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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Rivera wants Torre back

Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

If the Yankees plan to keep calling on Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning, they might want to think carefully about who would be handing him the ball.

Rivera isn’t happy that Joe Torre could be out as manager in New York and said the team’s decision will be factored into whether he returns.

“I don’t feel good about it,” Rivera said Wednesday, two days after the Yankees’ third straight exit in the first round of the playoffs. “I don’t see why they’re even thinking (about letting Torre go). I wish he’s back, definitely. If you ask me what I would want, I want him back.”

Rivera’s contract also is expiring and he is eligible to become a free agent.

He said whether Torre returns will help determine whether he remains with the Yankees, the only major league club he’s pitched for.

“It might do a lot of it,” he said. “I mean, I’ve been with Joe for so many years, and the kind of person he has been for me and for my teammates, it’s been great. The thing is that I don’t see why they have to put him in this position.”

Rivera, who turns 38 next month, plans to speak with Torre soon.

“I’m an optimist, so hopefully nothing happens and he stays here,” Rivera said.

Meetings on the manager’s future won’t start until Friday at the earliest and might not even begin until next week.

Even the site of the sessions hasn’t been definitely set, although they probably will take place at the team’s spring training complex in Tampa, Fla.

M’s still search for coaches

The Seattle Mariners continue to interview candidates for their five vacant coaching positions, and it may not be anytime soon before they’re filled.

“We don’t have a time frame,” manager John McLaren said. “We’re putting a good staff together and it’ll take some time.”

He wouldn’t mention names of those he is considering, although several with Mariners connections – and a working history with McLaren – already have surfaced.

Former M’s pitcher Norm Charlton, a special-assignment minor league pitching coach for three years, is considered the favorite to become bullpen coach.

Lee Elia has been mentioned as bench coach.

Sam Perlozzo, the former M’s third-base coach also is a candidate. Perlozzo most recently managed the Baltimore Orioles.

Former M’s pitcher Chris Bosio is being considered for the pitching coach job.

Both Jay Buhner and Edgar Martinez, two former Mariners who’ve dropped in at spring training as guest coaches the past few years, are involved in family and business ventures and aren’t yet interested in full-time coaching jobs.

ALCS rivals have connections

Julio Lugo has one of Manny Ramirez’s baseball cards hanging by his locker, only there’s something out of place: The slugger is wearing a Cleveland Indians uniform.

It’s Ramirez, all right, the same guy now batting cleanup for Boston. He played his first 6 1/2 years for the Indians before signing with the Red Sox in 2000.

He’s not the only one who put on a Cleveland cap before switching to a hat with the traditional B. Fact is, there’s a lot of crossover between the teams going into their A.L. championship series matchup starting Friday night at Fenway Park.

Boston center fielder Coco Crisp made his major league debut for the Indians and played his first 2 1/2 seasons with them. Julian Tavarez spent parts of four seasons in Cleveland. Alex Cora spent half a season there.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona and pitching coach John Farrell were teammates on the Indians in 1988 and went on to work in the front office.

Even though the two teams don’t have the long-seething rivalry of the Red Sox and Yankees, they are plenty familiar with each other.

Cleveland manager Eric Wedge was a Red Sox prospect who played 27 games for Boston in 1992 before he was left unprotected in the expansion draft and picked by the Colorado Rockies. He played down any significance of facing Boston this October.

“What’s special to me is these guys having the right to go to the ALCS and compete for a spot in the World Series,” Wedge said.

Trot Nixon played his entire career in the Red Sox organization before signing with Cleveland last off-season. Nixon hit .357 in the 2004 World Series when Boston ended its 86-year title drought.

Clearing the bases

The Colorado Rockies added center fielder Willy Taveras to their postseason roster but chose not to include right-hander Aaron Cook. … Tim McClelland and Randy Marsh were picked as the umpire crew chiefs for the A.L. and N.L. championship series. … St. Louis reliever Russ Springer agreed to a one-year contract.