EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

CENTERS
 Fantasy Central
 Inside Game
 Video Plus
 Statitudes
 Your Turn
 Message Boards
 Email Newsletters
 Golf Guide
 Cities
 

CNNSI.com GROUP
 Sports Illustrated
 Life of Reilly
 SI Women
 SI for Kids
 Press Room
 TBS/TNT Sports
 CNN Languages

COMMERCE
 SI Customer Service
 SI Media Kits
 Get into College
 Sports Memorabilia
 TeamStore

Part Two

Yanks brace for second half of Arizona's haymaker

Click here for more on this story

By John Donovan, CNNSI.com

	• Storylines • All Thumbs • Heroes & Bums • High Hard Ones • The Pitch • The Bottom Line

PHOENIX -- Part One worked. The big right hand landed. Curt Schilling did his part.

Now it's the Big Unit's turn.

Randy Johnson, Arizona's left hand in the team's remarkable 1-2 pitching punch, takes the mound Sunday evening trying to push the Diamondbacks to a two-game edge over the defending World Series champions, the New York Yankees.

He is pumped. He is ready.

That is not good news for the Yankees.

"Everybody is telling me to look out toward second base, 'cause that's where the ball is going to be coming from," said Yankees Game 2 starter Andy Pettitte, who is liable to be the only left-handed hitter in the lineup against Johnson on Sunday night.

The gangly Johnson, 6 feet, 10 inches worth of southpaw sizzle, absolutely intimidates hitters with his size, his velocity and his delivery. His three-quarters release, his high 90s fastball, maybe the most outrageous slider in the business and a way-good curveball combine to make him the scourge of left-handed hitters everywhere.

That probably will force Yankees manager Joe Torre to sit guys like Paul O'Neill and David Justice and first baseman Tino Martinez. Center fielder Bernie Williams and catcher Jorge Posada, both switch hitters, will have to bat right-handed.

Only Pettitte, like Johnson a lefty, is likely to be standing on the other side of the plate.

"Well," said Johnson, who is used to seeing a right-handed-heavy lineup against him, "I'm looking forward to facing Andy Pettitte."

The Yankees came to Arizona hoping to get one win in the two games -- and those, admittedly, were high hopes. After Schilling's seven innings of three-hit ball in Saturday's 9-1 Game 1 win, the Yankees now look to get to Johnson.

The problem for the Yankees is that Johnson averaged 13.4 strikeouts per nine innings this year, most in the majors. Opponents hit only .203 off him, the second-best mark in the majors.

Lefties hit only .196 off him.

"He's intimidating," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "It seems like he steps on your foot every time he lets the ball go."

Johnson doesn't buy into the intimidation thing. Or, more likely, he knows that there's really only one way that works.

"In order for hitters to continue to have that fear of facing me," he said, "I have to continue to come to the plate and put the fear in them and that means getting them out. If I show that they can get a hit off me, then that shows that I'm vulnerable ..."

On to the World Series Day at a Glance, which asks: Can the Yankees come back from 0-2?

The answer: They've done it before (see '96 Series). But never with the likes of Schilling and Johnson ready for seconds.

'Diamondbacks win!' The largest crowd ever at Bank One Ballpark waited, for the most part, until the end of a rout, then fans partied long into the warm night. The Diamondbacks' first World Series win Saturday was a beautiful thing. Now they simply have to do it again. And again. And again.
The Unit He's had his postseason failures, as we all know. But this is a time for Randy Johnson to shine. Facing an all-righty lineup, the question is, as always, who will crack first?
A blip? The Yankees played like World Series novices in Game 1. Errors. Bad pitching. Bad managerial moves. Maybe it was an anomaly. Or maybe this is the year the Yankees come down to earth.
Ace in a hole Pressure is being Andy Pettitte, matching up against the most dominating lefty of this generation and being expected to hold your own. The Yankees wanted one out of these first two games. Game 2 starter Pettitte's their only chance of that now.
Veterans. Counsell, Gonzalez, Grace, Schilling, Williams, Johnson ... we could go on. The Diamondbacks may be Series virgins, as a team, but these guys have been around. They know what it takes. And it showed.
D'backs fans. There is not that same, constant buzz that there is in a place like Yankee Stadium. They may not know baseball the way, say, St. Louis fans do. But Arizona fans ponied up for tickets, went wild on memorabilia and T-shirts, cheered plenty loud and got a win from their home team for all their trouble. Hey, and less fan cursing than in New York, too!
Jewel. She can sing. Sure, she can sing. But that flag crop-top thingy she wore for the national anthem was ... well, maybe not inappropriate. Ugly may be the word we're looking for.
TOG. In World Series time, this was supersonic. Game 1, with all the pitching changes and everything, was positively speedy. Time of Game was 2 hours, 44 minutes. Don't expect that every time out.
Hero -- Luis Gonzalez: His two-run homer off Mike Mussina in Game 1 was his 60th this year (he had 57 in the regular season). It was a great start for a guy who has struggled so far in these playoffs.
Bum -- David Justice: He just dropped it, OK? And his three strikeouts against Curt Schilling in Game 1 were understandable enough. He does get credit for facing up to the gaffes like a true pro.
Hero -- Craig Counsell: His homer in the bottom of the first proved to be the scoring ice-breaker the D'backs needed. He also played wonderfully in the field and may be up for permanent hero status in the state of Arizona.
Bum -- Mike Mussina: This guy was so rusty you could hear him creak from center field. Six hits in three innings, the two homers allowed, all those pitches (67). Granted, his defense didn't help him any. But he didn't help himself.
Yankees mystique ... ha! Better work on figuring out Curt Schilling.
Speaking of Schilling ... a fresh Schilling, maybe in Game 4, is a chilling idea to the Yankees.
You could make an argument that Derek Jeter carried the Yankees to the Series. But he's 2-for-20 since the beginning of the ALCS.
Most overrated Series story so far: The effect of Bank One Ballpark on the Yanks, who never had played here. It ain't the park, folks.
D'backs awesome in first Series game. Next test: On the road in the Bronx.
A look at the Game 2 pitchers Yankees' Andy Pettitte (15-10, 3.99 ERA regular season). Over the last six seasons, no AL pitcher has won more than Pettitte (103 wins). A lefty with six career World Series starts (2-1, 3.82 ERA), Pettitte is coming off an ALCS in which he was named MVP (2-0, 2.51 ERA vs. Seattle).
D'backs' Randy Johnson (21-6, 2.49 ERA regular season). The most dominant lefty alive, Johnson is making his first World Series start. He beat the Braves twice in the NLCS, giving up two runs in 16 innings (1.13 ERA) and striking out 19. He'll face a lineup of all right-handers, except for Pettitte.
Game 1 was great for the Diamondbacks and all, but let's not get all worked up. The Game 1 winner has won the Series 59.4 percent of the time. That's hardly a sure-fire cinch.

The World Series Day at a Glance appears every day through the conclusion of the Series.

 

Related information
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.