SAN FRANCISCO -- Randy Johnson, who has been out for nearly two months with a torn rotator cuff, said Sunday that his goal is to be ready to pitch out of the Giants bullpen in about two weeks.
"I never envisioned myself being a reliever, because I always wanted to pitch seven or eight innings, but at this point in my career, my shoulder may not be able to tolerate that," Johnson said.
Johnson said he's is not going to have surgery in the offseason to repair the tear, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's ready to announce that this would be his final season.
"I haven't got that far yet," he said. "I'm taking it one day at a time."
SAN FRANCISCO -- Randy Johnson has a tear in his rotator cuff and won't even touch a baseball for at least three weeks, meaning the best-case scenario is now for him to return to the Giants rotation in early September. The Giants moved Johnson to the 60-day disabled list, to make room on the 40-man roster for Ryan Garko, so Johnson is not even eligible to return until Sept. 4.
The update came on Tuesday, a day after Johnson underwent an MRI and an exam by the Giants' doctor. The news is certainly not good for a team that is competing for the wild card based almost solely on the strength of its pitching staff.
General manager Brian Sabean said recently that the Giants are not likely to acquire any pitching help before the deadline because offense is a more pressing need. He reiterated that point on Monday, after announcing the Garko deal. Sabean said the Giants had a list of "six-to-eight" hitters still in focus before the deadline, none of them first basemen.
MLB Power Rankings:Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.
Well, I'll tell you one thing: baseball ain't boring, folks. At least if you're in the middle class anyway; the upper crust is (somewhat) starting to establish itself across MLB's ranks and the bottom portion of the league is certainly holding steady. But in the middle, well, goodness. We have a lot of would-be title contenders. How's your semi-crappy team faring in the all-important MLB FanHouse Power Rankings this week? Find out after the jump.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That the Phillies calmed a lot of nerves this weekend. The reigning world champs haven't looked quite like themselves for most of the season, but they had plenty of reason to be optimistic after completing a three-game sweep of the Mets Sunday.
Philadelphia entered the series with a 13-22 record at Citizens Bank Park, but won three straight at home against a hated rival. That wasn't the only positive sign. Jimmy Rollins, who has been slumping all season, belted a leadoff homer against New York ace Johan Santana in the 2-0 sweep-clinching win and Brad Lidge, who has blown six saves this year, struck out the side to lock up the victory.
NEW YORK – Thanks in part to the influence of a 300-game winner, and the brother of a 300-game winner, the Rangers no longer have to try to out-slug people.
In the most remarkable turnaround of the season, Texas' pitching staff is actually pretty good, with a 4.46 ERA after shutouts Thursday and Friday and allowing three runs Saturday. If the Rangers can keep it there all year, it would mark the first time since 1993 the franchise had an ERA better than 4.50.
Not coincidentally, Texas leads the AL West at 35-26, the second-best record in the league.
"This is my third year here," right-hander Brandon McCarthy said, "but in two years I got sick to death of hearing, 'Texas pitchers stink. Texas pitchers stink.'
"Now we can turn those tables a little bit, be the group that maybe changes that whole mindset. It would be an awesome accomplishment."
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Everyone knows the No. 1 prospect in Tuesday's draft (and if you don't, read this). But after Washington selects Stephen Strasburg, things get less precise.
"Anybody from [No.] 2 to 15 could be just as good as the other guy," an executive from an NL team with a high pick told FanHouse. "It's really a strange year because it is in the eye of the beholder."
For example, Arizona State right-hander Mike Leake has been discussed as high as No. 3 overall, to the Padres. But he's more likely to go in the middle of the first round, no lower than Arizona's picks at 16 and 17.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That journeyman Marco Scutaro is quietly making a bid for the All-Star Game. The Blue Jays shortstop had three more hits in a 9-3 victory over the Royals on Friday. It was Scutaro's eighth multi-hit game in his last 11 games, during which he's hitting .417.
For the season, Scutaro is hitting .302 with a league-leading 45 runs. Discounting Tampa Bay's Jason Bartlett, who is injured, Scutaro is second only to Derek Jeter among AL shortstops in average, homers (five) and RBI (26). Scutaro, 33, is on pace for career highs in all three categories.
He has no chance of outpolling Jeter in fan balloting for the starting spot, so he ought to be campaigning with his fellow players. Players vote for most of the backups, with a few final spots on the teams filled out by the managers, and fans voting for the last spot.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
The Mets are beginning to look like the Patriots when it comes to injury information. Just a couple of weeks ago, I told you to be worried about Jose Reyes' bum leg when we found out he had a "calf strain." Thursday night, the team confirmed Reyes has a torn right hamstring tendon and this is believed to be something new. Excuse me for being cynical, but this is the latest in a long line of sketchy diagnoses. Let's take a look at what else New York bungled, shall we ...
SAN FRANCISCO -- Even though Randy Johnson was the one who was pitching, catcher Dave Valle still woke up the next day with a sore left shoulder.
Valle, the Mariners' primary catcher in the early '90s, was the man who had to handle Johnson when he was more Wild Thing than Big Unit.
"The fastball would soar up and away (to righties) and if you'd catch it at the wrong angle, it would feel like your arm is going to be pulled out of the socket," Valle told FanHouse. "Then he'd throw that slider down at the back foot. So that was a lot of territory to cover for a catcher ...
"He was a rough day at the office for a catcher. He was throwing 100 mph and didn't have a real good idea where it was going."
I covered Randy Johnson as a beat writer for eight seasons: 1999-2004 with the Diamondbacks and then 2005-06 with the Yankees. (We both moved East the same winter, by coincidence.)
So I figure I saw about 230 of Johnson's starts – hey, I deserved a day off once in a while – and more than 100 of his 300 wins. Off the top of my head, here are the top 10 Randy Johnson moments I witnessed in those eight years:
1. Perfection (May 18, 2004) Twenty-seven up, 27 down at Atlanta. And after this game, Johnson even smiled. His 117th and final pitch, a called strike to Eddie Perez, was 98 mph. His 14 strikeouts were second-most ever in a perfect game, and at 40, he was the oldest ever to be perfect. "I don't think my stuff has been any better than it was today," Johnson said.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Randy Johnson, who has been out for nearly two months with a torn rotator cuff, said Sunday that his goal is to be ready to pitch out of the Giants bullpen in about two weeks.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Randy Johnson has a 
Starting Five
NEW YORK – Thanks in part to the influence of a 300-game winner, and the brother of a 300-game winner, the Rangers no longer have to try to out-slug people.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in 
Starting Five
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
I covered 
