Jim Johnson Today, 2013

[Ommaculate]

My optimism isn't because he went 1-2-3 (if it was, the Machado argument would be valid). My optimism is because JJ's pitches had movement we haven't seen in a while. He LOOKED better, regardless of the outcome, and you could tell he felt better after that first strike out.

If you just look at the box score, you could make an argument, "nothing has changed, it was just one outing." But the way he pitched in that outing lends me to hope he's turned a corner and his next outing will be more of the same.

I remember after his 4 blown saves in a row Johnson shut down the Blue Jays 1-2-3, and his stuff looked wicked. Everyone said he was back. Then he went right back to blowing saves.

[primetime]

The love fest everyone is having from last night is great! But it was not a perfect outing when you realize the A's had a leadoff hit without Machado's miracle play.

We are still not qualified for the wildcard right now, and have to win today and tomorrow to have a good chance of the playoffs. If Johnson was so filthy, why did Cespedes hit that rocket?

I am still not comfortable giving Johnson a 1 run lead. Not comfortable at ALL.

I know JJ has been brutal but you gotta give it up, he was nasty last night. 9 pitches, 8 strikes. A 3 pitch K to the lead off hitter, good late movement on the 2 seamer.

As far as the "rocket" the Cespedes hit, I guess that's in the eye of the beholder. He hit is fairly sharp but I wouldn't have called it a rocket but I guess that's just semantics. Plus, if Manny's not guarding the line, it's probably a routine play, or at least much easier than it was.

The thing to take away from JJ's outing last night is that he excellent command and neither of the hitters that put the ball in play were able to elevate it. That means that JJ had good downward action on the baseball.

Considering where we were with JJ about 10 days ago, I'll take last night's outing all day.

[OFFNY]

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JIMMY JOHNSON O (vs. RED SOX, 8/29)

IP:. 1 O(SAVE)

H:o 1

R:O 0

BB: 0

SO: 1

Pitches: 11 (8 Strikes, 3 Balls)

2013 ERA: 3.45

[25 Nuggets]

JJ looked good tonight. Any chance the rest is going to help him down the stretch?

[OFFNY]

JJ looked good tonight. Any chance the rest is going to help him down the stretch?

Maybe.

This is his composite line from his last 2 games.

JIMMY JOHNSON O (COMPOSITE PITCHING LINE, LAST 2 GAMES)

IP:. 2 O(2 SAVES)

H:o 1

R:O 0

BB: 0

SO: 2

Pitches: 20 (16 Strikes, 4 Balls)

[isestrex]

Sadly, the line never tells you anything about JJ. You have to actually watch his outings to see if he's flatman... or pigpen.

[Catch 8]

Sadly, the line never tells you anything about JJ. You have to actually watch his outings to see if he's flatman... or pigpen.

Yup, you pretty much know what you're getting after a few pitches. That being said, he looks ready to help us in a big way. If only he took his PFPs seriously.

[OFFNY]

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JIMMY JOHNSON O (vs. INDIANS, 9/04)

IP:. 1

H:o 1

R:O 0

BB: 0

SO: 1

Pitches: 12 (8 Strikes, 4 Balls)

2013 ERA: 3.39

[OFFNY]

.

JIMMY JOHNSON O (COMPOSITE PITCHING LINE, LAST 3 GAMES)

IP:. 3 O(2 SAVES)

H:o 2

R:O 0

BB: 0

SO: 3

Pitches: 32 (24 Strikes, 8 Balls)

[OFFNY]

.

JIMMY JOHNSON O (vs. WHITE SOX, 9/05)

IP:. 1 O(SAVE)

H:o 0

R:O 0

BB: 0

SO: 2

Pitches: 12 (9 Strikes, 3 Balls)

2013 ERA: 3.34

[OFFNY]

.

JIMMY JOHNSON O (COMPOSITE PITCHING LINE, LAST 4 GAMES)

IP:. 4 O(3 SAVES)

H:o 2

R:O 0

BB: 0

SO: 5

Pitches: 44 (33 Strikes, 11 Balls)

[slakattack]

Mo blew his save oppo. tonight, Jimmy closed them out 1-2-3....just sayin'

[birdcrazy]

Jim looks like he is trying to strike people out more, which I think is a good thing.

[OFFNY]

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JIMMY JOHNSON O (vs. WHITE SOX, 9/07)

IP:. 1

H:o 0

R:O 0

BB: 0

SO: 1

Pitches: 10 (8 Strikes, 2 Balls)

2013 ERA: 3.28

[OFFNY]

.

JIMMY JOHNSON O (COMPOSITE PITCHING LINE, LAST 5 GAMES)

IP:. 5 O(3 SAVES)

H:o 2

R:O 0

BB: 0

SO: 6

Pitches: 54 (41 Strikes, 13 Balls)