Latest show in Bronx: Lou Zoo

The Devil Rays manager is a picture of calm and courtesy while New Yorkers speculate all about him.

By MARC TOPKIN
Published June 21, 2005

NEW YORK - The line formed early Monday at Yankee Stadium, and that was just to get into the visiting manager's office.

The Yankees' latest winning streak had - at least temporarily - quelled speculation about Joe Torre's job status, but that didn't do much to diminish reporters' interest in Lou Piniella, who has gotten nearly as much ink in the New York tabloids as a potential replacement as Tom Cruise has for courting Katie Holmes.

They were there to see what they could get out of Piniella, specifically about him getting out of a deal they apparently consider to be more with the devil than with the Devil Rays.

The Rays manager chose his words carefully during a 30-minute discussion, often repeating the more dicey questions, and what he didn't say may have been as intriguing as what he did.

Essentially, he reiterated that he intends to honor his contract, which runs through next season, and that he would do everything he could to help the team win while on the job, but made no commitment beyond that.

"The lure and challenge is to get better during the time that I'm here," Piniella said. "That's it. That's really the challenge. That's what we're trying to do."

Piniella's frustration is well known and has been the subject of nationwide discussion and speculation since he blasted ownership June 12. It seems likely he will finish this season, but his return for 2006, the final of his four-year, $13-million deal, could depend on what direction the team takes and whose direction it is under.

Piniella, the future and the state of the organization were discussed Monday during a three-hour meeting of managing general partner Vince Naimoli, new general partner Stu Sternberg, general manager Chuck LaMar and vice president of planning and development Matt Silverman.

"It was a productive meeting about a variety of topics," LaMar said. "It was good to get an audience with both Vince and Stu and give them my two cents on things."

The timing for the transition from Naimoli to Sternberg is unclear, but the Rays are trying to build for what LaMar termed "a window of opportunity" to be competitive when their young players mature and their payroll increases.

Piniella knows the future may be brighter.

"Is it going to get better here? Eventually it will," he said.

But will he still be around?

"I don't make those decisions," he said. "Those decisions are made by the people that own the baseball team."

Piniella didn't demand any change Monday, unless you count his asking a clubhouse worker to switch his office TV to CNBC financial news. And the closest he came to talking about going anywhere was noting that his new fishing boat is "pretty well gassed."

He did amend one of his controversial comments of June 12, saying he did and would take at least some responsibility for the team's performance. He acknowledged that the steady losing has taken a personal toll, forcing him to learn how to leave the game at the ballpark. He talked candidly about how lonely the job can be. He said he didn't see what quitting would accomplish. And he said he wasn't jealous over the success of the Yankees.

If anything, coming back to the stadium where he starred as a player and started as a manager, he sounded as if he realizes he is near the end of his career and has accepted his fate to try to make the best of things with the Rays - as long as he is on the job.

"I came here for three reasons," Piniella said. "One, my family. One was the location, which is my hometown area. And the lure of winning, turning this thing around, the challenge of doing that.

"Two out of three ain't bad. And we're still working on the third."

Having been a part of winning teams for most of his playing, coaching and managing career, Piniella has found it difficult adjusting to the Rays' constant losing .

When a reporter asked Piniella if he got any joy out of the job, he repeated the question three times before answering.

"My wife says God put me here for a purpose, and I'm trying to figure out what that purpose is. ... I haven't quite figured it out yet," Piniella said.

"It's not easy getting beat and getting joy out of getting beat. It really isn't. Do I get joy out of watching a few of our young kids get better and get more consistent? Yeah, I do. ... But, boy, when you're 23-46, that's no fun."

Piniella, who turns 62 in August, hinted he would manage only a few more seasons. He came to the Rays on track to be a Hall of Fame manager, but at the rate they have lost, he may end up leaving barely at .500. Still, he said he didn't regret taking the job nor would he regret if his career ended in failure with the Rays.

"I don't dislike it here," he said. "People come up with all these assumptions. I never said I dislike it here. I get frustrated. I'm a human being just like everybody else. I've been very fortunate in my career as a player and as a manager that I've been on the other side of things, and here I am, when you really should be enjoying it, being on the other side of it."

Can the situation improve?

"There's still time left," he said. "For my part of it, I'm going to be here. Assuming I'm here for the year-and-a-half, there's plenty of time to get better."

[Last modified June 21, 2005, 02:30:30]