Johnson Message to Dodgers: It’s My Way or the Highway : Baseball: After White outburst, manager stresses in pregame meeting that winning is the only thing that matters.

In response to ongoing dissension in the clubhouse, Dodger Manager Davey Johnson addressed the ballclub about refocusing on team goals during a closed-door meeting Saturday afternoon before a 6-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Johnson told the players that too much energy has been wasted on individual issues at the expense of the team agenda, detracting from what the organization is trying to accomplish.

And Johnson said that despite season-long criticism of him by players, he isn’t going anywhere. The field leader reaffirmed that he’s in this for the long haul, so it’s time the high-priced Dodgers get with him--or get prepared to play elsewhere.

“The sooner that everyone understands that the team is the No. 1 priority, and we get rid of some of the extraneous distractions, the sooner we’ll be able to do what we have to do,” Johnson said. “I’ve explained that and explained that, and I believe we’ve made some progress, but we still have more progress to make.

“The bottom line is that winning has to be at the top of the list. I’ve been on championship teams [as a player] and I’ve managed championship teams, and winning can’t take a back seat to anything. Anything. When that becomes the primary concern here, we’ll be all right, but we’re not going to be until that happens. Simple as that.”

Johnson did not admonish players individually during the 15-minute session or refer to specific situations, but it’s clear he moved to quell the rumblings in the wake of being criticized by center fielder Devon White on Friday. White became the latest player to speak out publicly about how Johnson has handled things during his first season guiding the team, expressing frustration because Johnson has not played him as frequently as he would prefer.

After the team meeting Johnson also had a one-on-one conversation with White which he declined to discuss. However, Johnson hinted at his feelings about White’s comments in his overall comments about the team’s sometimes-misguided approach.

“We’ve had this happen on numerous occasions this year, we’ve had these battles, but sometimes you have to have these things happen to become a team,” Johnson said. “We’ve had some guys who feel like I’m picking on them because I might not play them a certain day, guys who feel that I’m singling them out for whatever reason. But I don’t do that. All I’m doing is searching for areas where we might be more productive. I’m doing that because it has been a tough year and I need to do that to build for the future.

“It has nothing to do with me being upset with anyone. I’m just trying to figure out some combinations to help us win.”

Several players said Saturday’s meeting was beneficial.

“Today was a good day for a lot of reasons,” left fielder Gary Sheffield said. “Davey only cares about winning, and even though he’s said that before, you sometimes have to say things again when you’ve struggled like we have. Davey doesn’t hold grudges, and he doesn’t want guys feeling like they aren’t a part of the team. Davey just wants to get things working around here. I know that I haven’t been happy sometimes when Davey gives me a day off, but we just have to deal with it.”

Eric Karros agreed. Johnson is the fourth Dodger manager the first baseman has played under during his eight-plus seasons in the major leagues, and Karros said the players have to get with Johnson’s program--not the other way around.

“Every manager has their own style, and it really is up to the players to adapt to the manager’s style,” Karros said. “It’s something I had to adjust to, and if some players are still having problems adjusting . . . they have to adapt.”

General Manager Kevin Malone has tried to broker peace between Johnson and several players this season. He hopes Saturday’s meeting will help reduce his peacemaking sessions.

“I think we’ve come a long way as far as everyone understanding there’s only one page to be on--winning,” Malone said. “At least now, we all see the page. The challenge from here is getting everyone on the page.”