Piniella

Let's put it this way: Phil Garner is a capable and available major-league manager, but that doesn't mean he's the only candidate the Orioles should consider when they get around to replacing Ray Miller.What if Seattle fires Lou Piniella in the coming weeks? What if Anaheim fires Terry Collins? Both are proven managers with higher career winning percentages than Garner.And where does it say the new manager has to be a veteran "name"? Isn't that the same, Rotisserie-style thinking that has left the Orioles with an overpaid, dysfunctional team languishing in fourth place?

Quote: "A typical Seattle save. [Jose] Mesa gets the job done. He made it a little exciting at times."-- Mariners manager Lou Piniella after Mesa, who pitched the ninth, struck out Frank Thomas with two on to end the game. It's a fact: The Mariners have used 13 rookie pitchers this season.Who's hot: Yankees relievers are 4-1 with eight saves and a 1.60 ERA in their past 18 games.Who's not: The Royals' Jeremy Giambi is hitless in his past 24 at-bats.On deck: Ramon Martinez will make his first start of the season Thursday, joining younger brother Pedro in the Red Sox's starting rotation.

Quote: "The philosophy of the teams is they don't want the main guy like Mo [Vaughn] to beat them, so they pick on me." -- Troy O'Leary of the Red Sox, who hit a homer and later drove in the game-winning run in a 4-3 win over Oakland. He was 10-for-20 in a 6-0 homestand by Boston. It's a fact: Oakland turned 4-6-3 double plays against Boston in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings.Who's hot: Darryl Strawberry of the Yankees. He hit a homer yesterday and is batting .400 (12-for-30)

Mariners manager Lou Piniella has settled on a new approach to trying to beat the Orioles in their American League Division Series.He's going to pretend that the airline lost his bullpen during his cross-country trip from Seattle after Game 2.That's right, he's going to tell everyone that he checked his relief pitchers at the ticket counter along with the rest of his luggage, boarded his flight and flew east to Baltimore only to discover that the airline had...

SEATTLE -- Seattle Mariners left-hander Jamie Moyer was a couple of good innings away from becoming a playoff hero yesterday. He needed just a few more outs to complete his amazing two-year transition from struggling journeyman to star pitcher, but his arm gave out just as his magic moment was about to arrive.Moyer worked into the fifth inning and appeared to be succeeding where superstar Randy Johnson had failed the night before, but he walked off the mound with a strained left elbow and left a gaping hole in the Mariners' postseason rotation.

The pitching duel of the month was all wet. Randy Johnson pitched five strong innings last night, but his attempt to tie the American League record for consecutive victories was lost in the steady drizzle that interrupted last night's series opener between the Orioles and the Seattle Mariners at Camden Yards.Johnson returned to the mound after the 57-minute delay, but he was not the same pitcher who had gone strikeout for strikeout with Orioles ace Mike Mussina before the umpires ordered the tarp onto the field.

On the field: There's no better proof of how much the pitcher affects the running game than the numbers generated by Mike Mussina and Chris Hoiles. The Orioles catcher has thrown out four of eight runners trying to steal with Mussina on the mound, including Seattle's Rich Amaral in the third inning last night. With other pitchers on the mound, Hoiles has thrown out seven of 76.In the dugout: Right fielder Jay Buhner was in the Mariners' original starting lineup last night, but a sore right foot -- which bothers him from time to time -- forced manager Lou Piniella to make a late change.

NEW YORK -- Seattle Mariners left-hander Randy Johnson, who was scheduled to face the Orioles in Friday night's homestand opener at Camden Yards, will be placed on the disabled list instead to rest his injured lower back.Johnson missed two starts because of a nerve impingement in his back, but returned Sunday to pitch five innings and record his 12th consecutive victory and fifth of the season. He reported no unusual soreness at the time, but apparently was uncomfortable enough afterward to concur with club officials that an extended rest was warranted.

SEATTLE -- Batgate swirled in Seattle last night. The bat of Orioles right fielder Bobby Bonilla was confiscated, to be checked for cork, and he thought the move brilliant. Alex Rodriguez's bat was confiscated, and he found it flattering. Seattle manager Lou Piniella called the whole episode "distasteful."Orioles manager Davey Johnson didn't like it, either, but not because of the gamesmanship. He was upset because the Orioles lost. Immediately after Johnson had home plate umpire Ted Barrett confiscate Rodriguez's bat, the Mariners shortstop got another from teammate Ken Griffey and hit a three-run homer, and Seattle went on to win, 5-1.It was the fifth time this year the Orioles had a chance to improve their record to 10 games over .500, and the fifth time they failed.

NEW YORK -- They were in Texas on Sunday, Seattle on Monday and here yesterday after flying all night across the country on a rollicking team charter.Talk about sleepless in Seattle."When did you get in?" someone asked Lou Piniella, manager of the Seattle Mariners, before Game 1 of his team's divisional series against the New York Yankees last night at Yankee Stadium."We got to the hotel around 4 in the morning," Piniella said some 12 hours later in his office, pulling hard on a cigarette and contemplating a shave.

