NL NOTEBOOK: CARDINALS' JOHNSON TAKES THE PLUNGE.

Byline: TONY JACKSON Staff Writer

Harken back, if you will, to when you were young and your parents would admonish you against giving in to peer pressure by asking you the following question: ``If your friends told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?''

Eight years ago, Tyler Johnson's friends told him to jump off a bridge, and he did it.

The occasion was the Senior Little League World Series in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a national tournament Johnson's Conejo Valley team ultimately won. Sometime during the trip, several players found their way to a drawbridge above the Intracoastal Waterway and dared each other to take the plunge. Only Johnson and another kid, named Wes Munyon, actually jumped.

``I'd say it was 40 feet down, at least,'' Johnson said Friday, on the occasion of his first visit to Dodger Stadium as a major-league player. ``He jumped first, and I thought, `Oh, no, I have to do this now.' We landed in the water and had to swim over to the bank. We actually cut our feet on the wall on the way down because there were so many barnacles on it.

``But we didn't get in any trouble for it. We got off scot-free.''

For those who know Johnson, a rookie left-handed reliever for the St. Louis Cardinals and a Newbury Park High alum, the hijinks aren't at all surprising.

``I have always been kind of wild and crazy,'' Johnson said. ``But I have definitely toned it down to a respectable level now that I'm in the big leagues. I don't want to be Johnny Knoxville out there.''

On the advice of pitching coach Dave Duncan, Johnson also has toned down his formerly wild-and-crazy delivery since being recalled from Triple-A Memphis on May 9. Although he entered the weekend series against the Dodgers with a 5.68 ERA, he has been spectacular in his primary role, that of getting out left-handed batters in key situations.

Overall, lefties are hitting .167 (6 for 36) against Johnson with 15 strikeouts.

``What I have tried to do is just calm down and slow down,'' Johnson said. ``I had a tendency even in the minor leagues to get overanxious and start trying to do too much. It's something that was brought to my attention, but I knew from the beginning of spring training that I needed to slow down my leg kick a little bit, because sometimes I was in such a rush.

``Once I did that, I started throwing more strikes.''

Johnson attended so many games at Dodger Stadium growing up that he doesn't even remember the first time he saw the place. But he said he never will forget the first time he saw it as a big leaguer Friday. He had to scrounge up an estimated 28 tickets for friends and family members, including Munyon, his bridge- jumping partner.

New closer: With rumors of their demise apparently having been greatly exaggerated, the Atlanta Braves made it clear they have every intention of making a run at the National League wild card by acquiring two-time All-Star closer Bob Wickman from Cleveland for minor-league catching prospect Max Ramirez.

``Bob will take on the role as our closer, a position that we think is now in very capable and confident hands,'' Braves general manager John Schuerholz said.

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