People forget, but a year ago, the big debate over Randy Johnson wasnt how many innings he’d throw, as much as how effective he’d be. On the heels of a career high 5.00 ERA in Yankee Stadium, analysts argued whether his terrible numbers with runners on base were a random fluke, injury related or a harbinger of age. With the Diamondbacks, we all heard that back surgery was "successful" and it was just a matter of time before RJ slid into the rotation. The real question, for almost everybody, was not "Would he pitch?", but "How well would he pitch?"

Fast forward to today.  Those concerns have completely reversed, due in part to Randy’s generally electric 2007 cameos – where, among other things, he whiffed an eye popping 72 hitters in 57 innings. Fans now believe Johnson can pitch effectively (the 5.00 ERA seems positively Precambrian), but worry whether he’ll pitch regularly.

Younger fans are starting to understand just how fragile Johnson is. I’m about Randy’s age, am also rather tall, endure sporadic back trouble, and my K:BB ratio is an outstan…ok, forget the last part…the point is it’s easier for a geezer like me to appreciate some of the age-specific physical challenges bearing down on Johnson. Two capacities that decline rapidly in middle age are wind and muscle strength, and world class athletes are no different. Only a few years removed from being the definitive Ironman, Unit’s now typically gassed by the sixth inning, if not sooner, and his once muscular fastball, while still formidable, has ebbed.

However, the primary challenge, at our age, is recovery time. On Sunday, I decided to jog on the canal near my house, and my knees and ankles were still upset about it on Wednesday. Randy, of course, supplies a much higher level of athleticism, but his demands are also greater – the point is we all need longer recovery periods following exertion as we age.   

Which brings us to how Arizona plans on utilizing their forty four caliber flinger. He was initially sandwiched between Webb and Haren, to exploit his "leftiness". Now, they may slide him to fifth, where he’ll start less often.  I think that makes a great deal of sense, even if he proves to be more "effective" than Doug Davis or Micah Owings. They, like Webb and Haren, are in one kind of race – to accumulate wins via the conventional five day rotational schedule. Johnson’s race is different, because his value and risk profiles are different from the vast majority of pitchers. He’s not in a race to accumulate innings or even to "pitch well" by his standards- he’s more in a race simply not to break down. Or at least he should be, because Randy’s value as a starter isnt tied to chucking 175+ innings or even dependent on pitching up to his norms.  Most of Johnson’s value is in just showing up. Being healthy enough, often enough to do his thing, whether that means five innings every fifth day, or six innings every sixth day. Not overworking his body every fifth day. Not pitching that extra inning to earn a win or avoid a non-decision. Just staying within the lines. Not. Breaking. Down.

Allowing Unit to pitch every fifth day, thirty plus starts at six plus innings per, may sound good, especially to a wild haired kook coveting 300 wins, but it will probably raise the old man’s risk for injury unnecessarily.  A more forgiving, abbreviated schedule might better maximize his season long value to the team – including potential playoff appearances.

In the 1930′s, the White Sox had a righthander named Ted Lyons. Fine starter, went to the Hall of Fame. Towards the end of his career, the Sox pitched him only on Sundays for four years, starting at age 38 – and he did great. 52-30 W/L, ERA+ seasons of 171, 137, 111, 173 – each campaign over 170 innings.   Sunday Teddy they called him.

If Johnson only pitched Sundays, he wouldn’t throw 170 innings – heck Lyons completed every one of his twenty starts at age 41!  But Randy might throw 130-150 innings, and if he threw anywhere near as well as Lyons, he’d be enormously valuable in that role, to a weak hitting team with a good bullpen in a very tight division.  Certainly more valuable than pitching characteristically well within a traditional rotation only to abruptly terminate all value with a midsummer crackup.

They say the popular Lyons became something of a Sunday tradition in Chicago, drawing big enthusiastic crowds, which seems to contradict studies that starters dont influence attendance much. But the ‘Sunday Teddy’ scheme ensured fans knew well in advance when Lyons would pitch, which might affect ticket buying psychology. If Johnson pitched only on one particular day of the week, each week, it might spur fan interest, at home and on the road.  You wouldnt have to look in the paper for pitching probables. For the fans, Sunday would be synonymous with Randy, and a black sabbath for those who swing bats rather than eat them.

Are they seriously going to wear red belts with white pants and red jerseys?

Who came up with these uniforms, Talbots?

I guess if you’re baseball royalty and make three or four thousand dollars per pitch, you can wear pretty much anything, or nothing at all. But few pitchers have relied so heavily over the years on their image, as has the Big Unit. And to that end, we feel Randy’s "look" simply cant do without this darling handbag to complete the ensemble.

(photo courtesy M. Spencer Green/AP)