<p>Fierce pride, determination, intensity.</p><p>Those are the things that drive Randy Johnson, aged to perfection at 40 years old.</p><p>In his 453rd major league start, the Big Unit was better than ever. His fastball was sizzling at 98 mph. His sinker had never been nastier. Twenty-seven up, 27 down.</p><p>Johnson became the oldest pitcher to throw a perfect game, leading Arizona to a 2-0 victory in Atlanta on Tuesday night.</p><p>"Guys that play the game at that level, doing anything in life at that level, do things other people don't dream of doing," said former teammate Curt Schilling, who watched the final two innings on television. "They push themselves. That's what he's done. You feel good for people like that. They're getting rewarded for the time and the effort."</p><p>Schilling saw that effort up close when he and Johnson formed perhaps the most formidable righty-lefty combination in baseball history. Johnson has a strict, demanding workout schedule between starts. The games, he once said, are a breeze in comparison. He refuses to give in to the inevitable consequences of time, and anyone who brings up his age risks facing that withering scowl.</p><p>"You guys keep saying I'm old," Johnson said, "and someday I will be."</p><p>Until that day, the strikeouts just keep coming. He had 13 Tuesday night, giving him 81 this season, most in the majors. In his five-plus seasons with Arizona, he has struck out 1,623. He ranks fourth on the career strikeout list, and needs only 48 to reach 4,000.</p><p>When he signed a four-year, $52.4 million contract with the Diamondbacks _ with a $12 million option for a fifth year _ it was seen by many as a signal that the big lefty had given up on winning championships, that he was content to settle in near his Paradise Valley home with a franchise in just its second year of existence. On the flip side, Diamondbacks' managing general partner Jerry Colangelo was taking a big risk, some said, on a pitcher past his prime.</p><p>Four Cy Young Awards, three division championships and a World Series title later, Johnson is working on the first half of a two-year, $33 million contract.</p><p>Again, the signing looked like a mistake when Johnson _ who had rarely missed a start the previous four seasons _ was sidelined by surgery on his right knee for most of 2003. After 81 victories in four years, he was 6-8 with a 4.26 ERA. The cartilage was gone from the knee. It was bone on bone. A lubricating fluid was injected in December, and he might need another one before the season is through.</p><p>Yet there he was, as dominating as ever, and breaking out in a rare, wide grin as his teammates mobbed him following the final out. At 6 feet, 10 inches, he towered over them all.</p><p>Those who have witnessed his metamorphosis from wild fireballer to a pitcher almost always in control marveled at what Johnson accomplished at Turner Field.</p><p>In Seattle, where he pitched a no-hitter for the Mariners against Detroit on June 2, 1990, fans cheered as the final inning of his perfect performance was shown on the giant screen at Safeco Field.</p><p>"It's awesome," said Schilling, in Tampa Bay with the Boston Red Sox. "He's been pitching great. I just want to find all those people that were talking about the end of his career last winter."</p><p>Such talk only fuels the fire that rages not far below the surface in Johnson's psyche. He has no patience for foolish questions. He can be cranky when things aren't going well, and lately he has been in an especially foul mood.</p><p>On May 8, manager Bob Brenly pulled Johnson with the game tied at 1-1 and a runner on first with one out in the eighth. The runner eventually scored and Johnson took the loss. Johnson made it clear he was miffed about getting the hook.</p><p>"He's the manager, he makes the decisions, but I'm pitching on an extra day's rest and I felt like I was in complete control of the game," Johnson said.</p><p>Five nights later, he and the Diamondbacks lost a 1-0 decision to Tom Glavine and the New York Mets. The difference was Kaz Matsui's home run on the second pitch of the game. For one of the few times in his Arizona career, Johnson left without talking to reporters.</p><p>The next day, talking to a pair of local beat reporters, Johnson was asked what he thought about the small crowd that had shown up for the showdown of the two great left-handers. It was one of those unexpected questions that irritate the big guy. He replied that the way the Diamondbacks' were playing, fans were probably wise to spend their money on going to the movies rather than a baseball game.</p><p>He explained later that he was just venting. Besides, in a 2-8 homestand, the words rang truer than most. With the Diamondbacks on a five-game losing streak, and two frustrating starts directly in the rear view mirror, Johnson took the mound in Atlanta motivated to the max, ready to make the Braves the perfect foil.</p>
