Houston Fans' Hopes Go Through The Roof With Trade For Johnson

Joking before Friday night's wildly anticipated Astrodome debut of Randy Johnson, Houston General Manager Gerry Hunsicker said, "If he strikes out 27 and throws a no-hitter, he may live up to the expectations."

The Big Unit merely threw a five-hit shutout to beat Philadelphia, but the record crowd seemed satisfied.

Suffice it to say, the Johnson trade has a slightly different slant in Houston, where the normally laid-back Astro fans are going bonkers. Hunsicker compares it to the arrival of Nolan Ryan and the heydays of Earl Campbell with the Oilers and Clyde Drexler at the University of Houston.

"This certainly ranks among the top five or six events in Houston sports history," he said in a phone interview. "The fans are going crazy, which is fun to see, but we need to put our feet back on the ground and start playing good baseball, which we haven't really done since the break."

Hunsicker remains shocked the Astros pulled off the deal that many regard as the coup of the July 31 trade deadline. The Astros gave up pitcher Freddy Garcia, infielder Carlos Guillen and a player to be named - likely pitcher John Halama - for Johnson, but refused Seattle's ongoing demands for their two top prospects, pitcher Scott Elarton and outfielder Richard Hidalgo.

"I never felt we had a legitimate chance, even in the last hour before the deadline," Hunsicker said. "I felt with the competition we were facing, and not being in the position to give up the player or two Seattle seemed to be focusing on, it just wasn't going to happen."

Hunsicker has sympathy for Mariner GM Woody Woodward over the heat he has taken, and considerable nervousness over the long-term impact of the deal on the Astros. They are banking on Johnson to carry them to the World Series; they know they have little chance of retaining him when he becomes a free agent after the season.

"We approached this trade without even considering that," Hunsicker said. "We were purely focusing on the effect in 1998. We're prepared for the worst-case scenario, which is not signing him next year."

About the only hope the Astros have of retaining Johnson, who has always indicated a preference for staying in the American League, is for him to follow the lead of Mark McGwire. McGwire fell in love with St. Louis after being traded to the Cardinals last July and wound up signing a long-term deal.

"That could happen," Hunsicker said. "Randy doesn't know this city. At this point, it will be as much how Randy feels as how we feel."

Hunsicker predicted the Seattle-area spin on the Johnson trade will change once the new prospects break in.

"The public and most of the media have no idea about the players Seattle received," he said. "That's unfortunate, because they have received two blue-chip prospects, and a third who in my opinion will make a contribution to the major-league club, possibly this year.

"Even though most of the favorable comments have been toward our organization, two months from now that can change. People forget this was a high-risk gamble for us, too, and one that can be short-lived."

While many Mariner players were outraged by the Johnson deal, Astro players are treating Hunsicker like a conquering hero.

"One of the real tough things for me in this business is trying to create a team atmosphere," Hunsicker said. "So many times, it's `we versus them, players versus management.' This is one of the rare opportunities for everyone to feel they're in it together. They feel management has done its part, now the players have to step up and do their part. It's very gratifying."

DOWN TO THE WIRE

The Mariners' deal with the Astros nearly fell apart at the end - not because of reluctance by either team but because of lack of time. They went right down to the midnight (Eastern time) deadline.

"I know this sounds like a fiction novel, but when I called Nancy Crofts at the (National) League office to report the deal, she said when the phone rang, she looked at the clock and it said 12," Hunsicker said. "She said if I had called a minute later, she could not have approved it. She would have had to call (major-league executive) Bill Murray at the commissioner's office to get special approval.

"My heart sank. Here we were executing one of the most significant trades in franchise history, and it could have been voided, not because we weren't able to pull off the deal but because we were a few seconds late."

Hunsicker's first contact with Woodward was more than a month ago, but he was told Johnson wasn't available. He kept checking periodically to see if the Mariner stance had changed, but it hadn't. Finally, on the Monday before the trading deadline, Woodward called to inform him the Mariners were discussing deals for Johnson.

But by Friday, the day of the deadline, Hunsicker had nearly given up because of Houston's refusal to give up Hidalgo or Elarton.

"We made a commitment that under no circumstances would we trade them," he said. "As important as Randy Johnson is to us, in a market like ours you can't replace everyone with money, just go out and buy players, so you have to be careful you don't go out and totally decimate the farm system."

As late as three hours before the deadline, the two teams were still at an impasse, and Hunsicker left his office, believing he had struck out.

"I called Seattle to let them know I'd be at home if they had any other thoughts, but I never heard another word until an hour before the deadline," he said. "I really thought we were out of it. I decided to make a call to satisfy my own curiosity to see if we could continue stirring something up."

