Johnson, 44, could hold the fate of a division race in his left hand

At first glance, Randy Johnson ought not to be the key player in the NL West. He pitched only 10 games last season, after all, and the Arizona Diamondbacks still won the division. They lost Livan Hernandez, who has pitched 200 innings every season of this new millennium, but they more than compensated by adding Dan Haren, who started the All-Star game for the American League last season.

Yet the Diamondbacks can’t match the Colorado Rockies bat for bat. The Diamondbacks ranked last in the league in batting average (.250) and on-base percentage (.321) last season. They can counter with what could be the most dominant top three in the majors -- Brandon Webb, Haren and Johnson.

He’s 44, old for any pitcher and older still for a power pitcher, but he struck out 72 in 57 innings last season, even with a bad back. If Johnson is sound -- and he is expected to return in mid-April as he completes his rehabilitation from back surgery -- the Diamondbacks could score three runs a night and still repeat.