300 Wins: Randy Johnson Will Not Be The Last

But I have to disagree with you. I just don’t see any of those guys making to 300. Sabathia is the only one I would even give an outside shot to get there.

None of those guys are even halfway there and probably won’t be halfway there until the end of next year.

I think most of the writers are right…this may be the last of the 300 winners for a long time.

I don’t see anyone you mentioned as having a chance to 300 wins. Barring injuries, contract squabbles, maybe, just maybe Sabathia or Santana might come close. Zambrano, doesn’t have a chance if he’s gonna beat up Gatorade machines, and get suspended/injured twice a year.

The guy is a horse, and he just might be big enough where he isn’t bothered by high pitch counts and lots of innings. If he ever figures out how to pitch in April, he could rattle off a number of 20 win seasons with the Yankees.

Outside of some genetic freak like Sabathia — maybe

is that everything you mentioned — fewer starts, fewer complete games — is still trending away from the pitcher

I think pitch counts, days off, etc… will only increase. The real work toward winning 300 is done in a players 20s and managers and GMs are not going to risk those players.

Lincecum seems to have those mysterious mechanics that protect him from injury, 29 wins so far, and he is 25. If he can rattle of some big seasons in that nice pitchers park of his he might make a run at it.

King Felix in Seattle has 44 wins at age 23. His problem will be bad teams and health, but you never know.

I think Big Z is a long shot, his shoulder just won’t hold up until age 41.

…Lincecum, Greinke, Peavy…of course they’re chances are better if they can be put on better teams, but their stuff is definitely good enough.

Also, it states that the Cubs make up game with Atl is June 22, which would mean the Cubs play 23 games in a row. I thought they couldn’t play more than 20 in a row??

last night. It was a traditional double header because the game was rained out on Wednesday, which Johnson was scheduled to pitch.

It rained through both games, at times very heavy. The first game was delayed for 45 minutes and they called the second game in the 7th. Johnson had a no hitter going into the 5th or 6th. Impressive that he pitched so well given that he was to start Wednesday, the make up game was delayed, and weather conditions were bad.

He almost didn’t get the win. The bases were loaded in the 8th after Johnson had been pulled and Adam Dunn at the plate. The count was 3-2 and Dunn took the pitch, which either bounced in the dirt (according to my drunk friend) or was REALLY low. A walk would have brought in the tying run and given Johnson a no decision. Dunn argued and every one gave the ump hell.

I like your point, Al, that wins are “the only one that are team-dependent.” I would add, in this instance, umpire dependent as well.

Has he said anything about that?

I don’t understand the logic of people who say it won’t happen again. There are clearly dramatic differences between the way starting pitchers are used today, and the way they were used in the 60s/70s, and even more dramatic differences when compared against the first half of the last century.

But even so, Clemens came of age in the modern era with 5 man rotations and specialized bullpens. So did Maddux, and Glavine and Randy Johnson. All four of those guys made it to 300 despite the changes being talked about. I don’t know that anyone on the current group will make it — and actually, if I had to bet on an active player, I’d go even younger to guys like Tim Lincecum or Felix Hernandez.

the debate comes up about if it will happen again. This is, what the 4th time in the past few years (Clemens, Maddux, Glavine, now Johnson) that the same argument comes up? It will happen, the only questions is who and when.

is Mark Prior.
 Really though, CC or “Z” if “Z” gets his act together.

Here’s a link (hope this works, it’s my first try) to an article from MLB.com in February about Prior. It’s a pretty sad read knowing his history here in Chicago.

FTW

I found all of my old baseball cards… it was like a treasure chest. And, included were an eBay store’s worth of Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Roger Clemens rookie cards.

I was so damn excited… all in the 300 club (Johnson was at 295, I knew he’d get there).

Then, I wondered to myself… wait a second… if I have 5 of each of these cards, they can’t be worth that much. Sure enough… I went online, and yuck. They really don’t have much value.

Chase Maddux is I think 12. Between his Dad’s and Uncle Mike’s coaching he should have the best shot.

FYI Mike Maddux ( along with his boss Nolan Ryan) have turned the Rangers pitching staff around by among other things not emphasizing pitch counts. They actually believe pitchers can throw complete games and young arms should start early throwing a lot of pitches. "You can’t go on hard numbers," Maddux said. "The hitters will let you know when you’ve had enough. The guys have bought into that. I think when we put pitch-count numbers on them, we put ceilings on them and limit them. So there’s no limits. Go out there and as long as you’re effective, it’s your ballgame. Keep going."

but if he at least pitches for us another 10 seasons with the same performance he has had throughout his career, then he will undoubtedly be the greatest player to ever pitch for the Cubs.

they used to post here constantly, what happened?

He seemed slightly overwhelmed by the attention at the press conference.

In other news, I’m sitting at the Goose Island pub in O’Hare. Had a double cheezborger at the Billy Goat for lunch. Hello, Chicago! See ya again on Sunday.

I kept score didnt drink and didnt smoke.. IT was the coolest thing I have ever seen.. I am getting the scorecard and tickets framed. I was one of around 600 that can say they saw the whole thing. Cool experience.