Arizona's pitching suffered a stunning blow this week as the Diamondbacks placed LHP Randy Johnson on the disabled list and RHP Curt Schilling underwent an appendectomy. Following his last start, in which he gave up a career high 10 runs in 4.2 IP, Johnson's knee became swollen. The Diamondbacks used a variety of treatments on him, including anti-inflammatory medication, ice, and compression therapy, while also twice draining fluid from the knee.

Johnson began to feel better, but he was still set to miss another start, so Arizona decided he should head to the disabled list. Now that he's on the DL, I expect them to slow down a bit, though with Schilling out, they won't want to move too slowly. If Johnson continues to improve, I expect he'll attempt a rehab start this weekend and try to rejoin the team in early May. Tests have yet to reveal any structural damage in the joint, so he doesn't seem likely to need surgery, but he could aggravate the injury and miss additional time.

Schilling began complaining about abdominal pain on Friday and underwent an appendectomy in St. Louis, where the Diamondbacks were in the middle of a road series, on Saturday. I think the Diamondbacks are kidding themselves if they think Schilling will be back on the mound after missing only one start. Unless they want Schilling bleeding from his side like Roy Hobbs in The Natural, Schilling should probably join Randy on the DL. I realize doctors have had a lot of time to refine this procedure, but the team should focus on giving him sufficient rest in advance to avoid any potential complications once he's returned.

Luckily, Arizona has several promising candidates to spot start while Johnson and Schilling are sidelined. RHP John Patterson should have broken camp with the Diamondbacks, but Arizona allowed his weak spring to distract them from the solid skills he displayed at AAA last season. Instead, they allowed RHP Oscar Villarreal to start the season as the fifth member of their rotation. However, Villarreal held that job for only one start before Arizona decided they preferred the work he'd done in the bullpen over the first week of the season.

Although he didn't pitch particularly poorly during his brief time on the roster, since he was the most recent addition to the pen, the Diamondbacks' demoted Scott Service and called up Patterson when Villarreal moved to relief. Unfortunately, Patterson compiled a 3:5 K:BB with 5 H and 2 HR allowed in 4 IP in his first start of the 2003 season. With other candidates waiting at AAA and a tired bullpen, Arizona chose not to exercise patience with Patterson and sent him back to the minors while calling up RHP Andrew Good.

The Diamondbacks drafted Good out of high school with their 8th round pick of the 1998 draft. He spent 1999 at A South Bend in the Midwest League and then missed 2000 when an elbow injury led to Tommy John surgery. Returning from surgery in 2001, Good split the year between A+ Lancaster in the California League and AA El Paso in the Texas League. He returned to AA El Paso last season and then began the 2003 season at AAA Tucson in the Pacific Coast League. The 23-year-old made his major league debut in relief of LHP Steve Randolph in the seventh inning of Arizona's April 8th game in St. Louis. Good faced only one batter, Mike Matheny, who popped out to end the inning. He's scheduled to make his first major league start in place of Johnson today. While he displayed strong skills at AA, I'm not certain he'll be able to carry those to the majors without spending more time in AAA.

Arizona called up RHP Brandon Webb to fill Johnson's roster spot. We discussed Webb earlier this month when the Diamondbacks reportedly weren't able to promote him because of roster rules. Over three starts at AAA this season, he's compiled a 17:9 K:BB with 18 H allowed in 18 IP for a 6.00 ERA. While his walk rate and lack of AAA experience concern me, his skills generally look solid. I particularly like his track record of keeping the ball in the park.

Unless one of them implodes, Good and Webb likely will both remain in the rotation until Johnson returns with whoever pitches better staying on as the fifth starter indefinitely. If as I expect Schilling hits the DL, Patterson probably will receive at least a spot start, which could put him back in the mix if he pitches well and the other two falter.

The Diamondbacks may also move RHP Miguel Batista from the bullpen into the rotation. Batista doesn't possess wonderful command of the ball, but he does a good job of keeping it on the ground and should be a solid substitute if needed. Using him is also preferable to stunting the growth of their prospects. Arizona does not appear interested in bringing in someone from outside the organization to bolster the rotation.

RHP Byung-Hyun Kim's move to the rotation has gone fairly well so far, but he is in danger of becoming part of the injury problem after taking a line drive off his right ankle in his April 14th start. While he made his last start and won for the first time this season, the outing really wasn't as strong as his other appearances and he complained of some lingering soreness in his ankle.