Wild Wild Mets Join Party

New York? Houston? Randy Johnson said it didn’t matter which team emerged Monday from the National League’s playoff as an opponent for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the division series that opens here tonight. It is not a 6-foot-10 stretch to say that the Big Unit’s repertoire features disdain that can be as intimidating as his fastball and slider.

“Nine batters have to come up to the plate and I don’t care who they are,” he said. “I’m coming off the best year of my career and I want to take that into the playoffs. I intend to lay it on the line. Depending how deep we go into the postseason, there’ll be a lot of time to rest [later].”

The Diamondbacks laid it on the line last winter. A $119-million spending spree guaranteed Johnson $52.4 million for four years.

The Angels and Dodgers went down to the wire, but Johnson chose to sign with his neighborhood team.

He has built a home in the Valley of the Sun, and some suspected there was never a doubt where he would sign.

Now, with the Diamondbacks having won the National League West title in only their second year and that “best year” of a celebrated career expected to earn Johnson a second Cy Young Award, he was asked if that didn’t represent vindication for his signing decision.

“I don’t know about that,” he said. “I do know that the Dodgers are probably going to be watching the game at home tomorrow and so are the Angels. Everybody has their own opinion.

“Some people say it was about the money, but there probably would have been a heck of a lot more money if I had waited a little longer and signed with L.A. It wasn’t about the money and it wasn’t about the house, because I could have built a house anywhere with what I was being offered.

“I said at the time that one of the most important reasons I signed with the Diamondbacks was because I think they had done more to improve than the Angels and Dodgers, and in that sense I feel vindicated. I just felt very comfortable coming here, and it was obviously a very good decision.”

The Diamondbacks achieved the biggest turnaround in baseball history, going from 65-97 to 100-62. Johnson was the dominating force at the front of a rebuilt pitching staff that improved from 13th among the league’s 16 teams in earned-run average last year to second, helping relieve the pressure on an offense that went from last to third.

If that offense had been more consistent when Johnson was on the mound he might have won 25 or more games.

Instead, he went 17-9, even though he led the league in ERA at 2.48, in strikeouts with 364, innings with 271 2/3, and complete games with 12.

The Diamondbacks scored one run or fewer in seven of his starts, two runs or fewer in 10 and a total of 11 in his nine defeats.

“The regular season is behind us,” he said. “You shrug it off. I’m eager and excited. There’s going to be a lot of anticipation. It should be a lot of fun [to pitch the Diamondbacks’ first postseason game].”

Maybe not for the Mets. They defeated the Cincinnati Reds in their wild-card playoff Monday and headed West to face the pitcher who acknowledged that he turns from Jekyll to Hyde on days that he works. He is one of 14 players with the Diamondbacks who have playoff experience.

Johnson has appeared in eight division and league championship series games and has a 2-5 record but said, “It’s not like I’ve been a total flop. I pitched extremely well in the first game last year [when he lost a 1-0 decision to the San Diego Padres while with the Houston Astros]. Did I choke? I don’t think so. I tip my cap to Kevin Brown. He just pitched better than I did.”

The Diamondbacks have Todd Stottlemyre, Omar Daal and Brian Anderson scheduled to follow Johnson, who could pitch twice if the series extends to four or five games. That’s an ugly prospect for the Mets, whose own staff has been drained by the effort to reach the playoffs.

“Whoever comes in to play us will be ready to play,” Arizona third baseman Matt Williams said before knowing it would be the Mets. “But I’d much rather be in our situation than theirs, especially with Randy pitching. I don’t think anybody is expecting him to go out and shut somebody out in the playoffs, but our confidence level is very high when he pitches. We know we have a chance to win.”

Jerry Colangelo, the Diamondbacks’ managing general partner, knew what he was getting in the way of a competitor but wasn’t sure about Johnson off the mound.

“With everything that I’d heard and seen written, I was concerned that he could be something of high maintenance but that’s been a zero,” Colangelo said. “He’s been a joy with the guys in the clubhouse and a joy in the community. If I were to grade Randy Johnson on a 1-10 scale, on and off the field, he’s been a 10-plus.”

Johnson hopes to grade out that high tonight. The Diamondbacks will be looking for him to set a tone.

He knows what’s riding on Game 1 but doesn’t want to put so much pressure “on myself that I end up in a straitjacket.”

“I can only pitch as good as I can pitch,” he said. “I don’t look on it as a burden but an extra challenge to try and minimize the pressure on the guys who are pitching Games 2 and 3. However, Todd and Omar are experienced professionals as well, and they’ve had outstanding years too.”

Johnson, however, has had his best year.

Bring on those nine batters, whoever they are.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

A Striking Performance

A look at where Randy Johnson ranked in the NL in key pitching categories:

W-L%: .654 (7th)

Innings: 271 2/3 (1st)

ERA: 2.48 (1st)

Strikeouts: 364 (1st)

Complete Games: 12 (1st)

Shutouts: 2 (Tied for 2nd)