Piniella reportedly wants out of contract
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ESPN.com news services
SEATTLE -- Seattle Mariners manager Lou Piniella has officially asked out of the final year of his $6.8 million contract, The Seattle Times reported Saturday.
Piniella made his request formal in a Friday meeting in Tampa with three Seattle team officials, including CEO Howard Lincoln, the newspaper said.
Mariners president Chuck Armstrong accompanied Lincoln and general manager Pat Gillick to Florida and said the team had not yet granted Piniella's request.
"ESPN reports that we have given permission for Lou to talk to the Mets or Devil Rays are absolutely false,'' Armstrong said.
ESPN's Peter Gammons reported Saturday that the Mariners will allow Piniella to talk with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and New York Mets about managing closer to his home in Tampa. However, the Mariners' desire is to work out a contract extension for Piniella.
The New York Daily News reported Saturday night that the Mariners hadn't yet granted Piniella permission to seek another job, but it was believed they would do so as early as Sunday.
Numerous calls made by the Associated Press to Piniella and several team officials were not returned Saturday.
"As far as I know, no one has asked permission to talk to Lou and as far as I know, we haven't given Lou permission to talk to anybody,'' said Tim Hevly, the team's director of baseball information.
The 59-year-old Piniella has been Seattle's manager for the past 10 seasons. After tying the major league record with 116 victories and reaching the AL championship series for the second straight season in 2001, the Mariners finished third in the AL West this year.
But they won 93 games, the second-highest total in franchise history, and led the majors in attendance for the second year in a row.
After the Mariners' final home game two weeks ago, Piniella was asked if he could say definitively that he would be back in 2003.
"I'm signed for next year,'' he said.
Piniella was unhappy with the Mariners this season because they would not increase their $90 million payroll at the trade deadline in July. He hoped the team would add a veteran hitter or starting pitcher.
Piniella also has expressed his unhappiness about being so far away from his family.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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