Johnson to start Tigers' opener
Trammell tabs righty as early choice for No. 1 slot
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Jason Johnson doesn't like the notion of a No. 1 starter.
He didn't want to be asked about possibly being the Opening Day starter. So
on Saturday, Alan Trammell took care of it by removing the "possibly" part.
Asked what would go into the decision on who starts Opening Day against the
Royals on April 4 at Comerica Park, Trammell answered that the decision has
essentially been made.
"At this point, I'm looking at Jason Johnson," he said. "Could that change?
Yeah, it could change. But I would hope not. That's how we're viewing it,
that Jason would go again."
Johnson will go again, then hope the rest of the year goes differently.
Trammell's view was not an expected one. Though Johnson made the Opening Day
start last season and pitched six scoreless innings for the win at Toronto,
that ended up being one of the high points of the worst season from a Tigers
starter. Though he remains the last starting pitcher to beat Twins ace and Cy
Young award winner Johan Santana, Johnson went winless after July 29 and
ended up leading the team with 15 losses.
At one point last season, Johnson said he wants to pitch like a No. 1
starter. Yet the most asked offseason question wasn't whether Johnson would
be the top starter, but whether he might start at all.
"I just think that he has the most experience," Trammell said, "and I'm
comfortable with what I've seen starting from when we saw him a few weeks ago
in Detroit to a couple days ago. He seems to be on a mission, and I'm
comfortable with that at this point. I'm throwing out the record and all
that. I just think that he wants it."
Johnson wants the regular assignment, yes. The Opening Day assignment, to
him, is just a date.
"If I get the ball every five days, that's all I care about," Johnson said.
"I don't care who's the Opening Day starter. As long as I get the ball every
fifth day, that's all I want, and I'll go out there and win."
All Johnson takes the opening assignment for is a vote of confidence that
Trammell thinks he can win, too. The righty has spent much of the offseason
trying to build that confidence, no matter what unusual decisions it takes.
To finally address the longtime questions about his stamina, Johnson searched
for a new workout regimen to help him maintain his shoulder strength over a
full season. Instead of lifting or running, he found it in power yoga -- his
wife's idea.
"It was harder than any workout I've ever done in my life," he said. "I was
drenched -- shorts, shirt, everything. It worked. Two and a half weeks later,
my shoulder didn't hurt at all. All the stiffness was gone."
To finally solve his long-running early-season blisters, he took a suggestion
from pitching coach Bob Cluck. His theory: It wasn't how Johnson was throwing
early on, but what he was throwing. Specifically, Cluck had the idea that
throwing sinkers caused Johnson's blisters, which usually lasted a month into
the season until his finger developed a callous. Instead of telling Johnson
to stop throwing sinkers, Cluck told Johnson to throw more of them -- lots
more -- before he got to camp.
Considering how many pitchers are desperate enough to try pickle juice to
solve blisters, no idea was too crazy.
"When I first started throwing sinkers this offseason, my finger started
bleeding a little bit," Johnson said. "I kept throwing and kept throwing, and
now it's pretty much like a callous now. I'm hoping that works. You never
know, but so far so good."
That was all. No overhaul of Johnson's repertoire, no change of arm motion or
pitch selection. Having the stuff has never been the question with Johnson.
It's what earned him a two-year, $7 million contract in the first place, and
what kept him in Detroit's rotation.
"He has got very good stuff," Trammell said. "I'll tell you what, if you rank
it on a scale with the scouts on a given night, there were some times last
years where it was outstanding, like Opening Day, the game that he beat
Santana before the All-Star break and a few others that were just like gems.
But again, it can't be just periodic.
"He's capable. How much is he capable? I don't know, but he's certainly going
to get that opportunity and we certainly need him. But again, when I look at
the staff and how it shapes up, he would be the guy to be the front guy."
It's not an obvious idea. Yet if a Major League pitcher finding power yoga
can work, so can a comeback story earning an Opening Day assignment on the
third day of Spring Training.
"I look at it this year as they signed me to win, just like every other
starter they get," he said. "That's my job, and I'm going to pitch my best.
It's still a team game. I can't do much about wins and losses. As long as I
pitch my best and keep my ERA down, that means I'm doing my job. I'm doing
what I'm paid to do. We'll see what happens at the end."
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