Piniella Feels Good About Mariners’ Chances Says It’s All Up To Him To Make Team Produce Down The Stretch

With a solid 25-man ballclub at last, with pitching in place and hitting hopefully coming around, Lou Piniella says it’s his turn to do something for the Seattle Mariners.

“I’m the manager, it’s my job,” Piniella said Monday before the team ended its offensive slump by pounding Milwaukee 11-1 Monday night. “I take total responsibility for what happens from now on. If we don’t win, I take total responsibility.”

Piniella said the division race is what teams work six weeks of spring training for, “what you play four months of baseball for, what you prepare yourself for, to give yourself this opportunity to win the pennant … and I am confident we will.”

While few Mariners have been through the rigors of a close pennant race - 1995 was largely a matter of rising while the Angels fell, 1996 a chase of Texas from a distance - Piniella played on four World Series teams with the New York Yankees and managed the Cincinnati Reds to a World Series championship in 1990.

“I’ve been there before,” he said. “I know what needs to be done. From here I’ve got to shoulder this for these kids. I’ve got to give these kids the best leadership and managing I can from here on.”

This month, with expectations high and attendance projecting to more than 3.2 million, the Mariners added three veteran relievers to stiffen a struggling bullpen. Since the club added Heathcliff Slocumb, Mike Timlin and Paul Spoljaric, the staff earned-run average has been 3.41 (before Tuesday’s game).

The offense apparently is in recovery from a recent swoon. The team had hit only .237 this month before Monday night’s 11-1 victory yet still leads the league in scoring with 677 runs.

“The front office has done its job, the players have done their part to get us this far,” Piniella said. “Now it’s up to me to do mine. It’s what they hire managers for. It’s what they hired me for.”