Report: L.A. Will Can Johnson

Manager Davey Johnson is scheduled to meet with Los Angeles Dodgers executives on Friday, and he reportedly has been told he won't return next season.

Quoting sources outside the organization, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that chairman Bob Daly and president Bob Graziano informed Johnson late last week that he would not be retained. A news conference has been tentatively scheduled for Friday at Dodger Stadium, the paper said.

Johnson is under contract for next year at a salary of $1.5 million.

Responding to the Times story, Dodgers senior vice president Derrick Hall said, "Absolutely, no final decision has been made" on Johnson's future.

"They have discussed the situation, they're going to talk again later this week," Hall told The Associated Press. "The matter will be resolved when Davey returns from vacation.

"I can't say that he will or won't be back next season. It's not done until he returns. It's not definite that Davey is gone, because nothing has been made official."

Hall said no news conference had been scheduled by the team. Johnson was scheduled to meet with Daly and Graziano on Friday, he added.

Daly did not immediately return a phone call.

Johnson, who managed the Dodgers to an 86-76 record and a second-place finish in the NL West, left immediately after the team's final game in San Diego last Sunday for a fishing trip in Mexico.

Johnson, who managed the New York Mets in 1986 when they won the World Series, said several times toward the end of the season that he expected to be fired.

The Dodgers, whose $94.2 million payroll was the third-highest in baseball, were 77-85 in 1999 Johnson's first year as manager in Los Angeles. Teams managed by Johnson have finished first or second in 11 of his 12 full seasons.

"We have a good future here, and I enjoyed being a Dodger," Johnson said after Sunday's season finale. "I'm going fishing."

Johnson has said he takes full responsibility for the team's poor showing.

The Dodgers were essentially out of contention the entire month of September. They finished strong, winning 11 of their final 15 games, but it was too late to get them into the postseason for the first time since 1996 and the third time since 1988, when they won the World Series.

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