He had the stuff of legend

NEW YORK -- It wasn't as if they'd never seen the man before. Randy Johnson labored in the American League before he decamped for the Arizona sun. But the Red Sox never had seen a pinstriped Big Unit, certainly not on a chilly, windy Opening Night in the Bronx. And once he'd departed after six innings, with a 6-1 lead and a W all but in the book, the visitors couldn't do much more than tip their caps to the man.

"I don't think the Yankee uniform has anything to do with it," said manager Terry Francona. "He's been a good pitcher for a long time. He's one of the best there is."

Not that the Sox were expecting that a change in address would make for a change in Johnson's repertoire. Their lifetime averages coming in against Johnson were skimpy -- Kevin Millar was .217, Manny Ramirez and Bill Mueller were .211, Jason Varitek .143. From the first inning, when Johnson got Johnny Damon to ground out and blew third strikes past Edgar Renteria and Ramirez, the Sox knew they'd have to scrap and scuffle for runs.

"He was real tough," said center fielder Damon, who couldn't get a ball out of the infield against Johnson and struck out in the fifth. "His slider's pretty nasty. And the base hits we did have were mostly bounding balls."

For one giddy moment in the second, though, Boston's sluggers thought they were getting to Johnson. David Ortiz led off by pulling an offering down the right-field line for a double. Up came Millar, who lofted a towering shot into the wind to left that had 2-0 written all over it.

"Off the bat I thought it was a home run," said Francona. "I jumped up to the top of the steps and still thought it was a home run."

So did Millar, right until a leaping Hideki Matsui dipped his glove over the barrier to bring the ball back. "As soon as I hit it, I thought I had it," the first baseman said. "That was a great play."

Jay Payton eventually brought Ortiz around to give the Sox the lead, but that was all they could get off Johnson, who followed every Boston hit the rest of the way with either a strikeout or a groundout. "We just couldn't get any more runs or any more momentum after that," said Millar.

After Damon reached on an error to lead off the third, Renteria grounded into a double play. Varitek reached second with two out in the fourth, but Johnson got Payton to ground to short. When Mark Bellhorn doubled in the fifth, Johnson struck out Damon and induced an inning-ending grounder from Renteria. And when Boston put Millar and Varitek on the corners in the sixth, Johnson got Payton to hit into a force play.

The man hasn't won 247 games and struck out more than 4,000 batters by fooling people. Last night's numbers -- six innings, 25 batters faced, one run, five hits, six strikeouts, 95 pitches, 60 strikes. "He competes, man," said Millar. "It's a battle every time with him. He throws the fastball in, he throws the slider in . . ."

And his big-swinging new teammates gave him all the run support Johnson could have asked for on any night, much less Opening Night. "They kept doing what they do," Damon said.

The Yankees did it last year, too. But they didn't have the big lefthander they have now. The Yankees saw enough of Johnson in his Mariner and Diamondback days to know they didn't need to ask for a resume or references. What they brought him in to do, he did last night. Next time, it'll be in the Fens, where lefties aren't supposed to thrive. That's also why the Yankees brought him in.