"Johnson's determined to help out in bullpen

The Giants are slipping from contention, but Randy Johnson remains determined to contribute as a reliever in the final weeks.

Even if the team fails to realize its playoff dreams, Johnson wants to leave on his terms.

"I felt I owed it to everybody in this clubhouse to come back," said Johnson, who will throw a simulated inning Monday. "I owed it to the ownership, and I owed it to myself.

"It would be easy at age 46 to say, 'OK, well, I've got a torn rotator cuff. I'm not coming back.' But I didn't do that when I had any of my knee surgeries or back surgeries. Why should it be different now?

"After 21 years of coming back from things, I don't want my last memory to be walking off with a trainer."

Johnson won his 300th game June 4 at Washington and hasn't appeared since July 5, when he aggravated his shoulder on a swing and couldn't pitch through the discomfort.

He threw off a mound Monday, Wednesday and Friday and said his shoulder was stiff but bounced back well. He won't have a gauge on his stuff until he gets feedback from hitters, though.

"If I blow it out, I blow it out," Johnson said. "I'm getting paid to do a job, to help these guys in whatever way I can. Will one inning help? I don't know, but hopefully there's time to find out.""