Like all young pitchers, Brian Johnson has been waiting for a long time to make his Major League debut.
And in the last week and a half, the wait has seemed longer for Johnson. He was called up 11 days ago to fill the spot vacated by Clay Buchholz (strained flexor muscle) was placed on the DL. At the time, he was told he might pitch out of the bullpen, but no need arose in those first two games.
Then, when the second-half rotation was put together, Johnson drew the final spot, five games into the current road trip. Johnson will finally get his turn Tuesday night in Houston.
"I didn't know what was going to happen when I got here,'' he said of his promotion on July 11. "(The) layoff has been abnormal. For me, I wanted to get off the mound as much as possible because my last start (scheduled for Pawtucket) was the day I got called up. So this is a little different.''
He's been restless enough during the current series that teammates have begun to mock him.
"I'm starting to get made fun of,'' said Johnson with a smile. "(Guys were asking) 'Can you not sit still, man?' I was throwing bunts to myself off the wall just to stay busy. I don't like not being active. During games, I'm looking for stuff, I'm talking to Torey (Lovullo), talking baseball. I just
love baseball. I'm very, very happy to be here.''
Last weekend, when he was in the bullpen, he mentally prepared himself to be used.
"I didn't know what to expect,'' he said. "I felt like, whenever the (bullpen) phone would ring, my heart would jump down to my stomach. I felt like I was going through to throw my first (warmup) pitch into the visitor's bullpen.''
Johnson noticed some rust when he threw a bullpen session recently, but attributed that to not having pitched since July 6.
"I haven't really been off the mound much in the last 16 days,'' Johnson said. "So some of that was getting comfortable (again) and getting in a rhythm. I've tried to stay on my five-day routine as much as possible.''
He's spoken with teammate Eduardo Rodriguez, who advised him that the nerves he feels Tuesday will go away after he faces his first hitter.
"He said once you get that first hitter out of the waythat's like having a million pounds off your shoulders and then you settle in,'' Johnson relayed. "I think he said in his pre-game warmup, he was all over the place and then once he got that first hitter, he was fine. Wade (Miley) pulled me aside yesterday and he's someone I've looked up to since spring training. He said, 'Go out there and have fun; go up, just attack and do what's gotten you here.' ''
Johnson threw a simulated game last Thursday to Ryan Hangian, who will catch the debut Tuesday.
"We got on the same page,'' said Johnson, noting that he threw to Hangian a few times in spring training, too. "He knows my stuff.''
And in the last week and a half, the wait has seemed longer for Johnson. He was called up 11 days ago to fill the spot vacated by Clay Buchholz (strained flexor muscle) was placed on the DL. At the time, he was told he might pitch out of the bullpen, but no need arose in those first two games.
Then, when the second-half rotation was put together, Johnson drew the final spot, five games into the current road trip. Johnson will finally get his turn Tuesday night in Houston.
"I didn't know what was going to happen when I got here,'' he said of his promotion on July 11. "(The) layoff has been abnormal. For me, I wanted to get off the mound as much as possible because my last start (scheduled for Pawtucket) was the day I got called up. So this is a little different.''
He's been restless enough during the current series that teammates have begun to mock him.
"I'm starting to get made fun of,'' said Johnson with a smile. "(Guys were asking) 'Can you not sit still, man?' I was throwing bunts to myself off the wall just to stay busy. I don't like not being active. During games, I'm looking for stuff, I'm talking to Torey (Lovullo), talking baseball. I just
love baseball. I'm very, very happy to be here.''
Last weekend, when he was in the bullpen, he mentally prepared himself to be used.
"I didn't know what to expect,'' he said. "I felt like, whenever the (bullpen) phone would ring, my heart would jump down to my stomach. I felt like I was going through to throw my first (warmup) pitch into the visitor's bullpen.''
Johnson noticed some rust when he threw a bullpen session recently, but attributed that to not having pitched since July 6.
"I haven't really been off the mound much in the last 16 days,'' Johnson said. "So some of that was getting comfortable (again) and getting in a rhythm. I've tried to stay on my five-day routine as much as possible.''
He's spoken with teammate Eduardo Rodriguez, who advised him that the nerves he feels Tuesday will go away after he faces his first hitter.
"He said once you get that first hitter out of the waythat's like having a million pounds off your shoulders and then you settle in,'' Johnson relayed. "I think he said in his pre-game warmup, he was all over the place and then once he got that first hitter, he was fine. Wade (Miley) pulled me aside yesterday and he's someone I've looked up to since spring training. He said, 'Go out there and have fun; go up, just attack and do what's gotten you here.' ''
Johnson threw a simulated game last Thursday to Ryan Hangian, who will catch the debut Tuesday.
"We got on the same page,'' said Johnson, noting that he threw to Hangian a few times in spring training, too. "He knows my stuff.''
