Will Yanks miss Johnson? Maybe ... but fans won't

	Despite his 34 victories in two seasons with the Yankees, not too many New York fans seem sorry to see Randy Johnson leave the Bronx. John Iacono/SI

Trying to catch up with weeks of e-mail, starting with Randy Johnson's departure from the Yankees and working back to Boston's signing of Daisuke Matsuzaka ...

With the trade of Randy Johnson, do you feel the Yankees have enough pitching to even make the playoffs this year? I'm certainly not counting on Carl Pavano to contribute anything.
-- Joel Moss, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Good thing you're not counting on that, Joel. Yeah, I think the Yanks are probably OK, though there are questions. They still have Mike Mussina, Chien-Mien Wang, Andy Pettitte and newcomer Kei Igawa. That's not bad, providing everybody stays healthy and Igawa becomes a good fourth. But, clearly, they still have room for somebody like, say, Roger Clemens. Or, if things really fall right for them, Pavano. Not to count on it or anything.

I'm a Red Sox fan, but I have to admit Boston and New York are about the worst when it comes to throwing heroes under the bus if they don't perform to expectations. Johnson is a HoF'er even if nagging middle age prevents him from ever taking the mound again. Yankee fans will only appreciate Johnson once he's gone. What's curious is the Yankees' reported fascination with Clemens, a year older than Johnson. He also got off to a slow start in his N.Y. tour. In fact, with the exception of his Cy Young year, Clemens' overall career in N.Y. was OK but not outstanding.
-- Dean Chisholm, Bourne, Mass.

In Clemens' first year in the Bronx, 1999, he went 14-10 with a 4.60 ERA and struck out fewer batters per nine than the Unit did in his time in New York. And Clemens got hammered in an ALCS start against the Red Sox that first year, too. Still, New Yorkers remember Clemens' 3-0 record in the World Series and the fact the Yanks won two World Series and went to two others with the Rocket in the rotation. In his five years with the Yanks, Clemens went 77-36 with a 3.99 ERA, by the way.

Maybe Johnson took a look at his two years in New York and thought to himself, "This team ain't winning a championship any time soon. I don't have too much left in the tank. If I want one more shot at a championship I better go elsewhere." What do you think?
-- Michael, Albuquerque

Well, Michael, I guess he might have thought that. It won't be easy for the Yankees. But, man, it's going to be a lot harder for the Diamondbacks.

I have been a N.Y. fan for a long time. However, I am a bigger Randy Johnson fan. He will be fine wherever he goes. I love the Yankees but sometimes ... they need their butts handed to them to bring them to reality.
-- Ryan Odell, Queens, N.Y.

Yeah, you would've thought that series against the Tigers last October would have done that.