Lou Piniella has two years left on his deal with the Devil Rays. But if the Mets fire Art Howe after this season, they are expected to pursue Piniella, whom they tried to hire before Howe last year.

Asked if he desires to be with a team that has more resources to win than Tampa Bay, Piniella, who is a Tampa native, replied, “I’m home. I’m happy here. The thing to do is to get this organization to the point where we can do the things that you’re talking about. I’ve got two years left on my contract and I’m going to do everything I can to hopefully get that done.”

Still, Piniella doesn’t like losing (which he’s doing a lot of) and misses big games and big series (which he’s not getting a lot of). Told that many people would like to see him in New York next year, Piniella replied, “You’ve got a pretty astute manager over there. Art Howe is a professional.”

(p. 77 in sports extra)