TheDOCTORdre
05-16-2006, 02:34 PM
One more time, Randy Johnson's eardrums were the vehicles of a crowd's retribution. He was trudging off the mound, his head down, his shoulders slumping to his knees, when a full Yankee Stadium house assailed him with a venomous jeer for the sake of old times.
This was the other night against the Red Sox, but it might as well have been Game 3 against the Angels last fall. Johnson had all but waved the white resin bag in surrender. On a night when the Yankees desperately sought the Unit of old, all Johnson could give them was an old Unit.
"It looked like I didn't have a clue out there," he admitted at his locker.
A day later, his pitching coach, Ron Guidry, said Johnson appeared far worse than clueless.
"To me," Guidry said, "he looks like a little lost boy."
In fact, Johnson looks like a washed-up superstar, a 42-year-old ace going on 55. After Sunday's loss to the A's, Johnson has a 7.17 ERA in his past four games, walking 12 and striking out 13.
But the numbers are the least of Joe Torre's concerns. He looks out to the mound and sees what everyone else sees: a Hall of Fame pitcher who no longer intimidates hitters, and who no longer clings to a blind faith in his own ability.
Far too often, Johnson wears the body language of defeat when things go wrong. He threw two wild pitches and walked five Red Sox batters in 3 2/3 innings, failed to protect a 2-0 lead, and failed to pick up Alex Rodriguez after A-Rod allowed the first Boston run to score on yet another big-game error at third.
Johnson couldn't strike out the No. 9 hitter, Alex Gonzalez, despite having him cornered with an 0-2 count. The Red Sox had so little respect for what the Unit has become, they turned loose Mark Loretta —Mark Loretta, people — on a 3-0 count with two on and two out and David Ortiz on deck.
This is the same Mark Loretta who was 3-for-40 against Johnson entering that at-bat, 3-for-40 until he turned on the Unit's 3-0 delivery and ripped one past A-Rod and down the left-field line.
"I don't remember the last time I pitched a good ballgame," Johnson said afterward.
"He doesn't know where to go," Guidry said.
So the Yankees sent him to the doctor. They told Johnson to go get an MRI, just to make sure his arm and shoulder were OK. The doctor said his arm and shoulder were OK. Instead of offering a prescription for what ailed Johnson, the doctor sent him back to the Yankees clubhouse and wished him good luck.
Torre acknowledged that Johnson hasn't pitched up to his standards, but maintained that he could still dominate and "strike out 12 on any given day."
Twelve? Johnson is averaging a grand total of four strikeouts per game, and hasn't topped eight all season.
"He has not pitched up to his standards," Torre allowed.
But here's the problem: It's not likely Johnson will ever again pitch up to his standards. He'll be 43 in September, and the vile forces of nature aren't about to let up. Chances are Johnson will remain a winning pitcher, a 17-14 kind of guy. Just not a guy who's worth the $16 million guarantee George Steinbrenner will pay him next year.
The Yankees have to make do now without Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield. In October, they'll have no shot at winning the World Series with Johnson as a better-than-average starter, nothing more, nothing less. Mike Mussina isn't getting any younger, either, and Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright have been free-agent busts.
It's why the Red Sox made out better when they landed Josh Beckett, Johnson's conqueror in Boston's 14-3 victory and the Florida ace who punched out the Yankees in the 2003 World Series, than the Yankees did when they landed Johnny Damon.
Pitching is everything, Torre knows. When Boston landed Beckett, "it made an impact on me," Torre said, "the same way Schilling going over there had (an impact) on me."
Johnson was supposed to have the same chilling effect on the Red Sox, and he did lord over them during last year's regular season. But now Terry Francona allows the likes of Mark Loretta to swing away against the Unit on 3-0 counts, with Ortiz on deck. If it's debatable that the Red Sox still respect Johnson, there's no question they no longer fear him.
Nobody does.
"I think he still can be a dominant force," insisted Brian Cashman, Yankee GM.
He's paid to say things like that. But more and more, all pinstriped endorsements of Johnson suffer a crisis of credibility.
