Piniella and Devil Rays have a better idea

Lou Piniella was asked the other day about his promise, made before spring training, that his Tampa Bay Devil Rays would not finish in last place, as they have in each of the first six years of their existence.

"You know, we had a few luncheons," the Devil Rays manager said. "In Tampa I said that. In the other luncheon, I said we'd play .500, and then the third luncheon I said, `If we keep having luncheons, we're going to win the pennant.' "

With the Devil Rays headed for Japan, more luncheons were on the agenda. Could Piniella envision predicting his team would win the World Series?

"I don't think so," he said. "There's not enough sake in the country for me to say that. But we are better, and we are going to be competitive, and we're going to have a good baseball team."

The Devil Rays added veterans Jose Cruz Jr. (right field), Tino Martinez (first base), Geoff Blum (third base), Rey Sanchez (second base), and Brooks Fordyce (catcher) to a lineup that needed significant upgrading but also sported dynamic young hitters in outfielders Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli and DH/outfielder Aubrey Huff. They also added a closer in former Indian Danys Baez.

"Tino comes from a winning environment," Piniella said of the former Yankee and Cardinal who like Piniella is a Tampa native. "We need that. That experience, leadership. He still can be productive on the field. We've added more experience, more depth.

"We brought in veterans to stabilize this thing. We've made about 13 or 14 changes in this roster, which is a lot. Last year, we were very young. This year, we knew we had to add some depth. We did. Hopefully by the end of this season, we'll be able to add, instead of [just] numbers, one or two or three players to take us to the next level.

"We're going to have to use our entire roster. We're going to have to mix and match to get the best of our team. So everybody will be playing. We're deeper. That's one of the strengths we have. We're going to have a good complement of our players sitting on our bench."

But the starting pitching remains a work in progress. Piniella said he had settled on four starters: Victor Zambrano, Jeremi Gonzalez, Doug Waechter, and Mark Hendrickson. Combined, they had a record of 30-32. The fifth starter will come out of a group that includes Paul Abbott, Damian Moss, and Dewon Brazelton.

"Pitchingwise, our bullpen will be stronger than our rotation," Piniella said. "We're a little deeper out there. But the division is tough."

Piniella was asked if, given the improvement in the AL East, it was rash to project any team winning 100 or more games.

"Let's hope that's the case," he said. "Let's hope that two teams don't dominate, that two teams don't win 100 games. The division is stronger, more balanced, more competitive. Maybe no one wins 100 from this division."

The Devil Rays lost 99 games in Piniella's first season back home, which came as a surprise to no one, least of all Piniella.

"We did fine," he said. "We played competitive, we played hard, we were a fun team, we were an entertaining team. Nobody is pleased with 99 losses. This year we're better. Basically we're better in every area. We obviously expect to play better."

Piniella expressed minor concern about Baldelli, the Rhode Island kid who finished third in Rookie of the Year balloting last season.

"He hasn't done really all that well in spring training," said Piniella. "He hasn't shown any power at all. I'd like to see a glimpse of it soon. Maybe he's working on different things, but I'd like to see him cut it loose a little bit. We're going to need some power."

Piniella on Red Sox manager Terry Francona: "This is his second go-round as a manager. He'll do fine. He's got a good demeanor about him, obviously he knows the game, plus he has a pretty good team to manage."

Surgery for Lyon Brandon Lyon, the former Red Sox pitcher traded with Casey Fossum to the Arizona Diamondbacks, will require surgery after all, on his right elbow. You may recall the Sox last summer sent Lyon to the Pirates in the Scott Sauerbeck deal, and the Pirates balked, saying Lyon was damaged goods. The Sox eventually reacquired Lyon as part of the deal in which they got Jeff Suppan and sent Freddy Sanchez to the Pirates. Sanchez is sidelined until at least June after undergoing ankle surgery. Lyon was to undergo surgery to reposition the ulnar nerve, which according to Sox officials was not the issue at the time of the dispute with the Pirates; the ulnar ligament was. The nerve surgery is expected to sideline Lyon for three months; if there is ligament damage, he would be sidelined for the season. Fossum hasn't thrown all spring after having arthroscopic shoulder surgery last fall. Suppan has won a spot in the Cardinals rotation . . . Former Red Sox reliever Bob Howry, whose 2003 season was short-circuited by elbow woes, is trying to win a spot with the Indians, though he is not expected to be game-ready until June . . . The Indians were not impressed with Ugueth Urbina, who last week signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Tigers ($2 million deferred, and a $500,000 buyout). Urbina told the Indians he hadn't picked up a ball since the end of the World Series with the Marlins, and appeared to be in no shape to start the season . . . Former Red Sox infielder John Valentin, who appeared on the verge of winning a utility job with the Astros, was released Thursday when Houston acquired lefthanded-hitting third baseman Mike Lamb from the Yankees. Valentin was released by the Orioles in spring training last season, sat out the year, then caught the Astros' eye with his play in Puerto Rico over the winter. He may try to hook on with another club. Valentin also has interest in pursuing a broadcast career . . . Curt Schilling is expected to be a major player in Boston charitable circles, especially in his work for the ALS Association. A major fund-raising event is already scheduled for next month: a 100-inning game to be played at Kelly Field in Hyde Park by members of the Boston Men's Baseball League to support the "Curt's Pitch for ALS" program. Organizers believe it will be the longest game ever played in New England. It's scheduled to begin April 17 at 9 a.m., continue through the night, and wind up around 6 p.m. on the 18th, 33 straight hours of ball. Schilling and other Sox players may make a cameo appearance at the event, which takes place the same weekend the Yankees are in town. Interested in being a sponsor? You can mail donations to Scott Reinold (an employee in the Sox ticket office who plans to play in the game), c/o Boston Red Sox, 4 Yawkey Way, Boston 02215. Make your checks to ALS Association/Massachusetts chapter. Ten cents an inning, a half-buck an inning, a buck an inning, it all works. And Reinold already has one pledge of an extra Benjamin if he goes deep in the course of the game. You have to like his chances, since he may get to bat roughly 35 times. For more information, call 617-226-6240.

