Piniella isn't one to speculate

OAKLAND, Calif. -- While Lou Piniella wouldn't entertain speculation about taking over as Yankees manager if George Steinbrenner fires Joe Torre, he did say yesterday that he will not manage the Washington Nationals.

``Jim [ Bowden, the general manager] is a personal friend," said Piniella, who will work as an analyst on Fox telecasts of the American League Championship Series, which begins tonight. ``They're a team building for the future. It's not a situation for a guy like me. I think they're going to hire a younger manager."

That indicates that Piniella is not willing to get involved in a rebuilding situation. While he said he's had preliminary talks with the Giants, they too might be going in a rebuilding direction, depending on what transpires with Barry Bonds.

Either the Cubs or Rangers might present a better situation for Piniella, who yesterday was trying to be the broadcaster and not the managerial candidate.

``I'm supposed to be doing the interviews," he quipped.

Asked about what used to be a tempestuous relationship with Steinbrenner and whether that had been repaired, Piniella countered, ``We've always been friends. I haven't seen or talked to George in 10 months."

Piniella stuck by his statement that he has ``too much respect for Joe Torre" to address speculation that he might take over the Yankees. He reiterated that he had not spoken to anyone associated with the Yankees.

``I've talked to a few teams, and we'll see what happens," he said.

Should Piniella return to the Yankees, he would have to deal with the Alex Rodriguez issue. Piniella managed Rodriguez as a young player with the Seattle Mariners and has enjoyed an ongoing relationship with him.

Asked if he had any advice for A-Rod, Piniella said, ``Relax and have a good winter. He said he wants to stay. That's a good sign."

Piniella also said of Torre, ``Joe has done a fantastic job over the years."

As for the Yankees' loss in the Division Series to the Tigers, Piniella said, ``They went up against a Detroit team that pitched very well."

While even teammate Jay Payton has said he thinks Barry Zito will leave as a free agent this offseason, the A's lefthander said he wasn't thinking about that as he prepared to pitch Game 1 tonight. ``There was always speculation the last three years about trades," said Zito. ``That's just something . . . that's how baseball is. That's how the business is. I always said, until I'm not wearing the white spikes, don't come up to me. Don't ask me what I think because, like I always say, it's like asking a guy, `Well, you might get into a car accident today when you go home; how do you feel about that?' I don't know. I'll deal with it when it happens." . . . There has been a lot of discussion about the similarities between the Tigers and A's, but Payton said there's one clear difference: ``They hit home runs and we tend to scratch out our runs. The other parts are similar, like the pitching and the defense. Both teams are excellent." . . . Payton said he wasn't surprised the Yankees were eliminated. ``That wouldn't be giving the Tigers enough credit," he said. ``They had a great year. Once you get into the postseason, anyone can win it. You're here for a reason. We're a team that kept getting better as the season progressed. And we've been able to carry that over." . . . Tigers manager Jim Leyland has decided against using lefthander Kenny Rogers in Oakland, instead saving the veteran for Game 3 in Detroit Friday. Rogers is 25-4 in his career pitching in Oakland and 23-1 in 41 starts at the Coliseum since 1995, including two wins this season. ``We considered that very strongly, but at the same time we felt like the effort against the Yankees [last Friday] was such a draining effort that we decided to give him the time," Leyland said. Leyland added that Rogers would be in line to start a Game 7 in Oakland . . . Cliff Floyd's injured left foot will be the focus for the Mets during today's workout, and GM Omar Minaya acknowledged it would be a risk to keep the outfielder on the roster. ``We won't know about Cliff until [the workout] and we get a feel for where he's at," Minaya said. If Floyd is dropped, Endy Chavez is the most likely replacement in the starting lineup, and Ricky Ledee or rookie Lastings Milledge would fill his roster spot. New York must finalize its 25-man roster by tomorrow morning.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.