Could Brian Bruney relieve Randy Johnson on the mound? It could happen next week, when Arizona’s Big Unit – on the Big Mend from his Big Knee Surgery – makes a start for the Tucson (Ariz.) Sidewinders, Bruney’s latest stop on the minor league circuit.

Johnson will get the nod against Sacramento July 3 in Tucson, the Pacific Coast League affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, as Johnson takes the mound for the first time since his May 1 surgery.

The D’Backs moved Bruney up to the Triple A level last week, and the Warrenton High School graduate has already made five appearances for Tucson, picking up a pair of saves with seven strikeouts in five innings.

The move brings Bruney one step closer to his dream of making a big league roster, which is now just a phone call away.

At the same time, Bruney said, “I’ve still got a lot of room to grow, and I still need to learn a lot more before I can get to the next level.

“It seems like I’m watching everybody else go up, but I understand that I’m still a long ways from being where they’re at,” he said.

“A lot of my friends have gone up (to Arizona) and contributed. Brandon Webb is going for the National League Rookie of the Year, and I just lived with the guy last fall. Ricky Bottalico got called up last week, and got the win Monday night (in a 7-6 victory over Houston); and Brady Raggio got called up three days ago, and he got the save. It’s kind of neat to see your friends move up and do so well.”

As for Bruney, “I think my best season’s yet to come, but so far I’ve done pretty well and accomplished some of the things I wanted to. They told me during the first half of the season that it was their plan to move me up, right after the (Texas League) All-Star break.”

And it’s a different world at the Triple A level, where Bruney is competing with and against players 30 and over and still trying to make the big leagues; or Major Leaguers like Johnson, coming back from injuries.

Arizona relievers Matt Mantei and Bret Prinz – both coming off the disabled list – will accompany the Sidewinders on a four-game road trip to Las Vegas, Nev., and will be in the Tucson bullpen with Bruney.

“Randy Johnson will be starting for us on June 3rd, so they’re starting to get their guns back,” Bruney said. “They’re only six games out, so they’re trying to make a good run at it right before the second half of the season.”

As of Wednesday night, Arizona had won seven straight games. Johnson, who has not pitched since April 27, will have two more rehab starts with Tucson before returning to the Diamondbacks.

The skill level at the Triple A level “isn’t all that different,” Bruney said. “But the defense is a lot better, and the players are very selective at the plate. They’re not going to chase bad pitches.

“As far as the players, it’s like night and day. There’s guys up here who are 34 or 35 years old, and they’re trying to make it just as much as I am. It’s a good group of guys, and I really like the team.”

The Sidewinders are currently 37-40, third place in the Southern Division of the PCL. Tucson starts the four-game series at Las Vegas tonight.

Bruney joined the Sidewinders in the midst of a road series in Oklahoma City, right after competing in the Texas League All-Star Game as a member of the El Paso Diablos, Arizona’s Double A team.

“I really don’t like moving during the middle of the season, but I’ve had to do it before,” said Bruney, whose wife Stacy handles most of the actual moving chores. “It’s tough, but it’s something you have to do, and that’s the sacrifice we have to make.”

Bruney is also adjusting to yet another pitching coach, but has already had positive results under Mike Parrott, the former Baltimore Oriole and Seattle Mariner.

“He’s a real good pitching coach,” Bruney said. “Right from the get-go, my slider got better. It’s a little easier for me to work with a guy who’s right-handed. Claude Osteen (Bruney’s coach at El Paso) was left-handed, and learning from a righty instead of a lefty is a lot easier for me.”

Rule 5 draftIn his fourth season of minor league baseball, Bruney could end up with a different organization, as early as November.

Under Major League rules, if Bruney is not on Arizona’s roster by the end of the season, he could be taken by another team.

“It’s kind of difficult to understand, but if you’re drafted out of high school (as Bruney was in 2000), and if you’re not on a Major League roster after four years, you can go into the Rule 5 draft.”

There, Bruney said, “any team has the opportunity to take me, but I would have to play all of next season at the Major League level – I can’t go down at all, otherwise they send me back to the Diamondbacks.

“You see it happen a lot,” he said. “It’s a good thing – you’ve kind of got two chances of making it on a big league roster – either by Arizona putting me on theirs or getting taken by another team.”

The Rule 5 draft takes place in November, “so I’ll probably be right in the middle of a hunting trip,” Bruney said. “Ultimately that’s out of my hands. People get called up in September all the time, but I think it depends on what Arizona’s doing. If they’re out of it, they’re more likely to call more people up than if they’re still in the pennant race. That’s what they did last year.

“I have a lot to look forward to,” he said. “Right now, I’m just trying to stay healthy and do my job.”

At least Bruney has hit the big time on the memorabilia front, with his appearance on baseball cards under two different card companies. One card may have already become a collector’s item.

“The Bowman series had me hitting and throwing left-handed and born in Iowa, so they’ll have to re-do that one. Hopefully the cards that they did print will be worth more money to somebody.”

Look for Bruney around Warrenton once the season’s over.

“I’m coming home and spending some time there. I’m sick of this hot weather.”