After a wildly swung at-bat sent Randy Johnson to an early shower against Houston on Sunday, the San Francisco Giants placed the future hall of famer on the 15 day disabled list with a strained shoulder.  Manager Bruce Bochy gave a two to three week estimate for a time of recovery with former starter Jonathan Sanchez taking his rotation spot and infielder Kevin Frandsen being recalled from Fresno to take fill his roster spot. 

Now, what does that mean for us? 

1.  A solid #2 on the year (and southpaw, too) is gone for several turns in the rotation.  Other than this last start (where he was injured), he’s pitched good on the season.  He will be missed in this capacity.

2.  Sanchez is back in the rotation.  He’s pitched well in the bullpen but poorly in the rotation.  We’ll see if he’s learned anything in the time away from starting.

3.  The role of rookie Ryan Sadowski is now more important.  Without Johnson, he’s now a #4.  Not meaning to pressure him, but it’s very important now that the first two starts weren’t flukes.

How Sanchez responds to this is very important.  If he flops, then perhaps they’ll need to go to AAA and grab Kevin Pucetas.  If he does well enough, then this bad news will be minimized.  I guess it’s all up to Sanchez (and his mental toughness) at this time.  Of course, Joe Martinez also might be back soon.  After all is said and done, if this is just a tweak and Johnson can come back 100%, then that will bode best for the Giants.