Randy Johnson is 45 years old. He doesn’t throw nearly as hard as he did a decade or two ago. But the lanky lefty for the San Francisco Giants can still get the job done, as evident by his performance on Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
In the first four innings, Johnson was perfect. Going into the seventh, he still had a no-hitter. Although he lost his no-hit bid in the seventh, Johnson had by far his best start of the 2009 baseball season. In seven innings, Johnson gave up one hit while striking out seven batters.
Thanks to Johnson’s work on …read more

It’s not wise to irritate the Big Unit. That’s almost what Doug Mientkiewicz of the Pittsburgh Pirates did Monday as Arizona Diamondbacks starter Randy Johnson felt that Mientkiewicz took too long to get into the batter’s box. Though the minor altercation did not lead to fisticuffs – it did empty the benches and bullpens.
While I’m not surprised that something like this happened (seeing that many hitters take their time), it was Mientkiewicz’s words after the game that caught my eye.
After the game, Johnson played off the incident, saying: “It didn’t bother me at all. If it would’ve, [Mientkiewicz] …read more

Today on the Thursday 10, I am going to post the top 10 current players I’d like to see become managers one day. And no, there will be no catchers on this list, because that would just be too realistic. On with the list!
10. Randy Johnson – The Big Unit – What a site it would be for Randy Johnson to walk out to trade lineup cards and go over ground rules. The 6-10 lefty would make for great television to see him running out to argue a call with an umpire.
9. Scott Rolen – One can …read more

There are few moments in sports that are truly scary. A NASCAR driver doing flip after flip after flip at 180mph, a NHL player getting slashed across the throat with a skate, and a batter getting drilled in the bean by a 100mph fastball immediately come to mind. But what about the umpire?
If you hadn’t seen it yet, umpire Kerwin Danley was drilled in the jaw by a Brad Penny fastball. While he did lose consciousness for a brief period, he was overall fine — besides the fact that he kissed a fastball.
Things like this can hurt, of …read more