Hal's out; who's in?

Tampa's Lou Piniella might top fans' wish list, but there are serious roadblocks to even interviewing him.

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer

© St. Petersburg Times
published October 1, 2002

[AP photo] Lou Piniella is a Tampa legend and World Series winner but is under contract for next year.

Lou Piniella is going to be the most talked-about name in connection with the Rays' managerial opening.

But he might never be a candidate.

For all the romantic rhapsodizing about bringing the Tampa-born legend home to save the local team, there is one significant issue that could prevent the Rays from even talking to him: his contract to manage the Mariners in 2003.

"He's signed for next year and there are no out clauses," Seattle general manager Pat Gillick said Monday night.

That doesn't mean the Rays can't get Piniella, but it does mean it would be difficult and complicated. The Bucs found a way to bring Jon Gruden home, though it cost them $8-million and four high draft picks.

The Rays aren't likely to buy Piniella out of his contract or trade for him. Their best hope would appear to be Piniella and the Mariners deciding it would be best for both to end what had been a successful relationship.

That might not be as unlikely as it seems. Piniella voiced some frustration during the season when Seattle ownership wouldn't spend more money to improve the team, which ended up missing the playoffs and might be headed toward a transition, with Gillick considering retiring.

If Piniella, 59, were available, there would be several other issues to resolve: Would the Rays be willing to pay the $2.5-million or so he will get from the Mariners; would he want to come to the Rays if more attractive and competitive teams were interested in him; and would his fierce competitiveness allow him to tolerate a season with a young team that again could lose 100 games?

"I'm not going to comment on Lou Piniella specifically," Rays general manager Chuck LaMar said. "He's a heck of a major-league manager. There's no question about that. He's under contract with the Seattle Mariners and until we're otherwise told, he is a Seattle Mariner and that's how we're going to handle that situation."

Piniella, according to his wife, Anita, is in Seattle packing their belongings before heading home for the winter and would not comment on the situation.

LaMar said he will start compiling a list immediately, hoping to begin interviews within a couple weeks and make a hire by the end of the month.

He didn't say how many people he would interview but said that it would be fewer than the 10 he talked with before hiring Larry Rothschild before the 1998 inaugural season. He said that he would consider candidates from within and outside the organization and that they did not have to have managerial experience or necessarily have to be prominent names. He said ownership would "have a say" in the criteria and who was the best choice for this market.

Among the current staff, Triple-A manager Bill Evers and coaches Tom Foley and Billy Hatcher would be the obvious candidates. Of coaches who are considered future managers, Oakland's Ken Macha, Boston's Mike Stanley, Arizona's Bob Melvin and New York Yankee Lee Mazzilli could surface. Among former managers, Don Zimmer, now a Yankees coach, and Buck Showalter, now an ESPN analyst, are likely to have interest.

"I realize how precious those 30 jobs are, and it's going to be an interesting month for a lot of guys," Showalter said from Phoenix. "There's a lot of quality candidates out there that Chuck's going to be looking at, and if I'm one of them I'd consider that an honor."

There has been some suggestion that the Rays need to hire a "big-name" manager, but LaMar said that would only work if it were the right fit.

"What's going to help credibility here is winning," LaMar said. "That's it. You can go through general managers. You can go through managers. You can go through different personnel and players.

"We all know that we have got to get better personnel-wise. That's my responsibility. I think that's what is going to bring credibility to this organization. If you hire someone with that name just because that's the only thing he brings to the party, then I think you'd be making a mistake.

"However, if you get somebody with that credibility nationally as well as locally and he also is an outstanding manager who can develop young players and seems like a fit, now you've got the best of both worlds."

According to several current Rays players, the next manager should be someone who, if nothing else, is prepared to deal with a team expected to again be laden with young players.

"I think it's got to be someone with some patience and someone willing to do some teaching," outfielder Ben Grieve said. "There's guys from the old school who expect guys who get to the big leagues to be able to take care of themselves. But teams like ours, some guys need some help and some advice. Whoever they bring in will have to do some hands-on teaching."

"Definitely someone able to work with young kids," pitcher Tanyon Sturtze said. "Someone able to be patient and to go through the tough times."

Veteran Greg Vaughn said it probably would help if the manager were a respected former big-leaguer and a good communicator. But he isn't sure how much difference that will make.

"Until we have some players," Vaughn said, "it doesn't really matter."

-- Times staff writer Kevin Kelly contributed to this report.

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