The Big Unit has a bigger problem. His fastball doesn't explode anymore, and New Yorkers are only too willing to make his eardrums pop instead
This was the other night against the Red Sox, but it might as well have been Game 3 against the Angels last fall. Johnson had all but waved the white resin bag in surrender. On a night when the Yankees desperately sought the Unit of old, all Johnson could give them was an old Unit.
"It looked like I didn't have a clue out there," he admitted at his locker.
A day later, his pitching coach, Ron Guidry, said Johnson appeared far worse than clueless.
"To me," Guidry said, "he looks like a little lost boy."
In fact, Johnson looks like a washed-up superstar, a 42-year-old ace going on 55. After Sunday's loss to the A's, Johnson has a 7.17 ERA in his past four games, walking 12 and striking out 13.
But the numbers are the least of Joe Torre's concerns. He looks out to the mound and sees what everyone else sees: a Hall of Fame pitcher who no longer intimidates hitters, and who no longer clings to a blind faith in his own ability.
Far too often, Johnson wears the body language of defeat when things go wrong. He threw two wild pitches and walked five Red Sox batters in 3 2/3 innings, failed to protect a 2-0 lead, and failed to pick up Alex Rodriguez after A-Rod allowed the first Boston run to score on yet another big-game error at third.
Johnson couldn't strike out the No. 9 hitter, Alex Gonzalez, despite having him cornered with an 0-2 count. The Red Sox had so little respect for what the Unit has become, they turned loose Mark Loretta —Mark Loretta, people — on a 3-0 count with two on and two out and David Ortiz on deck.
This is the same Mark Loretta who was 3-for-40 against Johnson entering that at-bat, 3-for-40 until he turned on the Unit's 3-0 delivery and ripped one past A-Rod and down the left-field line.
"I don't remember the last time I pitched a good ballgame," Johnson said afterward.
"He doesn't know where to go," Guidry said.
So the Yankees sent him to the doctor. They told Johnson to go get an MRI, just to make sure his arm and shoulder were OK. The doctor said his arm and shoulder were OK. Instead of offering a prescription for what ailed Johnson, the doctor sent him back to the Yankees clubhouse and wished him good luck.
Torre acknowledged that Johnson hasn't pitched up to his standards, but maintained that he could still dominate and "strike out 12 on any given day."
Twelve? Johnson is averaging a grand total of four strikeouts per game, and hasn't topped eight all season.
"He has not pitched up to his standards," Torre allowed.
But here's the problem: It's not likely Johnson will ever again pitch up to his standards. He'll be 43 in September, and the vile forces of nature aren't about to let up. Chances are Johnson will remain a winning pitcher, a 17-14 kind of guy. Just not a guy who's worth the $16 million guarantee George Steinbrenner will pay him next year.
The Yankees have to make do now without Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield. In October, they'll have no shot at winning the World Series with Johnson as a better-than-average starter, nothing more, nothing less. Mike Mussina isn't getting any younger, either, and Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright have been free-agent busts.
It's why the Red Sox made out better when they landed Josh Beckett, Johnson's conqueror in Boston's 14-3 victory and the Florida ace who punched out the Yankees in the 2003 World Series, than the Yankees did when they landed Johnny Damon.
Pitching is everything, Torre knows. When Boston landed Beckett, "it made an impact on me," Torre said, "the same way Schilling going over there had (an impact) on me."
Johnson was supposed to have the same chilling effect on the Red Sox, and he did lord over them during last year's regular season. But now Terry Francona allows the likes of Mark Loretta to swing away against the Unit on 3-0 counts, with Ortiz on deck. If it's debatable that the Red Sox still respect Johnson, there's no question they no longer fear him.
Nobody does.
"I think he still can be a dominant force," insisted Brian Cashman, Yankee GM.
He's paid to say things like that. But more and more, all pinstriped endorsements of Johnson suffer a crisis of credibility.
The Big Unit has a bigger problem. His fastball doesn't explode anymore, and New Yorkers are only too willing to make his eardrums pop instead