Far From Expressing Bitterness, Johnson Just Happy He Got A Shot

A National League representative entered Davey Johnson’s office Saturday afternoon and asked for the Cincinnati Reds’ lineup for playoff Game 4.

The lame-duck manager started scribbling on a scrap of paper.

“I don’t even have any lineup cards in here, so I can’t give you one,” Johnson said. “They don’t give me (anything) anymore.”

In a short while, he won’t have a managing job, either, though not for lack of success. Johnson’s term as the Reds manager is up when the season ends. Assistant Ray Knight, who has never managed, will take over for the man who has the best winning percentage among current managers.

It’s a bizarre situation set up by owner Marge Schott. And the reality has started to sink in.

Johnson often drifted off in thought Saturday as he talked to a handful of reporters in his office. A 3-foot-tall St. Bernard stuffed animal stared at him as he considered his final, zany season in Cincinnati.

“I came back here this year not to go out this way,” he said, referring to the Reds’ 3-0 deficit in the series. “I swallowed my pride and everything else just to say, ‘Give me the chance.’ And it’s been worth it 100 percent.”

There was a long pause.

“It’s been difficult for me,” Johnson said, staring straight ahead. “But at the same time, those guys out there (in the clubhouse) made it very rewarding.”

Johnson’s reward for keeping the Reds in first place virtually all last season and leading them to the N.L. Central title and the N.L. championship series this year is a shove out the door.

Schott refused to give Johnson more than a one-year contract last winter. She prefers Knight, who will take over next year.

Schott has repeatedly shown contempt for Johnson, who replaced Tony Perez 44 games into the 1993 season. Her opinion has nothing to do with baseball: She was upset that Johnson lived with his fiancee a short time before their marriage, and she is fond of Knight’s wife, Nancy Lopez.

Also, Johnson isn’t the type to gush over Schott’s beloved St. Bernard dog just to please the boss.

As his tenure winds down, Johnson still isn’t sure why he could never get into Schott’s good graces.

“I don’t know,” he said, considering the question a few seconds before answering. “I think everybody does some soul-searching. We all do that. By the same token, I felt when I was in New York I deserved better. It wasn’t like I had just one good year.”

Johnson led the Mets to the 1986 World Series title and four secondplace finishes. He was fired at Riverfront Stadium 42 games into the 1990 season, and didn’t manage again until the Reds hired him.

He wants to manage again and already is being mentioned for other jobs that may open up.

“If the Almighty wants me to be back in uniform, the Almighty will figure a way out,” he said.

For now, he plans to head home to Florida when the season is over and enjoy his two favorite pastimes: golf and fishing.

“I’m going to get the largest bucket of golf balls, and I’m going to get at the far end of the range where nobody’s around, and I’m going to start beating on them,” he said. “And I’m going to beat on them until I’ve got blisters. And when I get tired of looking at grass, I’m going to look at water.”

Although he doesn’t understand Schott, he’s grateful to her for giving him at least a chance to resuscitate his managing career. Others look at the managing switch as an injustice. Not Johnson.

“I don’t look at it that way,” he said. “The situation has been kind of … different. But I have a lot of respect for Marge Schott. I’m here. I’ve been here for parts of three years. I still would like to leave here with another championship.”

And he stressed that there are no hard feelings towards Schott.

“I don’t have a doghouse,” he said. “It’s just not my nature to carry any ill feelings towards anybody.”