If Randy Johnson weren’t so big, didn’t wear a permanent scowl or wasn’t arguably the best pitcher in baseball, he might have been subjected to a small fine from his Arizona teammates.
Moments after helping the Diamondbacks clinch their first World Series berth Sunday night, Johnson was overcome by that rare affliction called honesty.
He admitted he preferred to face the Mariners in the World Series over the Yankees.
“I’m pulling for Seattle,” he said of his former team. “It would be fun to face them.”
Johnson is over the disappointment. He will start Sunday night in Game 2 against the 26-time world champion Yanks.
“It’s the way it should be, I suppose,” Johnson said. “If you’re going to try to win the World Series, then you’re going to want to face the Yankees with all their history. It seems like they’re always there this time of the year.”
The biggest reason for that is starting pitching. As usual the Yankees have such depth in their rotation, they won’t even consider bringing Game 1 starter Mike Mussina back on three days’ rest.
They’ll give the Game 4 nod to postseason king Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, who is 9-2 with a lifetime 2.67 ERA in the playoffs and World Series.
The Diamondbacks’ rotation, on the other hand, has the depth of a puddle.
After Saturday’s Game 1 starter Curt Schilling and then Johnson, Arizona’s Game 3 starter will be left-hander Brian Anderson, who began the season as the team’s No. 3 starter but lost his spot in the rotation Aug. 24. Miguel Batista will start Game 4 unless Schilling is brought back on three days’ rest.
Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly figures Anderson is a decent bet to neutralize the Yankees’ left-handed power hitters–Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez and David Justice–at Yankee Stadium, where a 314-foot shot down the right-field line can clear the fence. The Yankees went just 19-17 against left-handed starters this year.
“The way the ballpark is configured, obviously, it behooves you to have a left-hander on the mound if at all possible,'” Brenly said.
Anderson, who went 4-9 with a 5.20 ERA in the regular season, has improved in the playoffs after shortening his delivery. In two postseason games, he has allowed two runs on seven hits in 7 1/3 innings.
“He made some adjustments and feels pretty good about himself,” Brenly said.
Anderson showed promise in 1999 and 2000, going 19-9 and ranking among league leaders by issuing only 1.4 walks per nine innings. Then he lost his way and eventually his spot in the rotation during an injury-plagued 2001 season.
“It’s strange how things work,” he said. “I’m in the rotation and a lot of things were expected, then I didn’t perform up to my abilities and got taken out.
“For a while, I wondered if I was even going to be a part of the postseason roster. Then all of a sudden the manager pulls you aside and says you’re starting the first game in the Bronx in the World Series.”
Anderson pitched in Yankee Stadium when he was with Cleveland in 1997. Several Yankees posted big numbers against him, including O’Neill (9-for-19, four home runs) and Martinez (5-for-13, four homers).
“Loud, hostile . . . there are a lot of words to describe the New York scene,” Anderson said. “I started a playoff game in Shea [in 1999], but I don’t think that even compares to Yankee Stadium.
“It’s like a European soccer match. They’re chanting throughout the game and they have their little catcalls. You can’t even call it a constant buzz because it’s more than a buzz. It’s a constant rumble.”
Like Anderson, former Cub Mark Grace can’t wait to get to New York.
“I’ve never been to Yankee Stadium,” he said. “I’ve never played the Yankees all these years. I’ve always been in the National League, and, believe it or not, the Cubs never played the Yankees in the postseason.”
