Davey Johnson Finishing How He Started - Gary Armida's Blog

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Davey Johnson Finishing How He Started Stuck

Posted on December 4, 2012 at 11:48 PM.

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(Nashville, Tennessee)-- The Washington Nationals likely arrived a year too early in 2012. Many expected them to compete for a Wild Card, but nobody picked them to win 98 games and win the division by four games. Last season was supposed to be the developmental year where the young pitchers got acclimated to meaningful late season games. It was supposed to be the year that Stephen Strasburg can come back from Tommy John Surgery, get his innings in, and quietly finish out the season. Maybe the year Bryce Harper would ease his way into Major League life. And, maybe, the Nationals would get over the .500 mark.

It didn�t quite go down that way. Davey Johnson is no stranger to this scenario as he lived this out back in 1984 and 1985 when he first took over the New York Mets. After years of futility, that Mets team was on the cusp of winning. Johnson was hired to take the young core of the Mets, develop them, and, obviously, win with them. He had the young ace, the young slugger, and a complement of players, both veterans and young players to surround them. Johnson led that team to a World Series victory in 1986.

Since taking over the Mets in 1984, Johnson has put together one of the best managerial careers in Major League Baseball history. In 16 seasons, Johnson�s clubs have posted a winning percentage of .564. In all but one full season on the bench, his teams finished either first or second. The was a natural as a rookie manager and now, with the wisdom of experience, is ready for one final championship run.

Fast forward to this upcoming season and it looks an awful lot like 1986. Johnson has the young dominant ace in Strasburg and the young slugger in Harper. He has the young pitching talent in Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, and Ross Detwiler. The offense has Ryan Zimmerman, Denard Span, a talented keystone combination, and Michael Morse to supply some power as well. And, if Johnson has his way, Adam LaRoche will be back too. �Adam LaRoche is going to come back. I mean, if I have to go to Kansas and take him and all his cattle to Florida, I will,� said Johnson.

The 2013 Nationals look quite similar to the 86 Mets in that there is an expectation now. They will no longer be surprises and they are expected to win the title. This is something Johnson, who is said to be retiring after the season, is quite comfortable with. �We came so far, and I've been with clubs where we made progress like the New York Mets when I first came in, and we won 90 games then 98, then 108. I think our organization, we're primed to take that next step. I think we're in a perfect position to show the world that we're a pretty good damn ball club, and we can go farther into the postseason, and I want to be a part of that. I still have -- I have a love of the game, and I have a love of this organization. World Series or bust, that's probably the slogan this year. But I'm comfortable with that,� said Johnson.

World Series or bust.

Most Managers would try to deflect such expectations from a young team in an attempt to hide the team from such expectations. Davey Johnson does the opposite. These expectations are going to follow the team all season so they might as well get accustomed to them. �If we're not the favorite this year, I'm going to be embarrassed with all you guys that didn't pick me,� said Johnson to a group of reporters.

That World Series or bust mode is something that has happened quickly. It was just two years ago when the Nationals won just 69 games. Just last year, they won 80 games and finished their sixth losing season in a row. Now, the Nationals are talking World Series. And, they aren�t talking foolishly either. The pitching staff led the National League with a 3.34 ERA and were third in strikeouts. They gave up the second least amount of hits. In terms of WAR, the Nationals were the most valuable staff in the Major Leagues. Stephen Strasburg is already one of the best pitchers in the league. Gio Gonzalez gave a Cy Young caliber season. Jordan Zimmermann progressed and is now two years removed from Tommy John Surgery. Ross Detwiler was the best fifth starter in the league.

The young offense, with an average age of 27, scored the fifth most runs, finished second in home runs, and sixth in on base percentage. The young core led by Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman turned out to be a strength and one of the best in the league. Like the Mets of the mid-80�s, Johnson�s young crew is maturing quickly.

Johnson agrees with the organization that the team is improved. They will have Stephen Strasburg for the season without limitation. Their solid core allowed them to be very specific in how they wanted to upgrade. With few needs, General Manager Mike Rizzo has moved quickly. Acquiring Denard Span allows them to improve their outfield defense with Bryce Harper moving to a corner spot for one of the better defenders. Harper will only get better. And, despite many reservations and red flags, they believe they got better by adding Dan Haren.

�I think it's great. I've got some young guys that act like veterans, and they pitched like veterans last year for me, and a veteran like Dan Haren is just going to make things even better.
I think he's a great addition. I've seen him pitch a lot over the years, intense competitor, and hopefully we'll get that done,� said Johnson, �He's an intense competitor. He's got good stuff. Good athlete. He seems like the guy makeup wise and stuff wise and competitive wise, he's going to really fit in good with our guys.�

Last season�s surprise playoff appearance served as a learning experience according to Johnson. For all of the Nationals great success, they did lose in excrutiating fashion in game five of the NLDS. They had a lead, had their closer on the mound, and were ready to move on. It didn�t quite work that way.

�Well, last year, I thought for a young ball club, a lot of guys didn't know who they were and hadn't played up to their potential, I thought the one drawback we had was the experience of being in the big games. Some of our young guys didn't really handle that big game situation. But they did so much and went so far, I think now we're prepared to handle any kind of situation it throws at us. But I was really -- I knew that that was a possibility, and what happens sometimes, you don't attack the hitters as much. Some of the pitchers don't. They get a little too fine, but that's a learning experience. You can't teach that.�

Nearly three decades later, Davey Johnson takes another promising young team into a season with great expectations. He succeeded in 1986 and feels confident the same thing could happen in 2013. He takes it a step further. �This is one of the best ball clubs I've ever had, ever had to manage.�

He said similar things in 1986. Time has definitely not changed Davey Johnson, one of the most underrated Managers in the history of Major League Baseball.