It was a well-timed call because the Mariners' other potential deals were falling apart. The two teams started "kicking proposals around," and Woodward said he'd get back to Hunsicker.

"Ten or 15 minutes later, he called back and said he was seriously considering one of our proposals," Hunsicker said. "It was the first time I really thought we had a chance.

"After that, I was waiting for a follow-up call to hopefully make the deal. With 15 minutes to go, I still hadn't heard. Now I was thinking something had gone wrong, and we're out of it. It was a real emotional roller coaster."

But Woodward finally called at about 10 minutes until midnight and said they had a deal. By the time Hunsicker received clearance from Astro owner Drayton McLane and President Tal Smith, they were down to the final seconds.

PROSPECTS AREN'T SUSPECT

Hunsicker raves about the two players the Mariners already received from the Astros. Here are his comments:

On Garcia: "Freddy is a dominating right-handed pitcher who in a few years could be a right-handed Randy Johnson. He has about as high a ceiling as any pitching prospect could have. He throws in the mid-90s with an above-average breaking ball and average change.

"The only thing missing is experience and command of all his pitches. We thought enough of this kid that we put him on our 15-man protected list for the expansion draft."

On Guillen: "If not for the fact his development had been slowed by injuries, he would have been on our 15-man protected list. He was one kid we were keeping our fingers crossed wasn't taken in the first round, and when he wasn't we immediately pulled him back.

"We felt he could be our starting shortstop in 2000. He has a great makeup; he's a terrific kid, a very competitive kid, with soft hands, above-average arm strength and power from both sides of the plate. There's no question in our mind he'll be a major-league player. With any prospect, you never know until they get there, but he's another one with a high ceiling."

EVEN MORE BIG UNIT

According to reports out of Pittsburgh, one of the proposals supposedly on the table was a three-way trade in which Johnson would have gone to Cleveland, Indians outfielder Brian Giles to Pittsburgh and Pirate prospects to Seattle.

The Padres also talked with the Mariners, but they refused to throw outfielder Ruben Rivera into the deal with pitcher Joey Hamilton. "We think Ruben Rivera is going to be a superstar," GM Kevin Towers said. "And there's no guarantee that Steve Finley is going to be back. If Finley elects free agency, we're going to need Ruben to play center. You have to keep an eye on the future."

Eddie Epstein, the Padres' director of baseball operations, said: "Randy Johnson could go out and hurt his back again. He could go out and miss the strike zone again. The Mariners had Randy Johnson in the postseason two times in three years and never even got to a World Series. In 1986, the Mets were scared of (Houston's) Mike Scott. They lost to him twice and still won the (NL Championship) Series in six games. What is Randy Johnson going to do? Pitch in every game?"

AROUND THE HORN

-- You'd think Willie Blair, who produced a 4-15 record with a 5.34 earned-run average for his three-year, $11.5 million contract with Arizona, would have left town quietly. But after the Diamondbacks traded him to the Mets, Blair took a jab at the team's fans, saying they were "not knowledgeable" about the game. Perhaps that's true, because they supported Blair until the end.

Blair's struggles point out the danger of giving a lucrative contract to a pitcher based on one good year. Before going 16-8 for Detroit in 1997, Blair's career record was 25-40.

-- Speculation remains strong that Dodger GM Tommy Lasorda will try to hire Met Manager Bobby Valentine next year despite a clause in Valentine's contract with New York that prohibits him from managing elsewhere through 2000. The Dodgers could get the Mets to waive that clause by sending them prospects, but here's Valentine's analysis of the situation:

"If the Dodgers have success the rest of the season, that means Tommy has done a good job as the general manager. It also means Glenn Hoffman has done a good job and they don't have to look for a new manager.

"Now, on the other hand, if the Dodgers don't have success, then maybe Tommy doesn't get to hire the new manager. I just don't feel it's a reality for me. When you get to be 48, you try to live in reality more than fantasy."

-- It's conceivable the Padres could win most of the individual NL awards this year. They have strong candidates for MVP (Greg Vaughn), Cy Young (Andy Ashby and Kevin Brown), Rolaids Relief Man (Trevor Hoffman), Manager of the Year (Bruce Bochy) and Executive of the Year (Towers).

-- Wendy Selig-Prieb, Milwaukee's new president and CEO, called Brewer GM Sal Bando and Manager Phil Garner "the two best in the game." That might be an overstatement, considering the club has endured five consecutive losing seasons and is struggling to stay above .500 in 1998.

-- Whitey Herzog, the former Cardinal manager, predicted Roger Maris' home-run record of 61 will be broken by both McGwire and Ken Griffey Jr.

