April 12, 1997

Randy Johnson, in talking to the Globe's Bob Ryan, bestowed The Big Unit Seal of Approval on John Wasdin after today's game (``I'm very impressed with that Wasdin. He has lots of composure. He acts as if he's not overwhelmed about being in the major leagues. And he acts as if he's not overwhelmed by any situation.''), and Wasdin's performance did indeed bathe all the day's negatives -- the lack of offense, the self-destruct pill the Sox took in the 10th inning -- with warm rays of optimism. This was his second performance against the Mariners in less than a week, and if he'd been fooling them with smoke and mirrors last Sunday you'd expect a team of such veteran, dangerous hitters to catch up with him this time around. Instead, he was even more impressive. Says Johnson: ``Usually what happens is that someone will go through our lineup once or twice and our guys will start talking and comparing notes and they will get to that guy the third or fourth time. That's not the case with Wasdin.'' Certainly not; today, the Rodriguezes and Griffeys and Martinezes were getting their seventh and eighth shots at him and still coming up empty.

I don't want to make more of this than it deserves, especially since I've been tooting Wasdin's horn for so long now that this could easily be mistaken for self-congratulatory, ain't-I-grand? indulgence. But there are a few things to remember here:

• We've been waiting for someone in the Avery/Sele/Wasdin group to step forward and take command of the staff. All have pitched pretty well so far -- if you consider Avery's Houdini-like escapes from the precipice of disaster to be good pitching -- but Wasdin is by far the most impressive of the bunch. The Sox need someone at the head of the rotation; Wasdin has broken from the starting blocks into the (admittedly early) lead.
  
  
• This could help lower the heat on Dan Duquette, and maybe even lower it considerably. There isn't a Boston fan alive who doesn't claim to be willing to trade one of those patented Red Sox right-handed sluggers for a good starting pitcher; for once, a Sox GM did just that. That the Duke looked at Wasdin and saw a good starting pitcher -- rather than a junkballing bum, which is how many others viewed him -- could also help restore his fading reputation as a judge of talent. (Especially since Mike Gimbel never attempted to take credit for Wasdin's acquisition.)
  
  
• This could weaken Mo Vaughn's "we-need-stars-to-win" stance and lend credibility to the front office's offseason strategies.