Arizona ace more than ready for next mound start to arrive

Randy Johnson has been swamped since Tuesday's perfect game
MIAMI (AP) -- Sunday cannot come fast enough for Randy Johnson.
He'll uncoil his 6-foot-10 body out of the third-base dugout and head to the mound where, finally, the Arizona ace can find a place free from the flood of interview requests, phone calls and other congratulatory messages that followed his perfect game.
Johnson retired all 27 Atlanta batters Tuesday night, becoming the oldest pitcher to achieve perfection.
His next start is Sunday afternoon against the defending World Series champion Florida Marlins, a team he has dominated over his career.
"There will probably be a little more tension on this game," Johnson said Friday. "My approach will be to continue to go out there and do what I've done in the past, throw strikes, get ahead of batters and prevent big innings."
Whispers
A year ago, Johnson was hearing whispers that his days as baseball's quintessential left-handed power pitcher were done. He was recovering from knee surgery, would turn 40 later in the season and would finish the year with only a 6-8 record.
This year -- admittedly fueled by the naysayers of last year -- he's perhaps been better than ever despite a 4-4 record.
Batters are hitting just .156 against him, by far the lowest average of his career. His ERA is 2.43, and his 81 strikeouts in 63 innings leads the National League.
"If people didn't write that someone was 40 years old, and they were so shocked and surprised that someone was doing well, it wouldn't be that big of a deal," Johnson said.