Commentary

Johnson vs. Atlanta and Porcello vs. Royals

Updated: May 26, 2009, 6:41 PM ET

By Tom Haberstroh | Special to ESPN Insider

Big Unit, little strike zone

Is this the end of the road for Randy Johnson? Granted, we're only a quarter of the way through this season, but the Big Unit hasn't been this bad since Tim Lincecum was in elementary school. He hasn't given hitters any reason to swing because he's no longer working the strike zone (47.1 strike-zone percentage). It's been 15 years since he has walked this many batters, and he isn't striking out enough batters to make up for the lack of command. Can he turn it around against Atlanta on Wednesday night? If the Braves' lineup was entirely made up of Jordan Schafer and Jeff Francoeur, he'd be golden. Unfortunately for Johnson, the Braves have several patient bats in that lineup. Pick him up if he's available, but remember, there's more to the Atlanta lineup than easy outs Francoeur and Schafer.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider