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Piniella worries for friend Rothschild

By MIKE READLING and MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 19, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Seattle manager Lou Piniella sat in the visiting manager's office at Tropicana Field on Monday and quietly downplayed media speculation that he would be sitting in the office on the other side of the stadium next season.

Piniella's contract with Seattle is up at the end of this season, sparking rumors that the Tampa native will replace Rays manager Larry Rothschild.

Piniella said that those rumors are "basically talk and speculation" and that none of it has come from him.

"I feel like Larry is an excellent baseball man and I've said this more than once, I'd like to see him succeed here and be here for a long time," Piniella said.

Piniella said the speculation is "not fair" to Rothschild, a longtime friend.

"It's very awkward," said Piniella, who owns a home in North Tampa and another on the beach in Pinellas County. "Let's not forget, Tampa Bay has a pretty good manager here right now. I feel awkward more for him than for me.

"Basically, it hurts me to see my name speculated on here because of Larry."

Piniella, 57, said he would like to manage another 4-5 years, and wherever he manages he wants a contract that will allow him to live comfortably when he retires.

Rothschild refused to comment on the speculation surrounding his job.

SHOT IN THE ARM: Greg Vaughn plans to get a cortisone shot in his ailing right shoulder after tonight's game. He'll likely sit out Wednesday's game with the expectation of being ready to go Friday in Toronto. "The doctors think it will knock out some of the inflammation," Vaughn said.

COURT DATE: There is talk that Gerald Williams, Tony Fiore and Dave Eiland will have the appeals of their suspensions heard Thursday before the Rays leave for Toronto. The other scenario is that the hearings would be in Toronto.

The suspensions are the result of two bench-clearing brawls with the Red Sox in August.

CATWALK ANTICS: Jay Buhner's ninth-inning double onto the B-ring catwalk was not the first ball to go up and not come down at Tropicana Field.

Jose Canseco plopped one onto the walkway 150-feet above the playing surface May 22, 1999, against Anaheim.

Buhner is the 20th different player to hit a catwalk and the second Mariner. Edgar Martinez hit a home run off the C-ring, May 28, 1998.

Twelve balls have hit catwalks this season.

OUCH: When Jose Guillen was hit by Paul Abbott in the fourth inning it marked the 12th time this season he has been hit by a pitch, ranking him fourth in the American League.

LOSING OUT: The Devil Rays' eight-game losing streak is a season high and second longest in franchise history. Tampa Bay last won Sept. 8 at Oakland. The Rays are 2-14 in September and sit a season-low 27 games worse than .500.

The longest losing streak in Rays history is 11 games, from June 30-July 13, 1998.

OUT ON THE STREET: Rays personnel didn't report any major hurricane damage, but pitching coach Bill Fischer still found himself out on the street for about four hours Sunday night. Fischer was evacuated from his room at the Ponce De Leon hotel because of a major fire at an adjacent building, which used to house the Big Catch nightclub. "I just sat out there watching. There were about 100 firemen there," Fischer said.

BABY RAY: Cory Lidle will miss his scheduled start today as he has traveled home to Las Vegas to be with his wife, Melanie, for the birth of their first child. Monday at noon, Melanie gave birth to Christopher Taylor Lidle, an 8-pound, 1-ounce boy.

Travis Harper will assume Lidle's role in the lineup.

You don't say

Trying to manage a team in the middle of a pennant race can do a lot to curb any kind feelings you have toward the teams pressuring you for the top spot. So you'll have to excuse Seattle manager Lou Piniella if he came across a little harsh on Monday when told about the Oakland A's history with hurricanes.

Last season the A's had two games rained out in Baltimore by Hurricane Floyd. They finished the season on a 4-7 skid. This weekend Oakland, 21/2 games behind the Mariners for first place in the AL West, was forced to cancel a game with Tampa Bay because of Hurricane Gordon.

"I hope what happened with Hurricane Floyd happens with Hurricane Gordon," Piniella said.

Rays attendance

MONDAY'S CROWD: 13,129

TROPICANA FIELD CAPACITY: 44,397

SEASON TOTAL: 1,386,031

PER-GAME AVERAGE: 19,250

LARGEST CROWD: 42,823

SMALLEST CROWD: 13,039

1999 PER-GAME AVERAGE: 19,296

1998 PER-GAME AVERAGE: 30,939

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