Lyons Glad to Have Second Chance : Dodgers: Catcher signs with Los Angeles, helping to dispel bad feelings created upon release by Mets.

Feeling betrayed by a man he thought was his friend and cut loose by the New York Mets’ triple-A Tidewater farm club after he hit .171, Barry Lyons struggled to comprehend how he had fallen so far so fast.

Lyons was the New York Mets’ opening day catcher but was cast aside when Bud Harrelson replaced Davey Johnson as manager. Lyons was exiled to Tidewater and released Sept. 4. At 30, his prospects of playing in the major leagues again were far from bright.

“After I cleared waivers and went home, I was pretty much writing the season off,” Lyons said. “I was just going to prepare for playing next season, wherever that might be. When my agent told me that the Dodgers called, my eyes lit up.”

After spending three days working out in the Arizona Instructional League, Lyons signed a contract with the Dodgers Friday for the rest of this season--with the idea that he might eventually supplant Rick Dempsey as Mike Scioscia’s backup.

“This year I’m just an insurance policy in case something happens to their other catchers, and I’ll do whatever they want to show I’m capable of earning a shot next year,” said Lyons, who hit .238 in 24 games with the Mets and has a .240 average in four-plus seasons. “I want the opportunity to come here and make the club. Whatever they want me to do now, if it’s sitting and cheering, I’ll do that.

“I was at one of the lowest points of my life not too long ago,” he said, “and now I feel like a born-again rookie.”

Lyons, known as a strong defensive catcher and astute handler of pitchers, said he got “the short end of the deal” in being released. He could have accepted it, he said, if the Mets had given him a reasonable explanation or if Harrelson himself had delivered the bad news. Instead, he heard it from Joe McIlvaine, the Mets’ vice president for baseball operations.

“I had an awful time trying to deal with it after I was optioned out,” said Lyons, who spent a 20-day rehabilitation assignment in the International League after being put on the 15-day disabled list in May because of a bulging disk in his back. He was optioned to Tidewater July 7.

“What they told me upon my release was that Bud Harrelson and (coach) Doc Edwards decided when I was on rehab that I was no longer in their plans. They were going to go with Mackey Sasser and Mackey couldn’t prosper with me being around. They had numerous reasons I couldn’t fathom. I had a tough time dealing with it and it showed in my performance with Tidewater. That wasn’t me--I’ve had many good years.

“When Davey was fired, that was bad for me. Davey liked me and was in my corner all along. When Buddy was hired, I thought when I got well I’d be given another chance, but that wasn’t the case. Buddy did an about-face when he became manager. When he was a coach, he talked with me and encouraged me and was my friend. That’s what surprised me. When it happened, he didn’t have the guts to tell me.”

The Mets have since discarded Alex Trevino and acquired Charlie O’Brien from Milwaukee in their quest for a backup catcher, but New York’s catching problems no longer concern Lyons. He intends to concentrate on enjoying the Dodgers’ NL West challenge and winning a job next spring.