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Tuesday, September 29, 1998
Johnson elevates Astros to new heights
By Bob Ford
Knight Ridder Newspapers
(KRT)
HOUSTON - Randy Johnson lost something when he moved from the
Seattle Mariners to the Houston Astros, though it wasn't baseball
games.
Johnson, the 6-foot-10 lefthander who might be the game's most
intimidating starting pitcher, regards himself as a businessman
now. His bitter contract wrangles with the Mariners stripped away
any remaining naivete about the nature of his profession.
He is a little colder, a little more serious - and that has
been seriously bad news for National League batters.
It could be bad news Tuesday for the San Diego Padres, who
will face Johnson at the Astrodome as the NL best-of-five division
series begins.
"They have a lot of left-handed hitters," Johnson
said, sounding like a lion who smells zebras. "But you still
have to pitch well. If your guy pitching Game 1 doesn't, it puts
you in a hole."
Since coming over from the Mariners on the July 31 trading
deadline, Johnson hasn't put the Astros in many holes, going 10-1
with a 1.28 ERA. His only loss was in Philadelphia, where Paul
Byrd threw a four-hit shutout against him.
After that loss, Johnson won his next seven starts. With Houston,
he's held opposing batters to a .191 average.
"It's been pretty impressive," said teammate Jeff
Bagwell. "Obviously, we were a good team before he got here
and when he did, we became a great team. He made us legitimate."
Johnson did the same for Seattle for most of his tenure there,
but when the Mariners balked at giving the pitcher, now 35, a
multiyear mega-contract, he felt betrayed. He made it clear he
would sign elsewhere after the season.
The Seattle situation deteriorated. Johnson began the season
9-10 with a 4.33 ERA, became more sullen than usual, and even
scuffled in the clubhouse with a teammate.
Still, there was no shortage of interest when the Mariners
made it known they would dump Johnson before the trading deadline
to any team willing to rent him for the stretch run and postseason.
The Astros gave up two decent players and a good prospect,
then waited to see exactly what they'd gotten.
"I didn't know what to expect," said manager Larry
Dierker. "We wanted to get a top pitcher to give us a better
chance in the playoffs, and figured we'd try to adapt to whatever
personality situation we had once he got here.
"But we haven't had to adapt at all, because there haven't
been any problems."
Johnson has mixed with his new teammates, worked with the younger
pitchers and, every fifth day, inconvenienced someone's batting
order. To say the Astros have been pleased would be an understatement.
As for Johnson, it's hard to tell how he views his present, or
future.
"I still don't smile much," he said. "I'm more
at ease now. My view on baseball is more serious after what I
went through. I feel in Seattle, I let my emotions get in the
way of a business transaction. So, now I look at the game more
from a business point of view than just as a game.
"But when I get out there, that's when I have my fun.
When I'm pitching like I'm capable of, that's my fun. I'm not
as animated now as I was. That's one of the things I didn't bring
here from Seattle. I go about my job differently now."
This afternoon, Johnson will be matched against Kevin Brown
of the Padres, another intense fellow who has been bounced around
in the last year. Brown, 18-7 with a 2.38 ERA for the Padres this
season, was part of the talent cargo unloaded by the Florida Marlins
after their championship.
The Astros and the Padres are similar teams. Both can score
runs. Houston probably has a better batting order top to bottom,
but it is predominantly right-handed, which plays to the strength
of San Diego's pitching. The Padres also have Trevor Hoffman in
the bullpen; his 53 saves led the major leagues.
"They pose some problems," Dierker said. "But
that said, we won the season series from them, we won the season
series from the Braves, we won 102 games. I don't think we'll
be nervous or worried or overmatched."
Houston's lineup still centers around the "Killer Bs"
- Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Derek Bell. But the Astros have added
Moises Alou, another Marlins' refugee, and he can be a killer
himself. Throw in the acquisition of Johnson and the Astros feel
pretty good about their chances.
"This club has no holes," said former Phillies outfielder
Pete Incaviglia, who was a late addition to the Astros. "Talent-wise,
it's as talented a team as I've ever played on. And when you've
got a horse like Randy, that's solidifies the one thing every
team needs to win in the postseason. It gives you a chance to
get to the World Series and be a champion."
The Astros have never won a postseason series, and this will
be just their second appearance since 1986. They were swept in
the first round last season by the Braves.
"When you get an opportunity to play on a club like this,
you have to take advantage of it," Bagwell said. "It
doesn't happen all the time, and you never know in this game if
it will happen again. This is a special team, and I've been around
long enough to know you have to cherish it while you can."
How far they go will largely be determined by the large man
who arrived in their clubhouse less than two months ago.
Johnson bristles at being labeled a "hired gun,"
but concedes he doesn't have any idea where he will sign next
season. It is one of those serious business decisions he'll make
later.
"Right now," Johnson said yesterday, "I'm wearing
a Houston Astros' uniform, and I have high expectations for my
performance."
(c) 1998, The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Visit Philadelphia Online, the Inquirer's World Wide Web site,
at http://www.phillynews.com/
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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