Piniella Feels Top M’S Equal To Best He’s Had

Lou Piniella’s managerial expertise began long before he resurrected the Seattle Mariners in 1992.

He won the 1990 World Series with the Cincinnati Reds, skippered successful teams in Yankee Stadium and was groomed under all types of managers as a New York Yankees player.

He’s seen a lot of good baseball, so when asked if the 1997 Seattle Mariners is the best he’s ever managed, he pauses.

“Our top players are,” Piniella said, referring to Seattle’s seven All-Stars the past two seasons. “We have a quality ball club. It’s a ballclub that’s capable of playing very well in postseason play.”

Piniella knows from his 1990 experience with the Reds that the best regular season team isn’t necessarily a favorite in the playoffs. That team was an underdog against Oakland and swept the A’s in four games.

“Any of these teams that are in the postseason can win. Believe me, they’re all quality teams.”

Although the 1997 Mariners has a similar win total to the 1990 Reds, that’s where the comparisons end.

“I don’t see much similarity,” he said. “Two different teams, totally. I’d like to see similar results.”

Piniella has gotten results at all three of his managerial stops. This is the third time he’s managed a division champ after playing for five division champions. Piniella’s record in Seattle is 385-357. His overall record of 864 wins, 781 losses is the third highest winning percentage (.526) among active managers who have managed at least 1,000 games.

If Seattle were to win the World Series, Piniella would join a small group of managers who have won a Series in each league. But he’s not overwhelmed by rare feats.

“I’m not interested too much in individual things for myself,” he said. “For this organization and for the fans the way they’ve supported us, it would be very meaningful.”

Rested and ready

The difference between the 1995 Mariners and the ‘97 version?

The 1995 team played the final month of the regular season and into the American League Championship Series at a dizzying pace that caught up to them.

“The biggest thing that I think everybody would admit was in 95, we never had time to rest anybody,” Randy Johnson said. “I think that may be the difference of hopefully going a little bit further than we did.”

About the season series

Baltimore’s Rafael Palmeiro batted only .189 with 11 strikeouts in 37 at-bats against the Mariners. He is 1 for 21 lifetime against Randy Johnson… . Chris Hoiles batted a team-high .417 with three homers and 13 RBIs vs. Mariners. His .583 on-base percentage was high for either club. … Scott Erickson went 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in three starts. … Jesse Orosco got two wins in 2-1/3 innings. … Randy Myers earned two saves in six appearances.

Two of Johnson’s four losses came against the O’s. In three starts, he had a 5.68 ERA in 19 innings. Baltimore won all three games. … Ken Griffey (.234) had 11 hits - 3 homers - 11 RBIs and 11 strikeouts in 47 at-bats. … Joey Cora led with .405 average (17 for 42). … Alex Rodriguez (.356, 3 homers, 7 RBIs) was the only other Mariner with .300-plus average. … Jay Buhner struck out 15 times in 38 at-bats and hit only .184. … Dennis Martinez was a two-time loser to the O’s before retiring in June.