By Mike Kahn
CBS SportsLine Executive Editor
Nov. 30, 1998

There are no tears being shed in the Pacific Northwest area now Randy "White Shoes" Johnson has decided to pack up his belongings and his will to win and go into semiretirement in the desert.

No

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doubt, the Arizona Diamondbacks are thrilled to have signed the big left-hander, whose searing fastballs and sliders have humbled every left-handed batter this side of John Kruk. After the Mariners dumped him, Johnson compiled an impressive 10-1 record, with a 1.28 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 84-plus innings for the Houston Astros.

When Johnson signed a contract with the Diamondbacks Monday, he showed winning wasn't the only thing on his mind when he went looking for a new team. In fact, the notion of winning played no role at all in his decision. With a four-year, $52.4 million contract safely intact, now Johnson can just drive into downtown Phoenix from his high-brow home in suburban Paradise Valley to pitch a couple of games a week and collect his millions.

A pennant or World Series win for this expansion team? Oh, that will come. After Johnson is done. This is not a move for a pennant or a World Series ring. This is a move toward retirement and virtually no pressure.

THAT'S WHERE THE WHITE SHOES MONIKER comes into play. Now Johnson has decided Arizona is his home for good, white shoes, white belts and certainly a big old town car must be next on the agenda.

Randy Johnson stopped being about winning as a team a long time ago.

Most people believe it began when the Mariners ignorantly told Johnson and his agent after the 1997 season they were not going to pay him "Greg Maddux money" after the 1998 season. (Actually, that $11 million deal would have been close to a bargain in this market.) That set off the always hyper-sensitive Johnson. Once again, Mariners president Chuck Armstrong proved he doesn't have a clue how to keep the team on a successful path.

From that point on, the Mariners slipped hopelessly downhill. The team nearly won the American League pennant in 1995 with two of the best young players baseball has to offer in Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez.

But the Mariners destroyed the psyche of their only All-Star pitcher. He went into the tank badly in 1998, posting a 9-10 record to go along with a 4.43 ERA by the July 31 trade deadline. All M's general manager Woody Woodward could muster out of the trade market in return for Johnson were Carlos Guillen, Freddy Garcia and some other schlep named John Halama from the Houston Astros.

GUILLEN WILL MAKE THE TEAM NEXT YEAR as a utility infielder, Garcia already has arm troubles to go along with that mid-90s fastball, and as for Halama, well, only his mama knows for sure.

That was the deal for the best pitcher in Mariners' franchise history. At least all three are on the 40-man roster.

Getting rid of the Big Unit wasn't the problem for the Mariners. He wasn't worth re-signing for the four years and $50 million anyway. He's got back problems, and, more importantly, head problems. He never liked the limelight and was prone to slumps and erratic behavior, not to mention back and knee maladies.

The Mariners needed to make a deal early in the year or before the 1998 season, but that's a franchise problem, with 20 partial owners too often putting in their two cents with too little sense. With a new $500 million stadium opening in mid-summer, you'd think they'd be considering improvement of the franchise. Instead, count on them losing either Griffey or A-Rod after the 2000 season when both are free agents.

Back to the Big Unit. He had considerable offers from the contending Dodgers, Angels and Rangers. Obviously, he chose lifestyle over the will to win. Sure, the move by D-Backs owner Jerry Colangelo was a wise one. He got a marquee pitcher to put fannies in the seats every week while this young team is trying to become competitive. That counts for a lot, and putting Johnson in a starting rotation with Andy Benes, Todd Stottlemyre and Brian Anderson makes the Diamondbacks competitive, that's for sure.

The Big Unit will pitch his share of great games and will improve the D-Backs. The bigger point is, Johnson has decided to pass on pitching for a pennant race or a World Series while he's still got the goods. It isn't as if he can't afford a home in two cities. Hell, he can afford homes in all 30 cities. He just opted against pitching for legitimate contenders and instead will just have to hope for one in the city he now calls home.

HE'S JUST PACKING IT IN AS A HIRED gun for Colangelo while the team is being built. It will be stunning to everyone who knows him if the Big Unit is still pitching by the time D-Backs are seriously competing when his contract is complete. He'll be 39 before the fourth year is over, and when that time comes, don't count on him doing much other than sitting out by the swimming pool in the ballpark they call BOB and ogling the lovelies while sipping a cold one.

It would be tough to argue Johnson has been the most overpowering southpaw of this decade. He certainly has the most strikeouts and scares the most batters. He was incredible in the Mariners' spectacular run at the pennant in 1995 and earned himself the Cy Young Award for the effort. But he hasn't been the same since (with the exception of the 11 games with the Astros).

Nevertheless, Colangelo is a shrewd man. He wants to build this organization through starting pitching first. He'll take his chances on the Big Unit, and rightfully so. As for the BU, he's that 6-foot-10 red-head with long hair, white shoes, a white belt and driving a big ol' white town car. Retirement plans are already in the works.