It’s clear that at age 42 that’s what Randy Johnson is. Brought over from the Diamondbacks to be the go to guy in the starting rotation, Johnson has been a disappointment. I was at the Yankee vs. Met game at Shea Stadium tonight, and Johnson provided nothing but frustration for Yankee fans.

After being staked to a 4 run lead in the first inning, Johnson walked the first batter he faced, gave up a single to Paul LoDuca and then served up a 410 foot homerun to Carloss Beltran. Beltran took a 95 MPH offering and crushed it to left field. Later in the game, Xavier Nady blasted a 94 MPH fastball over the fence in right-center.

Those speed gun figures are interesting. Ninety five MPH is about where Johnson tops off this year and that seems like a bit of a dropoff in velocity compared to last year. His location has also been poor, throwing his fastball out and up over the plate. Without that extra giddeyup, Johnson is getting hit hard. Also concerning is his lack of command of his slider. Always known for his biting slider, Johnson seems unable to get this pitch close enough to get batters to swing. As a result it seems that opposing hitters are waiting on the fastball which has been poorly located and very hittable.

Randy Johnson isn’t a top flight starter anymore and without him in that role the Yankees starting pitching is that much weaker. After Mussina and maybe Wang (if he is “on”) you don’t feel that there’s anyone else that’s going to come out and shut down an opposing team. Yes, it’s possible for Johnson to come out and dominate a team of young hitters like the Devil Rays, but any team with patient, veteran hitters seems to hit him hard. Pitching in the National League probably helped to disguise Johnson’s decline, and now he is getting hammered in the A.L., where it’s much harder to pitch.

Finally, it seems that Johnson is missing some of that “edge” that he had. Perhaps it’s a lack of confidence. Perhaps at age 42 and the wear of 20 major league seasons has taken its toll both physically and emotionally on Johnson. Perhaps he feels like he has let down the Yankees. Who knows what it is, but if the Yankees are going to keep pace in the AL East, Johnson will need to step up his game.