Randy shows no ill will toward D-Backs

It was strange enough when Randy Johnson put on the pinstripes of the New York Yankees.

But to see him Friday, dressed in the San Francisco Giants’ black and orange?

Sad. Just sad.

But there Johnson was, pitching two innings against the Kansas City Royals, showing off his wicked slider earlier than normal in spring training but also showing some rust, throwing two splitters that bounced to the plate.

“Other than the senior moment I had with my splitter by hitting the first batter and throwing another one in the dirt, I felt pretty good, considering the last two years at this time I wasn’t pitching in games,” said Johnson, 45. “So I’m well ahead of schedule.”

You’re not sure what to expect when you walk into the Giants’ clubhouse at Scottsdale Stadium. Johnson is notoriously temperamental, even in the mellow days of spring training.

Just a week earlier, in his first throwing session against Giants hitters, he barked at his new teammates for taking too many pitches for his liking.

“Swing the stinking bat,” Johnson said.

But then he walks in from the trainer’s room, wearing jeans and a button-down shirt, and he sees you and smiles. He offers his hand and asks how you’re doing.

Publicly, at least, it seems like Johnson is at peace with the fact that he won’t win his 300th game (he’s at 295) as a Diamondback.

He played nice even when baited with a question: Randy, don’t you think it’s curious Arizona paid Jon Garland $6.25 million when they could have signed you for the same money?

“That might make a good story, but I don’t think I’m going to hash it open,” he said.

It’s the smart play, not bashing the Diamondbacks. Johnson lives in Paradise Valley, he plans to retire here and, at some point, he may want to work for the organization in some capacity. So why burn bridges?

But that doesn’t mean Johnson is sanguine about his departure. He has spent his entire Hall of Fame career with Mount Rushmore on his shoulder.

In his recently published book, “The Yankee Years,” former Yankees manager Joe Torre said Johnson would stew for days if the New York media even gently criticized him.

It’s pretty safe to assume, then, that Johnson wants to stick it to the Diamondbacks for what he considered an insult of a contract offer. (Arizona offered him a one-year deal worth $2.5 million; he received $8 million from San Francisco, plus incentives).

He’d like nothing better than to prove general manager Josh Byrnes wrong, and if No. 300 should come against Arizona, well, the champagne will taste even sweeter.

But for now, Johnson is all smiles. This is the first spring since 2006 that he isn’t recovering from back surgery.

“I feel really good,” he said. “Obviously, I’m going to have my moments, but to be able to go out there and not have to worry about anything, it’s a really nice position to be in. I know I’m going to wake up (Saturday) and feel pretty good.”

In signing with the Giants, Johnson has gone home again. He grew up in Livermore, Calif., about an hour east of Oakland, and would go to A’s and Giants games when he was a kid.

“It’s kind of nice to be able to go back and see a lot of family and friends,” he said.

The Giants make their first trip to Chase Field this season the weekend of April 24-26. Imagine what it will be like seeing Johnson on the mound, staring down the Diamondbacks’ hitters, the competitiveness and anger that fuels him boiling over.

Conor Jackson might want to think about a flak jacket.