Piniella shifts his attention

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Lou Piniella's agent, Alan Nero, said Piniella's whereabouts for next season could be decided as soon as Monday now that Piniella is officially not in consideration for the Yankees job.

Piniella, who is doing color commentary on the Fox telecasts of the American League Championship Series, now will concentrate on three teams: the Cubs, Giants, and Rangers.

Piniella, 63, will be looking for a four-year deal likely to average around $5 million per season.

Concerning speculation about the Yankees, who will bring back Joe Torre, Nero said, ``We've only dealt with the teams that have managerial openings. The Yankees have never had an opening. We certainly were aware of all of the speculation, but we never thought twice about it."

Said Piniella, ``I'm happy for Joe. And I'm sorry he had to go through that rigmarole. That had to be tough for him. There was no need for it. He's a good man."

A's manager Ken Macha said Rich Harden will start Game 3 Friday, which will push Dan Haren to Game 4. Harden, who missed most of the season with an elbow injury, will oppose Tigers veteran Kenny Rogers as the series shifts to Detroit.

Harden likely will assume ace status in the A's rotation next season, as many expect the team to part company with Barry Zito. In nine starts this season, Harden was 4-0 with a 4.24 ERA, striking out 49 in 46 2/3 innings.

The A's sent director of player personnel Billy Owens and pitching coach Curt Young to evaluate the 24-year-old Harden in a simulated game Monday at the team's instructional league facility in Phoenix. The A's decided it would be best to use Harden in Game 3 so they could use him again in Game 7 if need be.

Owens is hoping for the same kind of results from Harden that the Marlins got out of Josh Beckett in the 2003 postseason.

``If you remember Beckett that year, he probably missed half of his starts, but he pitched as well in the last four games as he did his whole career," Owens said.

Harden was throwing 94 miles per hour in his last start, Sept. 26, and Owens can envision him getting back up to 97 based on how he threw in the simulated game.

``His foundation is smooth," said Owens. ``If you look at his numbers, he translates into a top-five talent in the major leagues."

``They felt good about the way the ball was coming out of his hand," Macha said. ``I think we're 9-0 in his starts this season. Pushing Dan Haren back a day is a tough decision, and he's pitched a lot of big ballgames for us and pitched very well. But we just feel at this particular time that Rich is going to be the guy in that spot."

Tigers starter Nate Robertson had runners on base in all five of his innings, but he managed to wriggle out of every jam in Detroit's series-opening win. ``Skip [Jim Leyland] came out and told me, bottom line, don't worry about the runners on base, just worry about making pitches. So I made the pitches and got out of situations," Robertson said. Robertson called it ``five of the toughest innings I've pitched this year, easy." . . . Leyland said playing the Yankees in the opening round helped the Tigers formulate their patient approach against Zito, who threw 92 pitches over 3 2/3 innings. ``By talking about that, so many of our guys picked up on that," Leyland said. ``We're not home free yet. We're a free-swinging team. But in the Yankee series and tonight we've shown as much patience as we have all year, so hopefully it's contagious." . . . Tigers first baseman Sean Casey strained his left calf in the sixth inning and was removed from the game. He will undergo an MRI exam and is expected to miss at least Game 2. Shortstop Carlos Guillen moved to first after Casey left, and Ramon Santiago took over at short. Guillen made an error in the seventh when he couldn't handle a Jason Kendall grounder . . . The A's were 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. They also grounded into four double plays . . . The Tigers have won four straight postseason games . . . Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya hit 103 on the radar gun, but the A's reached him for a run in the eighth. ``I was a little pumped up," the rookie said. ``A little nervous, but I've got that one out of the way. I'll be all right." . . . Tigers righty Justin Verlander said that being able to throw close to 100 miles per hour ``gives me more room for error." Verlander, a top Rookie of the Year candidate, will start Game 2 tonight against Esteban Loaiza. ``Pitching up in the zone is something that I think I could use effectively," said Verlander, ``but I don't think I've come nearly as close as I can to pitching effectively up in the zone for now. So that's something I've been working on." . . . Umpires for the ALCS are Jerry Crawford (who has 11 ALCS appearances under his belt), Hunter Wendelstedt (first appearance), Derryl Cousins (third), Chuck Meriwether (second), Gary Cederstrom (second), and Mike Reilly (seventh).