"Oh, yeah, I definitely think (McGwire) will break it," Herzog said. "I said that before the season started, and Griffey probably will break it, too. Mark's capable of hitting 10 home runs in a week. He's so strong he only has to make halfway decent contact. He's a bona fide home-run hitter. He's more of a home-run hitter than Maris was the year he broke the record.

"But if I had to say who's got the advantage - and he's (five) behind Mark - I still think Griffey has the advantage by playing inside. There's no wind or cool nights or anything else. But Mark's awfully strong. He might be the strongest person I've ever seen. He's got me starting to take Creatine."

-- By trading Todd Zeile and Felix Heredia, the Marlins reduced the payroll of their active 25-man roster to $6 million. The bulk of their $13 million total payroll - $7 million - is going to pitcher Alex Fernandez, out all year with an arm injury. But 75 percent of his salary is covered by insurance. The Marlins are pretty much down to bare bones. With baseball's minimum salary at $170,000, the absolute minimum payroll possible for a 25-man roster is $4.25 million.

-- At least the Marlins are stockpiling young talent. Their trade with the Cubs could be a steal. In exchange for Heredia (0-3, 5.49 ERA) and a minor-leaguer, the Marlins got third baseman Kevin Orie, right-handed reliever Justin Speier (son of Chris Speier) and 19-year-old right-hander Todd Noel, the Cubs' top-ranked prospect.

"They overpaid," Gary Hughes, Florida's vice president of player personnel, said of the Cubs. "But in that situation, you overpay. . . . What was it (broadcaster) Jack Brickhouse used to say about the Cubs? `Anybody can have a bad century.' This is the Cubs. They have a chance. You've got to go for it. That's what they did."

-- Part of Cleveland's struggles can be traced to the absence of hitting coach Charlie Manuel, who suffered a heart attack during the All-Star break. The Indians had a .280 team average when he left the team but hit .262 until his return Friday.

Another concern for Cleveland is right-hander Jaret Wright, who lasted only two innings Monday in an 11-4 loss to Anaheim. In his last four starts, Wright is 0-2 with a 12.91 ERA, and opposing teams hit .416 against him. "Jaret didn't have his normal velocity (Monday), and he wasn't aggressive. That's not him," Manager Mike Hargrove said. "But we don't believe he's hurt."

-- One reason the Mariners might have backed off a deal with Cleveland is that pitcher Dave Burba, one of their targets, has the right to request a trade after the season as a player traded in the middle of a multiyear contract. The Indians are trying to thwart that possibility by ironing out a contract extension for Burba. They are believed to be close to agreeing on a two- or three-year extension.

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STONE'S POWER RANKINGS (Last week's ranking in parentheses)

1. Yankees (1) All for naught if they don't win 11 in October 2. San Diego (2) They got left-handed Randy after all 3. Atlanta (3) Foiled on Myers, now trying to locate Alejandro Pena 4. Houston (4) They love him! They really love him! 5. Boston (6) Pedro building a bridge of Cys 6. Texas (8) Ranger bullpen a vast Wetteland 7. Cleveland (5) Want to replace Jim Thome with Marisa 8. Cubs (7) Trying to avoid dead Wood 9. Baltimore (11) They really might catch Boston 10. San Francisco (13) Jose Mesa needs a change of arms, not scenery 11. Anaheim (9) Juden: Subtraction by addition 12. Mets (12) Piazza as unlikely to return to N.Y. as Eddie Albert 13. Los Angeles (10) Hollandsworth now the "Grand Old Man" of Dodgers 14. Milwaukee (15) It's Wendy's team now (uh huh) 15. Philadelphia (14) Can't believe David West's still around 16. St. Louis (16) All their ex's play for Texas 17. Toronto (17) Can't decide whether to buy a pennant or hold a fire sale 18. Kansas City (22) Coming on video: George Brett, The Hemorrhoid Years 19. Minn. (18) Something we'll never see in paper: the "Matt Lawton Watch" 20. Seattle (19) With the realm for A-Rod: 50-50 21. Oakland (21) Bip sits out game because of "bad hair day" 22. Colorado (20) Dueling Walkers go after batting titles 23. Cincinnati (25) Even Stan Belinda can protect a 17-0 lead 24. Pittsburgh (23) Jason Kendall: Hot bat, hot head 25. White Sox (24) From ace to disgrace: Jaime Navarro 26. Montreal (28) Farewell, Hiram Bocachica 27. Detroit (27) Ernie Harwell still going strong at 80 28. Tampa Bay (26) D-Ray pitchers already hate the Trop 29. Arizona (29) Rookie of the Year battle: Lee vs. Helton 30. Florida (30) They plump when you cook 'em