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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 9, 2001
Piniella: Attitude no different for playoffs
SEATTLE -- There is some thought that by winning a record-tying 116 games in the regular season the Mariners have added pressure on them in the playoffs.
Manager Lou Piniella says that's not the case.
"I don't think we're going to carry any burden in the postseason," Piniella said. "We're going to play the game the way we've played it all year, rely on good pitching and good defense and some timely hitting. If we do that, we'll be fine."
The Mariners lost a chance at their 117th win against Texas Sunday, and Piniella said the postgame reaction told him all he needed to know about his players' readiness.
"The reason we won 116 games is that, yeah, we have good talent, but at the same time we don't like losing," Piniella said. "And (Sunday) after we got beat, people weren't too happy in there. And maybe in a way that was a little bit of a blessing because it got their ire up a little bit."
FEELING GOOD: The Mariners were buoyed by a visit from shortstop Carlos Guillen, out since late September after being diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis. "Everybody was happy to see Carlos and see how he's doing," first baseman John Olerud said. Guillen is out for this series and likely the next. There is a chance he could return for the World Series.
FEELING GOOD TOO: Indians manager Charlie Manuel, who rejoined the team Friday after being hospitalized for the third time due to abdominal problems, said he is feeling much better. And the Indians are glad to have him back in the dugout.
"Charlie's our guy, our leader," first baseman Jim Thome said. "When he's around, we kind of feed off him."
ON THE BORDER: Catcher Pat Borders, acquired from the Rays organization last month, won't be on the Mariners' playoff roster. The M's sent him to their spring training complex in Arizona to keep working out with the possibility he could be added for the next round.
ROCKING: John Rocker, who has been more erratic than effective since coming to Cleveland in a June 22 trade with Atlanta, made the roster amid speculation he would be left off. Rocker could be valuable against Olerud, who is 0-for-7 in the regular season against the left-hander.
UP ON THE ROOF: The roof on Safeco Field was fixed in time for today's game.
Engineers scrambled to fix a glitch with the retractable roof, which opened about halfway before Sunday's game then started malfunctioning. It was fixed by Monday afternoon, team spokeswoman Rebecca Hale said.
BIG NUMBER: The A's won 102 games, third-most in Oakland history behind 1988 (104) and '90 (103). The franchise record of 107 was set in 1931 when the team was in Philadelphia.