Saturday, September 23, 2006

Randy Jumped the Shark

As soon as he signed his Yankee contract, Randy Johnson jumped the shark. I'm not even waiting for this game to finish before I post this. I don't know if the Bombers will catch fire and come back, but at 5-0 I've seen enough. I've seen enough of Randy Johnson and his creaky back for a lifetime. If there was any way to void his contract for 2007, I'd do it without thinking twice. We're stuck with him though, and it's painful to contemplate him in an important playoff game giving up the season.

For the record, I'd be more comfortable with Darrell Rasner starting a playoff game than I am the Intensive Care Unit. I'm not joking. If I were the Yankee manager, I'd go Wang, Mussina, Rasner before I trotted Johnson out as the sacrificial 6'10" lamb.

In better news, the Red Sox were officially eliminated from the playoffs today, so I guess we've got that going for us. See you tomorrow. Go Yanks.

4 comments:

Matt said...

This was a frustrating game, but it's not a meaningful one. As for Randy, while he has been sorely inconsistent this year, he has shown moments of brilliance. Particularly in his two starts against Detroit this year- 5 2/3 scoreless innings, and a no-hitter into the 7th. He's just as likely to give up a clunker in the playoffs, of course, but that was true of Kenny Rogers, Hideki Irabu, David Cone (2000 version), Ted Lilly, Kevin Brown, Jaret Wright, and Jeff Weaver, the #3/#4 starters the Yankees have had in the past. And while Rasner and Karstens have pitched well so far, I don't trust them in the playoffs either. It could be worse, you could be resting your playoff hopes on the likes of Boof Bonser and Scott Baker, or on an aging Kenny Rogers and a fading Justin Verlander.

"And he said, 'Oh, ah, it won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.' So I got that going for me, which is nice."

Anonymous said...

Watching Randy makes me think Moose and Wang will have to combine 11-0 or go >88 IP and <2.00 ERA between them in the postseason.

After those guys, I don't trust the starting rotation. If one of them spits the bit, there's nobody to back him up except the other. If both of them lose a game in the same series...The offense better show up.

Anonymous said...

The problem is RJ does not have a 5 ERA, he has a 2 ERA and an 8 ERA. If he was always a 5 guy, I would agree. He can almost singlehanded make us either a winner or a loser in the PS.
Who will we see?

The RJ picture is FANTASTIC. One of your best. Should be mass produced and hung all over NY if he screws us in the PS.

The caption could be:
A bad back, but a 17 million dollar smile.

P.S. Aside from Guiel and CMW, the Yanks weren't so hot yesterday. The team, especially Jetes, is tired. This is a natural letdown after clinching. It won't last into the PS.

Mike Plugh said...

I'm not worried about the offense at all. They'll hit.

I'm not all that concerned about the post-season either. We could lose to any of those teams, but going in we are probably the best club. We just have to perform.

Johnson isn't so much a dud, as he's a guy I could never like from day one, and I will never like even if he pitches a perfect game in a World Series Game 7. I will thank him and celebrate, but I will never like him.