Randy Johnson Memories

Randy Johnson achieved career wins 296-300 in a Giants uniform, and we're proud he decided to share them with us. With Johnson's tenure with the Giants has been a short one, he is one opposing player we have enjoyed watching over the years. Here are a few Johnson moments that stand out in my mind.

• My first memory of Randy Johnson is during the 1993 All Star game when a fastball slipped from the Unit's fingers and flew over the head of John Kruk. Kruk had a new sense of fear when stepping back into the batter's box and proceeded to strike out swinging. In 1997, Johnson faced Larry Walker in the midsummer classic - a hitter who famously sat out on days he was to face Johnson. Showing that he has a sense of humor beneath that stern exterior, Johnson let one go over Walker's head, as well.
• Two Johnson moments that stand out for me both occurred in the playoffs and in relief. Johnson pitched three innings in relief on one days rest in game five of the 1995 division series against the Yankees. While he did allow a run in the top of the 11th, the Mariners scored two in the bottom half on a dramatic Edgar Martinez single. Johnson relieved Curt Schilling on zero days rest in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. He pitched the final 1 1/3 emerging the winning pitcher and sharing a co-MVP with Schilling. Said Schilling, "That relief appearance is everything you ever need to know about Randy Johnson."
• When the Mariners visited Candlestick in 1997, the inagural season of interleague play, Johnson looked as though he'd never swung a bat in his life. He still looks a bit like that, though I did once see him launch a hit to the centerfield wall at the 'Stick as a member of the Diamondbacks.
  

Video: Randy Johnson's Postgame Press Conference

It's All About the BB (Part Two)

A couple weeks back I said, "I have three words that will be the key to the Giants' success in 2009 - base on balls. If Giants hitters can coax a few of these each game, they will put themselves in a position to score runs and win games." Last night, the Giants took that statement and ran - I mean - walked with it. The Giants pulled off an 11-7 victory against the Washington Nationals. There were three home runs in this game - all off Nationals' bats. How did the Giants win this thing? By capitalizing on mistakes and drawing walks. The Giants' lack of base on balls has been frustrating me all season, but last night, I got what I was hoping for...

Bottom of the fifth, Willingham makes an error on what should be the last out of the inning. Travis Ishikawa is intentionally walked to bring up Randy Johnson. Johnson draws a walk to load the bases. Emmanuel Burris walks to bring in a run. Then, Edgar Renteria walks to bring in a run. After a pitching change, the free swinging Pablo Sandoval walks to bring in a run. Seriously, the Giants may launch an extra base hit every now and then, but these wins they've been bringing home lately have often been courtesy of walks and sacrifices, ie "small ball." So, I have to wonder, is this moneyball in action or an example of a team doing the little things. All I know is the Giants are 16-14 with one of the least threatening lineups in baseball.

But, hey, it's not all about walks...

-Travis Ishikawa needed to get something going, and he did, with three hits, including a double and 2 RBIs. He credits this to a fresh approach.
-Osiris Matos is the best hitter on the Giants - dude is batting 1.000 and had a key ninth inning RBI single. Unfortunately, he couldn't seal the deal on the mound in the ninth and was promptly sent to Fresno. Pitching struggles aside, the Giants could use that kind of offense.
-Some dude called the Big Unit notched win number 298, but that is not a big deal.

-W.B.

Let's Hear It For the Boy and Observations from the Past Week

By this point, there should be no doubt - Tim Lincecum is for real. After those two lackluster starts at the beginning of the year, he has picked up where 2008 left off. Even when he does not have his best - like he didn't against the Cubs - he is still the best. I appreciate how Lou Pinella conceded defeat before the game even began, omitting Ryan Theriot, Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Milton Bradley and Geovany Soto from his lineup card. Perhaps this will become a trend when Lincecum pitches? Perhaps we should pencil in Lincecum as the starter each game?

Bengie Molina gave his pitcher all he needed with a first inning, three run homer, but the Giants decided to throw a few more runs in for good measure. Listening to The Razor and Mr. T after the game, it was asked whether Molina was the Giants best free agent signing behind Barry Bonds. There is no doubt Molina has been an offense savior during his tenure with the Giants, and it might not be a bad idea to keep a vet like him around, while nurturing young Buster Posey into the majors.

