http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/04cactus/0224dbacks0224.html
Something to prove
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 24, 2004 12:00 AM
TUCSON Some words of warning to those who might suggest Randy Johnson is incapable of another Cy Young season or that at 40 years old, coming off major knee surgery, the big left-hander is washed up and ready for the scrap heap:
Don't say it. Don't even think it. At least not until you see him pitch again.
Johnson may not have any cartilage left in his ailing right knee, but he walks, talks and looks just like the Randy Johnson of old. The surliness is still there. So is the swagger. And this might not matter at all, really, but it appears he's starting to let his hair grow long again.
Careful, it looks like the Big Unit is back.
Time will tell, of course, but during his first interview session of the spring, following rain-shortened workouts Monday at the Kino Sports Complex, Johnson said he is confident he can return to the elite form Diamondbacks fans have come to expect from the five-time Cy Young Award winner.
"If I came here and said I'm going to win five games this year, we'd all be a little disappointed," Johnson said. "But I'm completely optimistic that I'm going to get back to where I was prior to the surgery.
"Am I going to win 24 games and strike out 300 (hitters)? Personally, I'm not going to say that in front of all of you. But I'd like to think I can do that, sure. How many people are going to do that? I can't think of anybody in the league that will do that."
Johnson paused and thought.
"Well, except maybe me."
Before last year's frustrating campaign, which limited him to 18 starts and a 6-8 record, Johnson averaged 20 wins and 354 strikeouts in his previous four seasons. In 2002, he became just the second pitcher in history to collect four consecutive Cy Young Awards, joining Greg Maddux (1992-95).
He is only one year removed from his Triple Crown season of 2002, when he led the National League in wins (24), ERA (2.32) and strikeouts (334).
Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly knows Johnson's knee is a major question mark, as is the injured right elbow of star left fielder Luis Gonzalez. But when it comes to Johnson, expectations are fairly simple.
"I expect him to show up, take the ball every fifth day and go out there and compete his (butt) off like he always does," Brenly said.
But at 40 and with a bum knee, can he still pitch the way he did three or four years ago?
"I wouldn't put it past him," Brenly said.
Here's why: Johnson, who ranks fourth on the all-time strikeout list with 3,871 and enters his 16th major league season with a lifetime record of 230-114, has saved his thunderous arm by developing a more complete pitch repertoire. He has incorporated a two-seam fastball and has added a mix of off-speed pitches to complement his nasty-as-always fastball and slider.
The overriding intangible, however, remains Johnson's fierce competitiveness and the wild-eyed intensity that long ago became his trademark.
"What's it like to catch Randy? It's unbelievable," Diamondbacks catcher Robby Hammock said. "He's so intense and he just gets after it. You see it in his face, with that scowl and that demeanor. Everybody feeds off of that."
Johnson, entering a two-year, $33 million contract extension, would enjoy nothing more than to have any potential skeptics eat their words. Actually, he would prefer to jam the words down their throats.
That's what he did when they said back surgery in 1996 would end his greatness. The next year, Johnson went 20-4 for Seattle and finished second in ERA and Cy Young voting. That's what he did after a rocky first half with the Mariners in 1998, rebounding by going 10-1 following his trade to Houston.
Some critics thought he was over the hill and a health risk when Arizona opened the vault and lured him to the Valley, but they were obviously wrong, too. The knee, he says, is as good as it's going to get.
"I've been sidetracked a little bit. It was a bump in the road. But now let's move on," he said.
No other National League West team did as much as Arizona to improve in the off-season, Johnson said. Yes, the starting rotation took a serious jolt with the November trade of Curt Schilling to Boston, but the additions of Roberto Alomar and Richie Sexson will provide more run production, he said.
"The bottom line is, I'm healthy, we've made some nice additions to the team, and everybody should be fairly optimistic about this organization doing well," Johnson said.
Something to prove
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 24, 2004 12:00 AM
TUCSON Some words of warning to those who might suggest Randy Johnson is incapable of another Cy Young season or that at 40 years old, coming off major knee surgery, the big left-hander is washed up and ready for the scrap heap:
Don't say it. Don't even think it. At least not until you see him pitch again.
Johnson may not have any cartilage left in his ailing right knee, but he walks, talks and looks just like the Randy Johnson of old. The surliness is still there. So is the swagger. And this might not matter at all, really, but it appears he's starting to let his hair grow long again.
Careful, it looks like the Big Unit is back.
Time will tell, of course, but during his first interview session of the spring, following rain-shortened workouts Monday at the Kino Sports Complex, Johnson said he is confident he can return to the elite form Diamondbacks fans have come to expect from the five-time Cy Young Award winner.
"If I came here and said I'm going to win five games this year, we'd all be a little disappointed," Johnson said. "But I'm completely optimistic that I'm going to get back to where I was prior to the surgery.
"Am I going to win 24 games and strike out 300 (hitters)? Personally, I'm not going to say that in front of all of you. But I'd like to think I can do that, sure. How many people are going to do that? I can't think of anybody in the league that will do that."
Johnson paused and thought.
"Well, except maybe me."
Before last year's frustrating campaign, which limited him to 18 starts and a 6-8 record, Johnson averaged 20 wins and 354 strikeouts in his previous four seasons. In 2002, he became just the second pitcher in history to collect four consecutive Cy Young Awards, joining Greg Maddux (1992-95).
He is only one year removed from his Triple Crown season of 2002, when he led the National League in wins (24), ERA (2.32) and strikeouts (334).
Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly knows Johnson's knee is a major question mark, as is the injured right elbow of star left fielder Luis Gonzalez. But when it comes to Johnson, expectations are fairly simple.
"I expect him to show up, take the ball every fifth day and go out there and compete his (butt) off like he always does," Brenly said.
But at 40 and with a bum knee, can he still pitch the way he did three or four years ago?
"I wouldn't put it past him," Brenly said.
Here's why: Johnson, who ranks fourth on the all-time strikeout list with 3,871 and enters his 16th major league season with a lifetime record of 230-114, has saved his thunderous arm by developing a more complete pitch repertoire. He has incorporated a two-seam fastball and has added a mix of off-speed pitches to complement his nasty-as-always fastball and slider.
The overriding intangible, however, remains Johnson's fierce competitiveness and the wild-eyed intensity that long ago became his trademark.
"What's it like to catch Randy? It's unbelievable," Diamondbacks catcher Robby Hammock said. "He's so intense and he just gets after it. You see it in his face, with that scowl and that demeanor. Everybody feeds off of that."
Johnson, entering a two-year, $33 million contract extension, would enjoy nothing more than to have any potential skeptics eat their words. Actually, he would prefer to jam the words down their throats.
That's what he did when they said back surgery in 1996 would end his greatness. The next year, Johnson went 20-4 for Seattle and finished second in ERA and Cy Young voting. That's what he did after a rocky first half with the Mariners in 1998, rebounding by going 10-1 following his trade to Houston.
Some critics thought he was over the hill and a health risk when Arizona opened the vault and lured him to the Valley, but they were obviously wrong, too. The knee, he says, is as good as it's going to get.
"I've been sidetracked a little bit. It was a bump in the road. But now let's move on," he said.
No other National League West team did as much as Arizona to improve in the off-season, Johnson said. Yes, the starting rotation took a serious jolt with the November trade of Curt Schilling to Boston, but the additions of Roberto Alomar and Richie Sexson will provide more run production, he said.
"The bottom line is, I'm healthy, we've made some nice additions to the team, and everybody should be fairly optimistic about this organization doing well," Johnson said.
