May 5, 200620 yr It was good to see JJ put in a strong performance in his first start of the season, giving up just one hit in five innings. I have been pulling for him to be a part of our rotation ever since the dust settled over the offseason. I think he will be able to hold onto his spot in the rotation for the remainder of the season and will be another young bright spot on our team this year, along with Hanley, Willingham and others.
May 5, 200620 yr Good to see they're taking it slow with him too. No sense in running up a high pitch count yet, especially with a big lead.
May 5, 200620 yr Superb first start for JJ. I'm sure it won't take him long to build up the arm strength to start.
May 5, 200620 yr With a comfortable lead in hand, it would have been interesting to see if he could have gotten to 80-85 pitches, which with him at 69 would have been a healthy inning of work. Oh well, hopefully there isn't an underlying injury concern we're not aware of.
May 5, 200620 yr Author With a comfortable lead in hand, it would have been interesting to see if he could have gotten to 80-85 pitches, which with him at 69 would have been a healthy inning of work. Oh well, hopefully there isn't an underlying injury concern we're not aware of. Kranitz stated from the outset he wanted JJ to get around 75 pitches and five innings pitched. That is close enough. I think this is more indicative of Girardi not wanting to overwork JJ as he works him into the rotation rather than any kind of injury.
May 5, 200620 yr JJ did great, u will see more innings next outing, alot of pitchers go through the 5 innings routine when first pitching when coming outta the bullpen or such things.
May 5, 200620 yr Strong showing for JJ he should make more pitches his next start...the game was in our hands anyway
May 5, 200620 yr JJ really has a beautiful slider. For some reason I just envision this guy as a future all-star closer. A Bob Wickman type.
May 5, 200620 yr JJ really has a beautiful slider. For some reason I just envision this guy as a future all-star closer. A Bob Wickman type. Interesting. Not a bad idea.
May 5, 200620 yr JJ really has a beautiful slider. For some reason I just envision this guy as a future all-star closer. A Bob Wickman type. Yeah, I threw that idea out a little while ago. I don't know how long he'd last in that role because it seems he's got walk issues and there are a few guys in the system, like Ryan Tucker, who have more live arms than JJ, but I think he (Johnson) could be a good two or three year option.
May 5, 200620 yr JJ really has a beautiful slider. For some reason I just envision this guy as a future all-star closer. A Bob Wickman type. Yeah, I threw that idea out a little while ago. I don't know how long he'd last in that role because it seems he's got walk issues and there are a few guys in the system, like Ryan Tucker, who have more live arms than JJ, but I think he (Johnson) could be a good two or three year option. Control improves with age, so he *could* work himself into the closer role. However, I'd like to see what he can accomplish as a starter first.
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