Johnson threw 41 pitches Sunday under the watchful eye of manager Joe Torre, pitching coach Ron Guidry and bullpen coach Joe Kerrigan.

``It was surprisingly good,'' Johnson said. ``Everybody was more pleased than I was, so I guess that's a good thing. My only concern is a stiff back.''

Torre was happy with Johnson's session and was confident the Big Unit will pitch against Minnesota or Detroit. Chien-Ming Wang will start Tuesday's opener and Mike Mussina will follow in Game 2 Wednesday.

``We were certainly were satisfied,'' Torre said. ``It didn't look like he was restricted. We'll see how he feels tomorrow.''

Torre originally expected Johnson to throw only 25 pitches, but the Big Unit went on to throw 41 _ his uniform number. Johnson is scheduled to throw another bullpen session Wednesday.

While Johnson didn't have full command of his pitches, Guidry was happy with what he saw.

``He threw a lot better as far as having not thrown in a week,'' Guidry said. ``He got through mechanically speaking. He still felt a little stiff and I didn't expect him to be real fluid.''

The bullpen session came a day after Johnson threw across the outfield grass.

Johnson last pitched on Sept. 23, when he gave up five runs and seven hits over six innings in an 8-0 loss at Tampa Bay.

The Big Unit was 17-10 with a career-high 5.00 ERA in 33 starts this season. His lower back stiffness began in September and increased throughout the month.

If Johnson can't pitch, Jaret Wright and Cory Lidle would start Game 3 and, if needed, Game 4.