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**ironman** · 09-21-2005, 04:51 PM

Damnit. I like him.

**tallahassee blues fan** · 09-21-2005, 04:51 PM

Hmm...shouldn't that be subtitled: Torre also done in NY?

**CSD** · 09-21-2005, 04:52 PM

I'm shocked.

**bombay** · 09-21-2005, 04:52 PM

QUOTE(tallahassee blues fan @ Sep 21 2005, 04:51 PM) Quoted post

Hmm...shouldn't that be subtitled: Torre also done in NY?
[/b][/quote]

That sounds right.

**jhanke** · 09-21-2005, 04:57 PM

sweet lou back in NYC?

**Johnny H** · 09-21-2005, 05:06 PM

QUOTE(jhanke @ Sep 21 2005, 05:57 PM) Quoted post

sweet lou back in NYC?
[/b][/quote]

dude's wound so tight, he'd probably have a coronary.

**cardinalgirl** · 09-21-2005, 07:46 PM

I don't know much about him. Do you all think he's a good manager? I don't count his tb years because, umm, they suck. don't think I didn't try to find him when I was at 2003 spring training in st. pete though.

I know he seemed to do okay in Seattle,but I don't know his tendencies at all.

**JWB** · 09-21-2005, 07:51 PM

He led the Reds to the World Series title in 1990.

He inherited a good team, though.

**Fred Garvin** · 09-21-2005, 07:54 PM

End Of The Road For Lou
By CARTER GADDIS
[email protected]

ST. PETERSBURG - Two baseball sources have confirmed to The Tampa Tribune that Tampa native Lou Piniella will not return to manage the Devil Rays in 2006.

Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of a confidentiality agreement between Piniella and the organization.

Piniella will accept a $2.2- million buyout of the $4.4 million he was to have received in the final season of his four- year contract. In addition, the Rays will pay Piniella $1.25 million in salary deferred from his first season in 2003.

Piniella will be free to take any job he wants - be it in broadcasting or with another major-league organization. He also has indicated that he wouldn't be averse to taking a season off.

When asked about his immediate future with the Rays, Piniella said only, ``I can't talk about it.''

Agent Alan Nero, who helped engineer the trade that brought Piniella to Tampa Bay from Seattle in November 2002, did not comment on the deal in a voice message he left Wednesday in response to a Tuesday night telephone call from The Tampa Tribune.

``I just wish everybody would leave it alone,'' said Nero, who was travelling to Japan on business and was otherwise unavailable for comment. ``Just honor his privacy a bit and let him finish the season up the way he wants. ... Any decisions that have been made will be made public at the appropriate time.''

Nero began to negotiate an out for Piniella with the Rays organization in June, shortly after Piniella publicly expressed his displeasure with team ownership for failing to live up to the promises made when Piniella signed a four- year, $13-million contract after the Mariners traded his negotiating rights to the Rays in exchange for outfielder Randy Winn.

``When I came here three years ago, we were talking about a situation where we wanted to win now, and we were interested in winning now,'' Piniella said in Pittsburgh on June 12. ``And you know what, with a small payroll, we've improved from 55 [victories in 2002] to 63 and from 63 to 70 [in 2004].

``This was supposed to be the breakout year. The problem is, we got a new ownership group here that's changed the direction of where we're heading. They're not interested about the present. They're interested about the future, and that's their right.''

On June 16, Nero and General Manager Chuck LaMar met to begin laying the groundwork for Piniella's departure. Nero returned to Tropicana Field in late August, by which time it is believed the structure of the buyout was in place.

New York-based investor Stuart Sternberg and five of his long-time Wall Street partners paid $65 million for 49 percent of the franchise in May 2004. Managing General Partner Vince Naimoli, who hired Piniella, remained in control of the team with the understanding that Sternberg would take control after the 2006 season.

The team's negotiations with Piniella are separate from those between Sternberg and Naimoli. Sternberg and Naimoli both are believed to have had input in the agreement to buy out Piniella's final year.

Piniella's coaching staff remains under contract through 2006. It is unclear whether any or all of them would return, although several - including third base coach Tom Foley, first base coach Billy Hatcher and bench coach John McLaren - could be candidates to replace him.

Foley and Hatcher, as well as Triple-A Durham manager Bill Evers, interviewed for the position when Hal McRae was re-assigned after the 2002 season.

Piniella, 62 and a Tampa native, was traded to the Devil Rays in November 2002 after 10 successful seasons with the Seattle Mariners. His arrival was heralded as a glorious homecoming and a sign that the Rays would, after five disastrous seasons, begin to build a contender over the course of Piniella's tenure.

Piniella managed the Reds to a World Series championship in 1990 and helped put baseball on the map in the Pacific Northwest by helping turn the Mariners into a perennial playoff contender. He insisted when he was hired by the Rays that he didn't come home to semi-retirement.

This story can be found at: http://rays.tbo.com/rays/MGBTSAT3WDE.html

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Piniella done in Tampa Bay

Piniella done in Tampa Bay

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