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Setup for a putdownBy ALICIA CALDWELL, Times Staff Writer© St. Petersburg Times published February 10, 2003 Delivering a luncheon introduction can be tricky business, as Tampa Bay Devil Rays television announcer Dewayne Staats learned last week. Staats was warming up a chamber of commerce crowd of 475 for a speech in Pinellas Park by new Rays manager Lou Piniella. The announcer told a story about a confrontation the famously fiery Piniella had with an umpire. Disagreeing with a call the umpire made at the plate, Piniella charged out of the dugout. The ump braced himself for a diatribe, but Staats said Piniella simply offered this observation: You blew that call, but I still think you're the second-best umpire in the league. Puzzled, the ump followed Piniella back to the dugout and asked, "What do you mean second best? Who's first?" According to Staats, Piniella replied, "The other 75 are tied for first." The luncheon crowd at the Pinellas Multi-Chamber of Commerce luncheon roared with laughter. But Piniella had the last laugh. "Dewayne," he said when he took the microphone, "that's the second-best introduction I've ever had." Staats was speechless. Later he said it wasn't a practiced shtick. "No, that was all off the cuff," Staats said. "You've got to be on your toes with Lou."
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From the Times Business report
From the AP
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