The Big Unit - Page 2

The Iceman Cometh · December 29th, 2006, 10:12 AM

Quote:

The man tanked it in Seattle in 1998. Period. End of Story. He was such an obnoxious weasel one of his own teammates beat him up in the locker room.

While Johnson wasn't pitching like himself for us in '98, his performance was still better than average. Personally, I think the guy gets a bad rap. I think the growing wedge between Randy and the front office led to his performance--- and I don't think it was necessarily intentional. Not everyone performs well when their employer won't give them a show of faith.

I'll tell ya one thing, my impression is that David Segui was hardly an angel in the clubhouse himself...

Wiggen · December 29th, 2006, 11:05 AM

Joey -You are correct, sir. It was David Segui. I didn't much care for Segui either, but reading between the lines of the story that made the papers, it sounded like Randy had taken his perpetual sulking just one step too far.

Ice - As far as his performance being better than average, my God, the man was the best left-handed pitcher in a generation! His performance should have been better than average! we had a right to expect more and to receive more. Houston fans certainly did.

If others want to overlook his total lack of professionalism there's not much I can do about it. I choose not to overlook it. He will make the Hall of Fame and will be recognized as perhaps one of the truly great pitchers of all time, but it can't erase the first four months of 1998 from my memory. It was his opportunity to show he was a man, and instead he came off as a sulking little boy.

Goose · December 29th, 2006, 03:47 PM

I pretty much ignore wins and losses about 95% of the time.

I'm not saying he didn't tank on purpose so that we would trade him, all I'm saying is that it's not like he was Joel Pineiro out there.

Wiggen · December 29th, 2006, 04:10 PM

I don't think the wins and losses are unimportant, but they clearly aren't as important as some other factors - ERA being one of them. ERA, while not perfect, is a pretty fair indication of a pitcher's effectiveness. An ERA reduction of over 3 runs per game from Seattle to Houston speaks volumes to me.

Slica · December 29th, 2006, 04:18 PM

Well maybe he was average on purpose?

He knws if he tanked completely to abysmal, maybe noone would trade for him (then again his track record may say otherwise)...or maybe he just didnt want the team to actually think he was tanking so he kept his head above the surface of bad...

Who knows, Segui was a roider...but thats awesome to find out.

Im not going to let up on Randy Johnson on the sole fact that Griffey gets ripped into way worse, and really he wasnt as bad as Johnson was.

Timberwolf · December 30th, 2006, 02:08 PM

Just because Randy Johnson is 6'10" and threw 98 mph didn't mean that he was mentally tough. I remember the guy crying on the radio because somebody in the front office didn't know that his father died and that somebody else didn't help him get his photographs published as a calendar. It is tough for anybody to play out their contract when your team has indicated that they don't want you any more. I think it is unfair to paint Randy as some kind of a saboteur in his last half season here. It is fair to paint him as a big baby.

With the help of 20-20 hindsight, it was sure stupid to not sign a Hall of fame pitcher to an extension when we had the chance.

Wiggen · December 30th, 2006, 04:14 PM

Could be the Mariners said they didn't want him any more because he announced publicly during his final season that his goal was to play for the Arizona Diamondbacks once his contract was up.

And Lo and Behold, that's exactly what the Big Eunuch did.

December 29th, 2006, 11:05 AM	#17 (permalink)
Wiggen Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5,230	Joey -You are correct, sir. It was David Segui. I didn't much care for Segui either, but reading between the lines of the story that made the papers, it sounded like Randy had taken his perpetual sulking just one step too far. Ice - As far as his performance being better than average, my God, the man was the best left-handed pitcher in a generation! His performance should have been better than average! we had a right to expect more and to receive more. Houston fans certainly did. If others want to overlook his total lack of professionalism there's not much I can do about it. I choose not to overlook it. He will make the Hall of Fame and will be recognized as perhaps one of the truly great pitchers of all time, but it can't erase the first four months of 1998 from my memory. It was his opportunity to show he was a man, and instead he came off as a sulking little boy. Last edited by Wiggen; December 29th, 2006 at 12:34 PM.

December 29th, 2006, 03:47 PM	#18 (permalink)
Goose Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Aberdeen,Wa Posts: 1,190	I pretty much ignore wins and losses about 95% of the time. I'm not saying he didn't tank on purpose so that we would trade him, all I'm saying is that it's not like he was Joel Pineiro out there. __________________ http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/843...idensigfd9.png

December 29th, 2006, 04:10 PM	#19 (permalink)
Wiggen Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5,230	I don't think the wins and losses are unimportant, but they clearly aren't as important as some other factors - ERA being one of them. ERA, while not perfect, is a pretty fair indication of a pitcher's effectiveness. An ERA reduction of over 3 runs per game from Seattle to Houston speaks volumes to me.

December 29th, 2006, 04:18 PM	#20 (permalink)
Slica Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 168	Well maybe he was average on purpose? He knws if he tanked completely to abysmal, maybe noone would trade for him (then again his track record may say otherwise)...or maybe he just didnt want the team to actually think he was tanking so he kept his head above the surface of bad... Who knows, Segui was a roider...but thats awesome to find out. Im not going to let up on Randy Johnson on the sole fact that Griffey gets ripped into way worse, and really he wasnt as bad as Johnson was.

December 30th, 2006, 02:08 PM	#21 (permalink)
Timberwolf Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Bellevue, WA Posts: 1,855	Just because Randy Johnson is 6'10" and threw 98 mph didn't mean that he was mentally tough. I remember the guy crying on the radio because somebody in the front office didn't know that his father died and that somebody else didn't help him get his photographs published as a calendar. It is tough for anybody to play out their contract when your team has indicated that they don't want you any more. I think it is unfair to paint Randy as some kind of a saboteur in his last half season here. It is fair to paint him as a big baby. With the help of 20-20 hindsight, it was sure stupid to not sign a Hall of fame pitcher to an extension when we had the chance.

December 30th, 2006, 04:14 PM	#22 (permalink)
Wiggen Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5,230	Could be the Mariners said they didn't want him any more because he announced publicly during his final season that his goal was to play for the Arizona Diamondbacks once his contract was up. And Lo and Behold, that's exactly what the Big Eunuch did.