Piniella says he'll retire from managing at season's end
After all those dirt-kicking, base-tossing tantrums, Lou Piniella is going out with more of a whimper.
This isn't the way he envisioned his final days as the Chicago Cubs' manager.
The team had bigger plans, too.
Piniella announced Tuesday he will retire at the end of the season, completing a storied and often colorful career that included 18 years in the majors as a player and another 22 as a manager.
The 66-year-old Piniella, who made five trips to the World Series in his career and has three championship rings, said he was looking forward to spending more time with his family. He didn't rule out consulting for the Cubs or another team, but made it clear he was getting out of the daily grind.
"It's been a wonderful experience," he said. "There's no way that I won't cherish the memories here."
But, he added: "I've been away from home since 1962. That's about 50 years."
General manager Jim Hendry said Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, now managing the club's Triple-A affiliate in Des Moines, will be a candidate for the job. He said Piniella's replacement won't be hired before the end of the season, but he hopes to have a manager in place by organization meetings in late October or early November.
Sandberg, the former star at North Central High in Spokane who spent several seasons as a spring training instructor with the Cubs after retiring in 1997, said he's interested.
Entering Tuesday's game against Houston, Piniella's overall record was 1,826-1,691 (.519). Piniella's record with the Cubs was 307-271. Under the mellowed skipper, Chicago won consecutive NL Central titles in 2007-08, but missed the playoffs last year and has struggled again this season with a new owner in charge.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Angels 10, Yankees 2: Hideki Matsui, Maicer Izturis and Mike Napoli hit two-run homers and Los Angeles won at New York.
Rangers 8, Tigers 0: Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler homered for Texas at Detroit.
Indians 4, Twins 3: At Minneapolis, Travis Hafner had the go-ahead RBI in the eighth inning for Cleveland.
Blue Jays 13, Royals 1: At Kansas City, Toronto's Jose Bautista hit his major league-leading 26th home run.
Orioles 11, Rays 10, 13 inn.: Julio Lugo singled in the winning run in the 13th inning as Baltimore beat visiting Tampa Bay.
Athletics 5, Red Sox 4, 10 inn.: Kevin Kouzmanoff hit a two-out RBI single in the 10th inning as Oakland beat visiting Boston.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Braves 4, Padres 1: Matt Diaz homered for the third straight game and Atlanta beat visiting San Diego.
Rockies 10, Marlins 0: At Miami, Melvin Mora drove in five runs to lead Colorado over Florida.
Cubs 14, Astros 7: Aramis Ramirez hit three homers and drove in seven runs to help Chicago rally past visiting Houston.
Pirates 11, Brewers 9: Pedro Alvarez hit a grand slam in Pittsburgh's nine-run first against visiting Milwaukee.
Cardinals 7, Phillies 1: St. Louis got homers from Randy Winn and Matt Holliday in its seventh consecutive victory, a win over Philadelphia.
Diamondbacks 3, Mets 2: At Phoenix, Barry Enright retired 14 straight hitters after escaping a tight spot in the first inning and struck out a career-high eight as Arizona beat New York.
Reds 8, Nationals 7: Mike Leake pitched five solid innings before a 2-hour, 40-minute rain delay, and Cincinnati beat visiting Washington.
Giants 7, Dodgers 5: Andres Torres hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the ninth inning, rallying visiting San Francisco over the slumping Los Angeles in a heated game featuring three ejections.