Johnson Won’t Rush To Rotation

A day after the Seattle Mariners got Randy Johnson back, he made it clear his mound persona - the “Big Unit” - is lagging behind.

“I went three months without pitching, two innings in Everett, two innings in the Kingdome isn’t enough,” Johnson said Wednesday. “I’ll be back at full strength, but I’m not there yet. September is more realistic than next week.”

Trades that acquired starting pitchers Jamie Moyer and Terry Mulholland may have eased the desperation of a team that felt it needed Johnson healthy - and starting every fifth day - to win the American League West.

“It’s not like last year, where we were so far behind, where we were beat up so badly,” Johnson said. “Our rotation is stronger this season: Mulholland, Moyer, (Sterling) Hitchcock, (Bob) Wells, (Bob) Wolcott, (Matt) Wagner if they need him. This season, we’ve got the luxury of letting me pitch my way back into shape while helping the team out of the bullpen.

“I don’t have to rush, and I won’t rush. This is like spring training - you don’t pitch five or six innings and then start the season.”

As for his return to the mound on Tuesday, Johnson said he made an effort to block out the emotional response of a boisterous Kingdome crowd delighted to see him back.

“Relief isn’t my role, and I had to keep my focus on getting ready to pitch, on how I was going to handle what I had to do,” he said. “I was looking at my feet, concentrating.”

And he was only partially successful in blocking out the cheers.

“It was nice, I was happy to get back in front of those fans again,” he said.

Afterward, after he’d struck out four batters and retired six of seven men he faced, Johnson said he wasn’t surprised.

“No one’s expectations for me are as high as my own,” he said. “I’ve worked hard to get back, I’ve worked hard to be the pitcher I wanted to be. There are a lot of fastballs left in my arm, and a lot of frustration to deal with. I’m not back yet, but I will be.”

Johnson said he will need two days off between appearances, meaning his next relief work could come as soon as Friday.

Notes

Andy Sheets was almost a Mariner again Tuesday, brought from the Rainiers - who were in Salt Lake City - back to Seattle to fill in for third baseman Jeff Manto. Turned out Sheets wasn’t needed: Manto had a rash, not the chicken pox team trainers initially thought he had. “They quarantined me,” Manto said. “They put me in a little room for about 3 hours.” Said trainer Rick Griffin: “We had a half-dozen guys scared to death, because they’d never had chicken pox.” Manto, rash and all, was in the Wednesday lineup. Sheets was to rejoin Tacoma.

Jay Buhner’s 100th RBI on Tuesday was, indeed, the earliest any Mariner had ever reached that plateau - in terms of games played and the date. A year ago, Edgar Martinez reached 100 RBIs on Aug. 31, the earliest in franchise history, in the team’s 115th game. Buhner got to 100 in the team’s 111th game.

Coming up

Cleveland closes out its series with Seattle this afternoon in the Kingdome with a 3:35 game. Chad Ogea (5-3, 6.24) will start vs. Mulholland (0-0, 4.05).