Maddon, Piniella earn managerial honors baseball Joe Maddon easily won the American League Manager of the Year award yesterday after guiding the Tampa Bay Rays from baseball's basement to the World Series. Lou Piniella of the Chicago Cubs took the National League honor. Maddon, who succeeded Piniella as Tampa Bay manager in 2006, was a runaway winner in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He received all but one of the 28 first-place votes - the other went to the Minnesota Twins' Ron Gardenhire.

Chicago - The Chicago Cubs brought a heavy hitter to Wrigley Field yesterday afternoon, asking the Rev. James L. Greanias, a Greek Orthodox priest from St. Iakovos Church in Valparaiso, Ind., to spread holy water around the dugout to remove an alleged curse that has hovered over the ballclub since its last World Series appearance in 1945. But after Ryan Dempster couldn't find the plate and their hitters took another siesta in a 7-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of their National League Division Series, the Cubs might want to get out of the curse-removal business and concentrate on the game itself.

The Chicago Cubs are holding their version of FanFest this weekend, with the catchy name "Cubs Convention," and local reporters who cover the team were given an interesting story angle Friday night, courtesy of manager Lou Piniella. Piniella basically left the impression that trade talks for Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts are dead. He doesn't expect the team to add another infielder and seems resigned to taking the current roster to spring training. His remarks were on the record.

I'm a big Lou Piniella fan, and not just because he became my newest fellow employee when the Chicago Cubs (a Tribune Company subsidiary) announced yesterday that the team had signed him to a three-year, $10 million contract to replace Dusty Baker as manager. I love Lou because he is everything a new manager should be, including slightly delusional. He proved that during his introductory news conference when he basically guaranteed that the Cubs would win under his command. Steve Bartman was unavailable to comment.

For most of the year, the Chicago White Sox's Ozzie Guillen has been considered the favorite for American League Manager of the Year. Now, some are labeling Guillen and his team with another title: chokers. It's not something the fiery Guillen is taking lightly. "Choking is when you have seven kids and no job," he said. "That's choking. This is baseball." On Aug. 1, the White Sox held a 15-game lead in the American League Central. They've gone 23-25 since, while the upstart Cleveland Indians went 34-12 and cut the White Sox's lead to 1 1/2 games entering Friday.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays aren't exactly known for historic wins or for making manager Lou Piniella happy. On Wednesday, though, they accomplished both. Their second consecutive comeback victory against the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field also served as Piniella's 1,500th managerial victory. He is the 18th manager to reach that mark and just the third person in baseball history to have 1,500 hits as a player and 1,500 wins as a manager. The other two are Hall of Famer Fred Clarke and the Yankees' Joe Torre.

This offseason took Buddy Groom by surprise. Groom understood the reality: He was nearly 40. He had had a subpar season with the Orioles in 2004, posting a 4.78 ERA while lefties hit a robust .333 against him. It was clear why the Orioles declined his $3 million option last November. But when they offered him only a non-roster invitation to spring training, Groom was taken aback. He looked for a better deal. He was, after all, the rarest of baseball breeds: a durable left-handed reliever.

With about three weeks until the All-Star Game, two Orioles are locks to make the American League roster: shortstop Miguel Tejada and second baseman Brian Roberts. Two others, closer B.J. Ryan and third baseman Melvin Mora, deserve spots as well. The Orioles haven't had four representatives since Cal Ripken, Harold Baines, Mike Mussina and B.J. Surhoff in 1999. They haven't had more than one since 2000. A fifth selection seems unlikely, but a case can be made for Orioles left-hander Bruce Chen, who didn't officially make the roster until the last weekend in spring training and has emerged as the most consistent pitcher on a first-place club.

One is a renowned loudmouth currently on the disabled list. The other is a legendary hothead who hasn't played baseball in 20 years. Maybe when Curt Schilling and Lou Piniella sound off, the cameras should stop rolling and the microphones be moved away. But, boy, is it good theater. The war of words started after the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Devil Rays exchanged beanballs, resulting in two bench-clearing incidents and six ejections last Sunday. Friday, Major League Baseball handed out eight suspensions and/or fines, including three-game suspensions for Piniella, the Rays' manager, and Boston manager Terry Francona.

As Lou Piniella sat in the visiting manager's office at Camden Yards early last evening, surrounded by 20 reporters, he wanted nothing more than to put a nasty beanball war behind him. But it's not going away just yet. The manager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays began serving the first three-game suspension of his 37-year major league career in the aftermath of a pair of bench-clearing incidents with the Boston Red Sox on Sunday. Devil Rays bench coach John McLaren will manage the club through this weekend's three-game series against the Orioles.