Will Carroll gives his take on the Randy Johnson injury situation in his latest installment of Under The Knife.

From the very first pitch, Johnson was not extending, appearing instead to shorten his stride to reduce stress on that damaged front knee. Watch Johnson’s leg--it’s nearly straight. He’ll either “pop up” on his follow-through, getting taller, or rotate to the third base side. Both actions take the energy that normally heads to the plate in a delivery and redirects it. While this is taking some of the pressure off the knee, it’s taking velocity off of the ball, and adding stress to the elbow and rotator cuff. Adding insult to literal injury, Johnson’s changed mechanics are also inconsistent, leading to his newfound control problems. It's notable that his release point seems to change, at least according to the MLB.com video. Video obtained from scouting sources and then seen through the Dartfish program makes this even clearer. Johnson’s release point is more than inconsistent--it's almost random, adding stress to the shoulder. Fastballs from the normal slider release point and sliders from a higher ¾ point are consistent only in their ineffectiveness.

The key here is the knee. Johnson isn’t complaining about it, but it seems that Johnson is either due for a refill on his Synvisc, or the treatment is no longer effective enough to keep him effective. He’s too crafty and talented to write off without another couple of starts, but you don’t have to be an expert to see when Johnson’s on. You probably saw it last night in your own way, but I’ll give you an easy key--watch the front of his jersey. When it pops out hard, as shown on the cover of “Saving The Pitcher,” Johnson is okay. Surprisingly, the gloveside shoulder seems to be okay, despite previously reported problems.

Will has mentioned this earlier and I commented on it then. Of course, the last few outings would seem to add credence to Carroll's theory. Hopefully, those knees are being considered as a source of the problem and if he's not healthy, put him on the DL. I would rather have a healthy Randy for the second half rather than an inconsistent Randy all year.

There are other interesting points in the article about other players including pointing out that Coco Crisp has been bedridden for several days with an illness and that Carl Pavano will get a start in Double-A Trenton on Friday.

Credit to Dave Pinto from Baseball Musings for the link.