Red Sox Coach Is Manager Material

Tim Johnson is expected to be high on the Angels’ list of managerial candidates, but the Boston Red Sox bench coach might be even more attractive to the Angels as part of a package deal.

“Wherever he goes,” Red Sox first baseman Mo Vaughn said, “I want to go with him.”

Nothing like an endorsement from the 1995 American League most valuable player to spice up a resume.

“First of all, he knows the game,” Vaughn said. “He knows how to communicate and get guys to play hard for him, and in this day and age, that’s what’s important. With his character, communication skills and the fact he knows the game inside out, he could manage anywhere.”

Johnson, a scout and coach in the Dodger organization from 1982-89, was a finalist for recently filled managerial jobs at Oakland, Detroit, St. Louis and Florida, and he fully intends to pursue the Angel job.

“I’ve been a bridesmaid long enough, it’s time to become a bride,” said Johnson, 47. “You hear your name so much, you just hope something happens. But it’s better to be rumored than not rumored.”

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Shortstop Gary DiSarcina took one look at the media mob in front of the Angels’ dugout Friday and declared: “It’s like a rock concert around here.”

The spotlight was on John McNamara, the former Red Sox manager who was returning as the Angels’ interim manager.

McNamara was involved two of the most memorable games in Red Sox history--the come-from-behind victory over the Angels in Game 5 of the 1986 league championship series, and the 10-inning loss to New York in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, a game the Mets won when Mookie Wilson’s grounder went through first baseman Bill Buckner’s legs.

Which one do Red Sox fans remember him for?

“Game 6 of the World Series, no question,” said McNamara, who was criticized heavily for not replacing the hobbling Buckner with Dave Stapleton late in the game.

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Orlando Sloan Jr., the Angels’ 56th-round pick in the June draft from St. Monica High, was killed in a car accident last Saturday in Santa Monica. Sloan, an outfielder who had not signed with the Angels, will be buried in an Angel uniform. . . . Reliever Chuck McElroy, suffering from tendinitis in his pitching hand, did not rejoin the team in Boston. McElroy, who was in Texas for the birth of his second child, hasn’t pitched since last Saturday, and General Manager Bill Bavasi said the left-hander may have to be put on the disabled list. . . . Jim Abbott will make his minor league debut tonight in Scottsdale, Ariz., starting for the Angels’ triple-A Vancouver Canadians against the Phoenix Firebirds.