches this milestone. "I don't know what anything's going to feel like until it actually happens. I'm grateful that I'm in this position," said Johnson, who has won five Cy Young Awards and a World Series ring, ranks second all-time with 4,843 strikeouts and has thrown two no-hitters, including a perfect game in 2004. The Giants are thrilled to be along for the ride. Seventeen of Johnson's teammates were not with the club when Barry Bonds broke the career home run record in August 2007. So Johnson's milestone promises to provide a special thrill. "He quite possibly could become the last 300-game winner, unless they go back to four-man rotations and eliminate some people from the bullpen ... [or] 'The Freak' [Tim Lincecum] stays healthy and keeps doing what he's doing," Giants center fielder Aaron Rowand said. "You look at what it takes to win 300 games -- 15 wins for 20 seasons or 20 wins for 15 seasons? I mean, it's just ridiculous." Yankees lefty and Bay Area native CC Sabathia agrees that Johnson could be the last to 300."I don't think anybody's ever going to do it again," Sabathia said. "I think it's just impressive that he can pitch as long as he has and not really change his style much. He's kept his velocity and kept his style of pitching. So it's kind of unbelievable."
"It's going to be exciting," manager Bruce Bochy said of Johnson's start Thursday. "We'll all be waiting with anticipation."
The last pitcher to win 300 games wearing a Giants uniform was Christy Mathewson, who accomplished the feat for the New York Giants in 1912. Gaylord Perry pitched for the San Francisco Giants for the first 10 years of his career, but he won No. 300 as a member of the Seattle Mariners. Warren Spahn and Steve Carlton had already joined the 300 Club before they joined the Giants.Johnson also will seek to be one of the few pitchers to notch No. 300 on his first try. Since 1952, 11 pitchers have joined the 300 Club, but only four joined on their first attempt -- Spahn, Carlton, Perry and Tom Seaver.
When he takes the mound Thursday, Johnson will renew the singular, almost malevolent sense of concentration that he brings to each start. His snarling visage continues to register his barely controlled fury on the mound. Even when he's not pitching, his tendency toward solitude and avoidance of banal clubhouse hijinks cast the impression of an exceedingly serious man.
"I'm all about winning and always have been," said Johnson, who signed a one-year, $8 million free-agent contract with the Giants before this season. "That's one reason why people perceive me as surly or whatever, because that's all I think about." Johnson's demeanor is not an act."He is the most competitive pitcher I've ever caught," said Damian Miller, a frequent batterymate of Johnson's from 1999-2002 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. "One guy who was close was Tim Hudson. But the Unit kind of separates himself."
Adversity sharpened Johnson's focus. He endured back surgeries after the 2006 and 2007 seasons, increasing his appreciation for his craft and his determination to finish his career with his characteristic fervor. "Yeah, it's a game and there are a lot more things outside this game that are important -- family, life in general," Johnson said. "But I don't take this for granted, especially after having as many back surgeries as I've had, realizing that it could end at any time. That's one reason I'm very serious and wound kind of tight. I enjoy that. It's always made me pitch a little bit better." At 42, Red Sox veteran Tim Wakefield, who has 184 career wins, is Johnson's junior by just three years."I'm barely getting to 200 right now," Wakefield said. "He's pitched a lot longer than I have, but I have a lot of respect because I know what it takes. Especially when you are our age. It's harder to stay in shape. He's gone through a lot more injuries than I have, but it's a lot harder to stay in shape and to pitch effectively when you're not feeling good, and he's been able to do that.
"Just that milestone -- 300 wins for a pitcher. That's amazing when you look at the competition every year. The most important thing he's always established is helping his team win. He did it with Seattle, Arizona. He's been the ace of his staff for a long time."
Now, Johnson's long and remarkable career arc intersects with the path of the Nationals -- the organization which, in its previous guise as the Montreal Expos, introduced him to professional baseball by drafting him in the second round in 1985.
He reached the Majors late in the 1988 season with the Expos and initially was regarded more as a curiosity than as a budding star -- a 6-foot-10 left-hander who could throw nearly 100 mph yet had little or no idea of how to harness his stuff. "Randy and I used to laugh that for as many balls as I caught, there were just as many I had to chase," said Scott Bradley, one of Johnson's first catchers with the Seattle Mariners, to whom he was traded in 1989. Among Johnson's first Mariners teammates was center Ken Griffey Jr., another hugely talented yet raw performer at the time."No, I didn't think about Randy being a 300-game winner," Griffey said. "Think about how many guys have played this game."
