He may be last in this unit of measure

With San Francisco Giants pitcher Randy Johnson closing in on victory No. 300, the question has arisen: Is this the last time we see someone join the 300-win club?

In this era of five-man rotations and strict pitch counts, the conventional thinking is that Johnson will be the last. Nolan Ryan, president of the Texas Rangers and a proponent of returning to four-man rotations, holds out slim hope for the endangered species.

“With the way pitching is being used nowadays, I think it probably lessens the chance of it,” Ryan said last week in a national conference call.

“I think there’s some validity to that sentiment, because every time you go to the pen, it increases the chances of losing the game. There’s a chance one of those guys won’t be on that day, and it takes the decision out of that particular starter’s hands.

“Whether they start using starters differently because pitching is at such a premium, I don’t know.”

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Trivia time

Who was the first major league pitcher to win 300 games?

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What he really meant

Chris Ferrell of the San Antonio Express-News offers two possible interpretations for what Terrell Owens told reporters when he joined the Buffalo Bills for mini-camp training sessions:

“When Terrell Owens said, ‘My focus is really trying to get this offense down and see what ways I can help the team,’ he was talking about:

“a) Learning plays during his first practice with the Buffalo Bills.

“b) Figuring out which plays aren’t designed specifically for him and ordering them removed from the Bills’ playbook.”

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Locker room views

Cleveland Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro, on fans who think the team’s problem is lack of leadership since CC Sabathia and Casey Blake moved to other teams: “This isn’t football. I don’t know if you’re looking for a guy to come out and scream and yell and throw stuff around the room and get pompoms.”

No, a baseball clubhouse is a rather unusual place where many characters spend large amounts of time before and after games. One such character is Baltimore Orioles first baseman Aubrey Huff, who likes to pass the idle time in the clubhouse with his clothes off.

“I like shock value,” Huff said. “I like messing with people. If I don’t feel like doing an interview that day, I’ll just get buck naked and most reporters won’t come up to me.”

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Trivia answer

Pud Galvin in 1888.

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And finally

U.S. captain Fred Couples, on the challenge of designing Presidents Cup uniforms for golfers ranging in age from 23 to 48: “Anthony Kim wears his pants down by his ankles, and Kenny Perry wears them up to his chest.”

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