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Piniella reminisces about Seattle

By BRUCE LOWITT

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 16, 2000

SEATTLE -- Lou Piniella may have managed his last home game in Seattle. His contract expires at the end of the World Series, and unless the team makes a remarkable comeback, he may never call Safeco Field home again.

Piniella said that he hasn't given any thought to his future, that it would take care of itself during the winter. There is speculation, with all the open managerial jobs, that he will be in a different uniform in 2001. That speculation included Piniella, a Tampa native and resident, taking over the Devil Rays. That ended when the Rays retained Larry Rothschild, who will be in the final year of his contract.

Piniella was in a contemplative, almost melancholy, mood, speaking in the past tense before Sunday's Game 5 as he pondered his eight years in Seattle.

"This has been a wonderful place to work," Piniella said. "It is a great city. ... It is a great organization. Our ownership group, our front office, the players that I've had, they're top notch. This baseball team is on the upswing with the added revenues they'll derive from this stadium. Our ownership group doesn't want to make any money. (He never said he actually had asked them.)

"They are wealthy enough. All they want to do is put a good product on the field. ... It is going to get better. It's been fun. It really has been. ... I've had a lot of wonderful players here and a lot of good memories; great memories, actually."

OKAY, HERE'S THE PLAN: The last time the Mariners faced Orlando Hernandez, in their 7-1 loss in Game 2 of the ALCS, "El Duque" limited them to six hits and their run, striking out seven in eight innings.

So what is Piniella's plan for Game 6? "We're going to throw in as much left-handed hitting as we can," he said. "He's been so darned tough on right-handed hitting. ... That's about the only thing that we can do: play every left-hander we have and take our chances that way."

SOMETHING SPECIAL: Joe Torre was fired by the Mets and Cardinals, but he has a special feeling for the fans and city of St. Louis, where he played for six years and managed for five. "If you were ever a member of the Cardinals, you were like royalty," he said, contemplating a possible return to the Gateway City as manager of the Yankees. "Whether you were traded, fired, whatever, when you go back, people welcome you back, always look at you like you were something special because that's the way they look at their baseball team."

Torre said players from other clubs loved walking around downtown because the fans' excitement geared them up for the game. "It's different than going to Shea (Stadium) or Yankee Stadium, because in New York it's about winning and losing. In St. Louis it's the event."

NUMBERS GAMES: The Mariners' five runs in the fifth matched their output in the first four ALCS games. ... When Mike Cameron scored in the first, it was the first time Seattle had a lead since the eighth inning of Game 2. ... The homers by Edgar Martinez and John Olerud marked the ninth time in the ALCS that players have hit two in succession. The eighth time was Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez for the Yankees in Game 3.

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