Johnson, Mariners Are Still Scrapping

Who says the struggling Seattle Mariners and disgruntled pitcher Randy Johnson don’t have any fight left in them? The left-hander showed plenty of aggression Friday afternoon--unfortunately it was directed at one of his own teammates, first baseman David Segui.

Several hours before Friday night’s game against the Angels in the Kingdome, Johnson and Segui scuffled in the Seattle clubhouse. No punches were exchanged, but it took about 10 teammates and coaches a minute or so to separate the combatants.

“I don’t know what it was about,” Segui said. “I’ve never had a problem with Randy, ever. We’ve always gotten along great. It came out of nowhere. He pushed me. I thought he was playing. I got up, and he charged me. Then we started messing around by my locker, and that was it.”

What Segui termed “messing around” actually looked more like a rugby scrum, with right fielder Jay Buhner, reliever Bobby Ayala and several players and coaches tangled up in the fray doing their best to defuse the situation.

Johnson, who has been perturbed by the Mariners’ failure to trade him this season after they did not offer a contract extension over the winter, vowed not to talk to reporters after a series of trade rumors involving him and the Dodgers were reported last month.

Seattle Manager Lou Piniella, whose underachieving team has been one of baseball’s biggest disappointments, taking a 38-51 record into Friday night’s game, did not seem too disturbed by the incident.

Of course, Piniella is hardly one to disdain such acts--he’s a feisty manager who once engaged in a clubhouse brawl with one of his own players in Cincinnati, reliever Rob Dibble.

“It was a little misunderstanding,” Piniella said. “As long as no one gets hurt, it’s over and done with.”

Piniella, who is in his sixth season with the Mariners, said he couldn’t remember the last time two of his own players had fought.

“That was the first scuffle we’ve had in a long, long, long time,” Piniella said. “Actually, it’s a little surprising because this team has gotten along real well all year, even with all the problems we’ve had.”

*

In their quest for pitching, the Angels apparently have homed in on Kansas City right-hander Tim Belcher and Cincinnati right-hander Pete Harnisch, but they’re also talking with the Detroit Tigers about reliever Todd Jones.

Harnisch, who is 7-3 with a 3.03 earned-run average and makes $300,000, may be the most attractive pitching commodity, but he may not be on the market long.

The Cincinnati Post is reporting today that the Reds are close to a three-team deal that would send Harnisch to San Diego. The Padres would send pitcher Joey Hamilton to Detroit, and the Tigers would send prospects to the Reds.

The Angels inquired about Reds’ starter Brett Tomko, who is 8-6 with a 4.74 earned-run average, but the right-hander is believed to be untouchable. The Reds would like center fielder Jim Edmonds for Harnisch but would settle for prospects as long as a pitcher such as triple-A left-hander Scott Schoeneweis is included.

The Royals wanted Angel second baseman Justin Baughman for Belcher but were turned down. Kansas City also is interested in pitcher Jason Dickson.

TODAY

ANGELS’ STEVE SPARKS (3-0, 4.31 ERA)

vs.

MARINERS’ RANDY JOHNSON (7-8, 5.07 ERA)

Kingdome, Seattle, 1 p.m.

TV--Channel 11. Radio--KRLA (1110), XPRS (1090).

* Update--Allen Watson, sidelined since May 24 because of an elbow injury and a deep cut on the outside of his left wrist, threw 45 pitches during batting practice Friday and is expected to be activated either today or Sunday. Collins was set to put Watson back in the rotation before he suffered the cut on June 29, but it now appears Watson will be sent to the bullpen. Collins also is considering carrying a 12-man pitching staff for a time. “We’re trying to figure out where he fits best,” said Collins, who had a lengthy closed-door meeting with General Manager Bill Bavasi to discuss the situation before Friday night’s game. “We’ve had some good outings from our starting pitchers. Do we want to disrupt that? Knowing Allen’s past and his potential, starting is the best spot for him. But it’s a tough decision to break up what we have now.” . . . Collins, informed that the 1999 schedule would include six games against the Dodgers, an increase of two from the four games the teams played in 1997 and this season: “We thought four games against them was stressful? We don’t have to play them six games in a row, do we?”