Lou Piniella quotations, milestones and memories

1993

April: "I don't see any reason we won't have a good start. In fact, I rather expect one."

June 6: Piniella is ejected for the first time as Mariners manager after a fierce fight with Baltimore in which pitcher Chris Bosio reinjured his previously broken left collarbone.

July: A Mariners pinch hitter apologized after striking out. But Piniella said, "It's my fault for sending you up there in the first place."

Aug. 15: Piniella is frustrated that the Mariners did not make a rumored trade in which they were to send pitcher Randy Johnson to Toronto for RHP Mike Timlin and RHP Steve Karsay. The Big Unit went 9-1 with a 2.52 ERA and 121 strikeouts after the talks collapsed.

September: Loud noise from the playoff-clinching White Sox clubhouse in the Kingdome could be heard in the Mariners' clubhouse. "You hear that?" Piniella told his players. "I hope you never forget what this sounds like. Listen, because this will never happen to us again. Ever."

1994

May 18: After 29 personnel changes in six weeks: "We're not going to stop making changes until we get this right."

May 30: Piniella tosses the second-base bag at least 20 feet and he sails his cap twice as far as he earned his second season ejection after the umpires reverse a home run by Mike Blowers. Ken Griffey Jr. suggested, "Maybe we should have a manager shot-put contest."

1995

Oct. 7: After Yankees pitcher Scott Kamieniecki knocked down Joey Cora with a pitch in Game 4 of the ALCS, Piniella yelled over to the Yankees' bench, "You're going down, and when you do, remember, I ordered it!"

Oct. 8: When it appeared lawmakers would put together a stadium financing plan, Piniella said, "It looks very upbeat right now. Let's hope that in the not-so-distant future, something favorable will come forward, and this town can get a new facility that the city can be proud of."

Oct. 8: Piniella, after the Mariners came back to beat the Yankees in Game 5 of the ALCS on Edgar Martinez's 10th-inning double to score Ken Griffey Jr. from first: "In a year when baseball needs all the positives it can get, what could be more positive than this series was. I have never seen better baseball, better played or better battled. It's a damn shame someone had to lose it ... because there was no loser on that field."

Oct. 9: "Cleveland doesn't know what it's getting itself into. ... Believe it or not, when all is said and done, we're gonna go to the World Series." — Piniella, at a rally before the ALCS series with the Indians. Cleveland won it in six games.

1996

June 7: "We need some outside help, we need to go out and acquire some pitching. It's the first time I've spoken to (General Manager Woody Woodward) about this like this."

Aug. 29: Piniella was accused of ordering pitches thrown at Yankees right fielder Paul O'Neill. Said Yankees infielder Mariano Duncan: "He doesn't like Paul. He hates him. Paul became a better hitter in New York and now he (Piniella) throws at him."

1997

Dec. 11: Piniella, on the offseason possibility of trading Randy Johnson: "I empathize with our fans. They want to keep their favorite players in place, including Randy. But we all have to face the reality that inside our game, baseball is a business, and business means making moves that can often be unpopular."

1998

April 16: Cleveland's Kenny Lofton is thrown at by Randy Johnson. Both are ejected. Said Piniella: "He was accusing Randy of throwing at him, and it was a breaking ball, for God's sake. I just got tired of all his talk."

May 16: "We can't keep going the way we have been. We won't keep going the way we are, believe me," Piniella said after the M's bullpen blew three save opportunities in four attempts.

June 9: Piniella inadvertently kicks umpire Sam Holbrook in the foot while he angrily protested an "out" call on Joey Cora at first base. Piniella was suspended.

Aug. 26: Piniella kicks his hat a half-dozen times at Jacobs Field after a disputed call by umpire Larry Barnett. He finally threw his cap in the stands and it was thrown back at him. Barnett said Piniella was ejected for pointing to the ground, showing him up. "Am I supposed to point to the sky?" Piniella asked. "Is my guy running in the sky? Is the runner Luke Skywalker or what? All the frustrations of a long year came pouring out. I don't blame anyone for laughing. Everyone likes to see someone make a fool of themselves in front of 40,000 people."