One of them, Nolan Ryan, identified with Johnson's struggles as a fireballer striving to master himself. Ryan, who would join not only the 300-win club but also the Hall of Fame, pointed out to Johnson while pitching for the Texas Rangers in 1992 that he was landing on his right heel as he strode toward the plate in his pitching delivery. Fixing this mechanical flaw, which skewed Johnson's control, transformed him into one of baseball's elite pitchers almost overnight. Beginning with the next season, 1993, Johnson compiled a 175-59 record with a 2.73 ERA and 2,928 strikeouts in a 10-year span. He surely would have amassed more wins and strikeouts had the 1994 and '95 seasons not been shortened due to a work stoppage, and had he avoided a back injury in 1996 that limited him to 14 starts with Seattle. Johnson also won his five Cy Young Awards during this stretch, in 1995 with Seattle and 1999-2002 with the D-backs. He and Greg Maddux, who vaulted into the 300-win realm by defeating the Giants in 2004, are the only pitchers to win four consecutive Cy Young Awards. At 45, Johnson resembles Maddux more closely than ever. Johnson's fastball hovers in the low-90 mph range -- still respectable, but not nearly as overpowering as it once was. To survive, Johnson has relied on varying his pitches and trying to locate all of them precisely. "His command of the outer portion of the plate has gotten better," said Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones, whom Johnson struck out three times May 27 in victory No. 299. "He used to be fairly predictable about where he's going to throw sliders and fastballs. Now he's got those other pitches and he's not [throwing] as hard. He's less predictable." And still valuable. "The big guy's still got it. There's no doubt about it," Rowand said. "Like I've been telling you all year, I'm glad he's on our side and we don't have to face him anymore." Pitching matchupGame 1
SF: LHP Randy Johnson (4-4, 5.71 ERA)
Johnson allowed one run over six innings and walked none May 27 against the Atlanta Braves and, on his third try, secured his 299th career victory. The veteran is 0-2 with an 8.50 ERA in four road starts this season. WSH: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (2-2, 6.07 ERA)
The rookie right-hander should be glad May is over, as he allowed five runs or more in all but one of his six starts during the month. His last time out, he allowed five runs in five innings of work on eight hits, as he took the loss against the Mets in a 7-4 contest at Citi Field. Game 2
SF: RHP Matt Cain (6-1, 2.31 ERA)
Giants hitters gave Cain four runs in his last start Friday against the Cardinals, and that was all he needed. In 6 1/3 innings, Cain allowed two runs (one earned) and struck out five. In a rotation that includes Lincecum and Johnson, it's Cain whom Bochy likes to call his "horse." Cain has pitched six or more innings in each of his 10 starts this season. He is 3-2 with a 2.36 ERA against the Nationals in his brief career. WSH: LHP Ross Detwiler (0-1, 4.80 ERA)
The Nationals' first-round pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft made his third Major League start his last time out, and it was a rude awakening for the young lefty. He lasted just four innings against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, in which he gave up five runs on 10 hits, including four doubles -- two by leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins -- and a triple by Pedro Feliz. Tidbits
The Giants had been 20-1 when leading after seven innings before giving up six runs in the eighth Tuesday to fall to the Nationals. ... Rowand's leadoff homer in the first Tuesday extended his hitting streak to 12 games, the second-best active streak in the National League. ... Jeremy Affeldt threw two wild pitches to one batter in the seventh inning Tuesday. Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio• Gameday
• Official game notes On television
• CSN-BA On radio
• KNBR 680 Up next
• Friday: Giants (Barry Zito, 1-6, 4.02) at Marlins (Chris Volstad, 4-4, 3.71), 4:10 p.m. PT
• Saturday: Giants (Jonathan Sanchez, 2-4, 4.75) at Marlins (Andrew Miller, 1-2, 4.76), 3:10 p.m. PT
• Sunday: Giants (Tim Lincecum, 4-1, 3.01) at Marlins (Anibal Sanchez, 1-4, 5.55), 2:05 p.m. PT
Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. Jeff Seidel contributed. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
