Is Johnson the new Captain Chaos?

[OriolesMagic83]

I'm not sure Johnson is one of the top 20 relievers in the AL, but I would bet that he's going to the All-Star game. Closer has to be the easiest job for a reliever because they are almost never expected to come into a game w/ men on base. I think O'Day is our best closer candidate. Maybe switch O'Day and Johnson for a week and see how it works.

[Norfolk orioles]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/gamelog/_/id/28531/jim-johnson only pitched 3 days in a row twice.

No.....tonight would be the third time. One in April, earlier this month and then tonight.

Try again.

[Norfolk orioles]

I'm not sure Johnson is one of the top 20 relievers in the AL, but I would bet that he's going to the All-Star game. Closer has to be the easiest job for a reliever because they are almost never expected to come into a game w/ men on base. I think O'Day is our best closer candidate. Maybe switch O'Day and Johnson for a week and see how it works.

He'll be nowhere near the all star game.

[Kerry]

At some point during the bottom of the 8th inning--it was before the Orioles took the lead and it may have been before they tied the game, I'm not sure--the telecast showed Johnson warming up in the bullpen. I was really surprised to see that JJ was evidently going to enter the game in the ninth (possibly even if the O's hadn't tied or taken the lead) not simply because he had pitched the previous two nights, but because he'd thrown 23 pitches in each outing. Even the 1-2-3 inning on Monday was a 23-pitch appearance. And Tuesday night, of course, there were baserunners all over the place. I assumed that he would be "unavailable" for tonight's game. I really thought that Matusz would come back out for the ninth--again, regardless of the score--given that Brantley and Giambi (two left-handed hitters) were due up to start the inning.

Since the epic blown save at Toronto on May 26, on balls in play through Wed. night's game, JJ has generated 25 ground balls and 13 balls in the air, a GB/FB ratio of almost 2:1. He hasn't allowed a home run in his last 18 appearances. In the 13 appearances prior to Tuesday night, he walked one batter, but has walked four (one intentional) in the past two games.

For the most part, he certainly does appear to have repaired things that had spiraled out of control during the stretch of blown saves back in May, culminating with that game on the 26th. His GB/FB ratio during the bad stretch was roughly 1:2; he's reversed that and now is generating ground balls at the same rate as he was in 2011-12. I'm inclined to believe that last night was a combination of fatigue and "one of those things." The walks are bothersome but I'm encouraged that he's allowed exactly one fair ball to be hit in the air over the past two appearances.

I would be inclined to avoid pitching Johnson on three consecutive days going forward with the possible exception of those occasions when he's had extremely low-pitch outings in the first two games of a three-day stretch. I certainly anticipate that he won't be pitching tomorrow, regardless of the circumstances.

(Personally, I can't stand the whole closer system that has overtaken MLB over the past couple of decades, but I've long since abandoned any hope that anyone in a position of influence (i.e. any manager) is going to challenge it.)

[olehippi]

Just because Jim Johnson is the closer doesn't mean he has to close out every game where he can notch a save. He has shown that he is susceptible at times, especially if overworked a little. Buch has to learn to look out for the warning signs.......like Tuesday nights performance when his pitches were up and he was wild with his fastball. After seeing that, why would Buck even consider using him again tonight, especially for a 3rd consecutive day? Showalter has to designate someone as a backup closer for those situations.

Jim Johnson is a huge asset for the Orioles, and I just don't want to see him morph into Pedro Johnson as a result of being overworked.

[OFFNY]

Just because Jim Johnson is the closer doesn't mean he has to close out every game where he can notch a save. He has shown that he is susceptible at times, especially if overworked a little. Buch has to learn to look out for the warning signs.......like Tuesday nights performance when his pitches were up and he was wild with his fastball. After seeing that, why would Buck even consider using him again tonight, especially for a 3rd consecutive day? Showalter has to designate someone as a backup closer for those situations.

Jim Johnson is a huge asset for the Orioles, and I just don't want to see him morph into Pedro Johnson as a result of being overworked.

I have said this numerous times, and I believe that it ought to be true for just about every major league team, not just the Orioles.

I have no problem with a primary closer, but that doesn't mean that he is (or should be) the only pitcher that is capable of finishing close games.

I would like to see something like this at the end of each season:

Johnson - 35 saves

Hunter - 7 saves

O'Day - 5 saves

Patton - 2 or 3 saves

Matusz - 2 or 3 saves

Remainder of the Bullpen - 2 or 3 saves

[CA-ORIOLE]

And pretty much everyone said that was going to lead to regression.....which is exactly what we are seeing.

Well, signficantly increasing his K rate wouldn't lead to regression. The regressison is due to other factors....like a much lower GB rate for one.