The Giants are playing .500 ball and still haven't lost a series since their disastrous first road trip. Since we have not posted in about a week, here's a few things we noticed during that time:

-Barry Zito is totally clean shaven and it suits him well. When you're as well-groomed as Zito looks these days, it's a sign that you are confident and take pride in what you are doing. Zito has been money as of late, maybe not $126 million money, but still. Most impressive about 2009's Zito as compared to 2007 and 2008's Zito is that he has cut back on his walks and gone deeper into ball games. He still doesn't have a win but deserves 2 or 3.
-While we're comparing grooming habits to performance, let's talk about Brian Wilson. That new haircut of his is pretty frickin cool, simply enhancing his overall coolness. After his one blown save, Wilson has bounced back strong, twice having to get a 4-out save, while also pitching a scoreless ninth in a 0-0 game.
-Wilson needed to get a pair of four out saves, because Jeremy Affeldt was twice unable to finish the eighth. Let's hope Affeldt can get things back on track, because Bruce Bochy is already talking about replacing Bob Howry with Merkin Valdez as the eighth inning righty. If the Giants are going to have any shot this year, the bullpen has got to be solid.
-Jonathan Sanchez is still struggling with the mental game. Though in his defense - and Dunae Kuiper raised a similar point - I've always felt that a pitcher should be able to go out and give up three runs and still win. Unfortunately, with this offense, when you fall down 3-0 early, a comeback does not appear likely. "How about the offense picking up a pitcher every now and agin," Kuiper said. Agreed.
-Randy Johnson is at 297, going for 298 tonight.
-More Nate Schierholtz please.

Big Unit Throws Near No-No

And, finally! Giants pitchers are starting to throw just like we expected them to. Unfortunately, Giants hitters are continuing to hit just like we expected them to. In their best series of the year, the Giants took two of three from Arizona with stellar starting pitching and scoring-challenged hitting. Giants starters did not allow a run to Arizona in 21 2/3 innings.The big story of yesterday was Randy Johnson, who earned win number 296 if his career, his first as a Giant. Johnson had us on the edge of our seats carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Despite allowing a leadoff double, Johnson preserved his shutout, while Bob Howry and Brian Wilson carried the team the rest of the way. A thrilling game to watch from start to finish! The Giants mustered two runs - one on a sacrifice fly and one on a double play, both with the bases loaded. There were some positive signs for the Giants on the offensive front - there were five walks (one intentional), while Bengie Molina and Pablo Sandoval had multi-hit games. Unfortunately, they also struck out 11 times.

A quick bone to pick here. Following Saturday's loss, I read a blog post entitled Note to Sabean: Trade Brian Wilson, which stated, "The guy is a headcase. He’s not a competitor. His ERA is too high. He walks leadoff hitters. His trade value will never be this high again." First, Wilson has only had two real opportunities to prove himself this season and he is 2-for-2, facing the minimum in those games. While he does need to work on keeping the ERA down, the majority of his runs allowed come in non-save situations. Furthermore, when he has given up leads this season, they have been situations where he has entered with men on base, sometimes with zero margin for error. Why did the Giants lose so many games last year? The bullpen was a big part, but Wilson was a saving grace. Oh, and he comes cheap.

If the Giants plan to keep hitting like they do, pitching is going to have to be near flawless. Thankfully, today it was.

Starters in Midseason Form

Randy Johnson showed no butterflies facing his former team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, for the first time in today's exhibition game. Then again, Johnson doesn't seem to be the butterflies type. Against a lineup featuring most of Arizona's regulars, the Big Unit struck out seven of the twelve hitters he faced in three innings. 29 of his 42 pitches were strikes.

Johnson's performance was the latest in what has been a mostly positive spring so far for Giants' starters. The five pitchers expected to make up the team's opening day rotation have allowed just six runs in 17.1 innings, striking out 21 while allowing just four walks and one home run. Only Matt Cain (4 ER in 3.2 IP) has struggled, and he has been hurt by poor defense behind him. Tim Lincecum has retired 12 of the 13 hitters he has faced. Jonathan Sanchez struck out four in three innings in his only appearance before leaving to join Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic. Barry Zito struck out two and did not allow a hit over two innings in his first outing.

Yes, Spring Training numbers don't mean anything, and pitchers are usually ahead of the hitters this time of year. But at the very least, it's reassuring that we haven't seen any early meltdowns, such as we saw last year with Zito and Noah Lowry.

Notes
- The Giants beat the Diamondbacks 7-6. The offense rallied from a 5-0 deficit behind home runs from Eugenio Velez and Pablo Sandoval. After Johnson departed, almost all of the damage was done against non-roster invitee Ramon Ortiz, who had his second ugly outing, allowing five runs on seven hits in two innings. Justin Miller, Brandon Medders, and Osiris Matos each threw a scoreless inning before Luis Perdomo allowed a run in the ninth.
- Reliever Sergio Romo, who was roughed up in his only appearance this spring, was shut down for a week to 10 days with a sprained right elbow.