1999

July 25: Piniella tosses his cap in the Metrodome to protest a call by umpire Durwood Merrill. Piniella tried to rip out the third-base bag to throw it, but couldn't dislodge it. "My back has been bothering me, so I didn't try too hard," he said. But he threw seven bats on the field as he left.

Aug. 6: Piniella tacitly approves reliever Frankie Rodriguez hitting the Yankees' Chuck Knoblauch in retaliation for Jason Grimsley hitting Edgar Martinez. It led to a melee. "What are you supposed to do?" Piniella said. "We did what we had to do to protect our players. And if the Yankees do it again tomorrow, we'll do the same thing again."

Sept. 6: Piniella's quick ejection by first-base umpire Travis Katzenmeier was his fifth of the season, a career high.

2000

March 31: Even in an exhibition game, there are unspoken rules to honor. Brett Tomko did not retaliate after White Sox pitchers drilled three Mariners hitters, nearly provoking a fight. Piniella: "If the first pitcher (Tomko) had done his job, there would have been no need for any of that."

Sept 23: "We've been doing it with smoke and mirrors for 155 games. We'll do it with smoke and mirrors for seven more."

Oct. 3: "I've had three superstars in my eight years here. The two (Ken Griffey and Randy Johnson) were established. To see Alex (Rodriguez) emerge was heartening for a manager to see."

Oct. 14: Piniella, at the end of his contract, talked about leaving after his team was eliminated in the playoffs. "But, if it is my last day with Seattle or close to it ... I'll tell you what, I've had a lot of fun."

2001

April 28: Seattle became the first team in big-league history to win 20 games in the season's opening month, starting 20-4. Piniella: "The 20 wins are something to be proud of. When you think of the history of this game, so many excellent teams, that no one has ever done it in April before. In a humble way, we are very pleased."

May 10: Boston Manager Jimy Williams was ejected after he fired his hat to the ground and tried to kick it. "Jimy reminded me a little of me," Piniella said. "I sort of enjoyed that. He missed kicking the hat, though."

June 8: The Mariners have a club-record 15-game winning streak that gave the team a 47-12 record and a 17-game lead in the AL West. Said Piniella: "In this business you accept the good with the bad, and right now it's good."

Sept. 5: The Mariners become the 81st team since 1900 to win 100 games. "It means more than I thought it would," Piniella said. "I didn't think I'd get this emotional."

Oct. 2: His team had a 112-45 and had clinched the AL West two weeks earlier, but Piniella gets ejected. "As you can see, no one on this team is letting up. There's a lot of intensity here."

Oct. 18: Down 2-0 to Yankees after two ALCS games at Safeco, Piniella said, "I want you all to hear this: We're going to be back here to play Game 6. Print it. You don't have to ask any questions." The Mariners won the next game, 14-3, but New York closed out the series at Yankee Stadium.

2002

May 28: Piniella was ejected by umpire John Shulock for disputing Shulock's strike zone in front of Piniella's family and friends in his hometown of Tampa, Fla. Piniella got his money's worth with a wild protest that included covering home plate with dirt. Piniella: "She (wife Anita) didn't think too much of my actions. I knew she wouldn't." Added Ichiro: "I had never seen Lou get that angry before. But that was the image I had of him before I came over here, from the TV."

Sept. 18: Piniella kicked his hat around and picked up first base and threw it twice after a close "out" call at first by umpire C.B. Bucknor. "Then the guy (Bucknor) had the nerve to have a smirk on his face like he knew what he was doing," Piniella said. "That was what got me angry, the smirk. I go out to argue and he's got a smirk, and I'm the one who gets penalized. ... I don't know about any eruption, but I hurt my hamstring and my right shoulder."

Sept. 19: After seeing a front-page picture of him kick his hat, Piniella said, "I'm going to show that picture to Jon Gruden (Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach), ask him if he needs a kicker when I'm home in Tampa this winter." He said his wife, Anita, "wasn't too pleased. She doesn't like me to do these things. I don't like doing them, either."

Sept 21: Piniella: "I'm not doing my job if I don't say what our needs are when I'm asked."

Sept. 26: "Who would have figured they (A's) would win 20 in a row and Anaheim would win 15 of 16?" Piniella said. "At the same time, we were playing .500 ball. Usually when you do that, you're going to be caught."