Agent of change Eric Chavez's six-year, $66 million extension, more than double the largest contract in A's history (Jermaine Dye's three-year, $32 million deal), was the first major deal done by the newest agent on the baseball scene, Dave Stewart. Yes, Roger Clemens's mound nemesis with the A's and former assistant general manager of the Blue Jays has gone to the other side. Stewart, you may recall, launched a broadside against the Blue Jays when he was passed over for the GM job in favor of J.P. Ricciardi, suggesting racism was involved. Stewart's personal relationship with A's GM Billy Beane, both parties agreed, helped in negotiations. Chavez might have gotten more on the open market -- his deal falls short of the eight-year, $90 million deal third baseman Scott Rolen has with the Cardinals. And it might not have done much to help Nomar Garciaparra's cause with the Red Sox, given the average annual value of $11 million a year is less than the $12 million AAV the Sox offered Garciaparra in early December . . . The Cardinals, Padres, Tigers, and White Sox reportedly have shown interest in former Red Sox righthander Aaron Sele, whose $8.5 million pricetag is making prospective buyers hesitate . . . The presence of two Seattle scouts in Reds camp has done nothing to quiet speculation that Ken Griffey could be headed back to the Mariners, despite denials all around . . . Antonio Alfonseca's terrible spring left the Braves little choice but to try to upgrade their bullpen, which they did by acquiring hard-throwing Juan Cruz from the Cubs. Cruz, who has been clocked in the mid-90s, may eventually start for the Braves, who also picked up former Red Sox prospect Chris Reitsma from the Reds . . . Toronto ace Roy Halladay credits Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe for teaching him how to throw a sinker. The two hit it off at an All-Star Game a couple years ago . . . Wil Cordero's past -- spousal abuse charges in 1997 that led to the demise of his career in Boston -- surfaced last week in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where baseball columnist Mike Berardino uncovered another incident, 15 months ago, in which Cordero was arrested in Orlando on charges of battery in a domestic violence case. The charge was dropped 3 1/2 weeks later when the woman involved, someone Cordero had lived with off and on for over a year, refused to prosecute. Cordero, who told Berardino that he is a changed man after extensive counseling, has since remarried, to a Miami-based child psychologist, Lisa Jacobs. "I wish everybody knew the Wil that I know," Jacobs told Berardino . . . Remember Paxton Crawford, who stirred some excitement in the Boston organization by winning his first two decisions for the Sox, pitching a no-hitter for Pawtucket, then saw his career sidetracked by injuries and personal problems? Crawford, who pitched for independent Nashua last season, signed a minor league deal with the Reds this month.

Cool cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Blue Jays' Double A franchise that will debut next month in Manchester, are tapping into the Patriots' popularity with one of their first promotions of the season, called "Kids Super Bowl Kick." The Fisher Cats have lined up snapper Lonie Paxton and holder Ken Walter to help six kids re-enact Adam Vinatieri's winning kick. Four of the kids will be selected by writing a one-paragraph response to the statement, "I am excited about Fisher Cats baseball coming to Manchester because . . ." The other two will be selected in a drawing. Entries can be e-mailed to baseballinfo@nhfishercats.com with "KIDS SUPER BOWL KICK" in the subject line or mailed to N.H. Fisher Cats, 1000 Elm Street, Manchester, N.H., 03101. For tickets, call 603-641-2005. . . . The Lowell Spinners got an incredible response to their Internet ticket sale last Monday. Crack publicist Jon Goode said the sale generated 100,000 continuous hits all day . . . The Expos, who haven't had a telecast in English since 2001, announced plans to air as many as 25 this season . . . Springfield's Peter Bergeron, who has been hitting over .400 all spring, appears to have won the Expos' center field job . . . The Rockies' hopes for a fast start are dimmed by the injuries to Larry Walker (groin) and Preston Wilson (left knee). Walker, who had come to camp in great shape, will begin the season on the disabled list . . . The perils of young pitching: Kansas City's Miguel Asencio, 23, who underwent season-ending surgery last May to remove bone chips from his elbow, is having Tommy John reconstruction surgery and will miss the season. He is the Royals' third young pitcher to require major surgery in the last seven months. Runelvys Hernandez underwent Tommy John surgery last September and isn't expected to pitch this season. Kyle Snyder required a second operation earlier this month to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder . . . Former Mets skipper Bobby Valentine, who is back managing in Japan, told Jack Curry of The New York Times that he interviewed for the Red Sox job, something Sox officials deny. He said CEO Larry Lucchino asked him about Grady Little's decision to leave Pedro Martinez in Game 7 of the ALCS. "I could've said all the right things and probably continued to interview for the Boston job," Valentine said. "I didn't want to say the right thing. I talked to Larry Lucchino and I said: `You know what? I'm not so sure he did the wrong thing.' " Lucchino confirmed that the conversation took place, but it was not a job interview and definitely not a "litmus test." Lucchino said he talked to Valentine as a courtesy to Valentine's agent, Tony Attanasio.

Material from personal interviews, wire service reports, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.