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OFFSEASON PLAYER MOVEMENT

Players signed	Players lost
	RHP Ryan Rupe (released)
	LHP Steve Kent (released)
Acquired via trade	Players traded
INF Antonio Perez (compensation for Lou Piniella)	OF Randy Winn

Complete Player Movement

Winn-ing compensation


	Piniella, 59, faces his toughest challenge yet.

For Lou Piniella, the opportunity to work near where he grew up was just part of the appeal of becoming the manager of the struggling Devil Rays. Piniella was introduced Oct. 28 after finalizing a four-year, $13 million contract that makes him the second-highest paid manager in the majors. "I'm not a baseball savior. I'm not a baseball guru. I believe in no shortcuts to success," the 59-year-old manager said after slipping on a No. 14 Devil Rays home jersey during a news conference at Tropicana Field. Outfielder Randy Winn was sent to Seattle as compensation. Tampa Bay also received minor-league shortstop Antonio Perez in the deal. In Tampa Bay, Piniella inherits a team that has lost 206 games the past two seasons – most in the majors.

Agent: M's made talks 'chaos'

AL East: Five key questions

Campbell: Patience required

Patience is not one of Lou Piniella's strengths, but he will need to have a lot of patience going from the Mariners to the 55-win Devil Rays. He hates pitchers who walk hitters. So the Rays' young pitchers had better throw strikes. Piniella sat in Seattle from 1997-1999 with the worst bullpen in baseball. But he somehow survived that and turned the Mariners around, building them into a team that won 116 games in 2001. Piniella knows what he is up against in Tampa, which had the majors' worst pitching staff in 2001. He has some young players to build on in Aubrey Huff and Carl Crawford, but he can't win without more talented players, so we will have to see how that one works out.

NEWS AND NOTES

Not only did OF prospect Rocco Baldelli win minor league player of the year honors, then go to the Arizona Fall League and hit .300, but scouts love his enthusiasm, ESPN.com's Peter Gammons reported. "He's got a tattoo on his ankle that reads MLB," says one scout. "How great is that?"
The Devil Rays released RHP Ryan Rupe and designated left-hander Steve Kent and SS Jace Brewer for assignment Nov. 20 as they set their 40-man roster. The team announced that OF Josh Hamilton and C Pete LaForest were among seven minor leaguers added to the roster. The others were pitchers Brian Stokes, Seth McClung, Gerardo Garcia, Doug Waechter and Hans Smith.
The Devil Rays filled out their coaching staff on Nov. 11, hiring John McLaren, Chris Bosio and Matt Sinatro. McLaren (bench coach) and Sinatro (bullpen coach) served under manager Lou Piniella with the Mariners. Bosio is the new pitching coach.
Veteran RHP Mike James, who has pitched in 288 major league games with three different teams, was one of five players signed to minor league contracts by the Devil Rays on Nov. 6. OFs Adrian Brown and Chad Mottola, INF Jay Canizaro and LHP Matt Perisho also signed. Financial terms were not disclosed. All five players were invited to major league spring training.
The Devil Rays and new manager Lou Piniella picked Lee Elia as their hitting coach and retained coaches Tom Foley and Billy Hatcher on Nov. 5. Elia spent the past two seasons as a consultant with the Mariners, Piniella's former team and spoke with the M's for the job Piniella left vacant.
Pitching coach Jackie Brown, hitting coach Milt May, bullpen coach Glenn Ezell and first-base coach Lee May will not be back next season, the St. Petersburg Times reported Oct. 30. Manager Lou Piniella and GM Chuck LaMar discussed the future of the coaching staff on Oct. 29. "After the meeting it was clear to us that there were going to be some changes made," LaMar told the newspaper. "I owed it to those men that have waited patiently to find out who we were going to hire as manager to let them know as soon as possible if I thought it was going to work out here or not."
The Devil Rays re-signed RHP Kevin McGlinchy to a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league spring training, the St. Petersburg Times reported Oct. 30.

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Lou Piniella plans on developing a winning attitude in Tampa Bay.
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New Devil Rays skipper Lou Piniella looks forward to a fresh start in Tampa Bay.
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"I know everyone is saying Lou means instead credibility, but they have a long way to go. He'll bring passion for the game, but I'm not sure how much that will mean."
– A baseball executive on the impact of new manager Lou Piniella

2002 AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
TEAM	W	L	PCT	GB
New York	103	58	.640	-
Boston	93	69	.574	10.5
Toronto	78	84	.481	25.5
Baltimore	67	95	.414	36.5
Tampa Bay	55	106	.342	48.0
Complete Standings

Devil Rays 59Fifty Authentic Fitted Game Cap Our Price: $24.99	Devil Rays Basic Tee Our Price: $12.99
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DID YOU KNOW?

Lou Piniella is 1,319-1,135 in 16 seasons of managing in the majors. In addition to his 10 years in Seattle, Piniella led the Reds to a World Series championship in 1990 and also served a successful stint as manager of the Yankees from 1986-88.

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ON THE FARM

Minor league affiliates:
Durham Bulls (AAA):
    Sched./Results | Stats | Official Site
Orlando Rays (AA):
    Sched./Results | Stats | Official Site
Bakersfield Blaze (A):
    Stats | Official Site
Charleston Riverdogs (A):
    Stats | Official Site
Hudson Valley Renegades (A):
    Official Site
Princeton Devil Rays (R):
    Official Site


AVG	R. Winn	.298
HR	A. Huff	23
RBI	R. Winn	75
RUN	R. Winn	87
SB	R. Winn	27
WIN	2 tied @	8
SV	E. Yan	19
ERA	J. Kennedy	4.53
Complete Team Statistics: Batting \| Pitching


C	T. Hall	ROTATION
1B	A. Huff	T. Sturtze
2B	B. Abernathy	P. Wilson
3B	J. Sandberg	J. Kennedy
SS	C. Gomez	J. Sosa
LF	C. Crawford	V. Zambrano
CF	R. Winn	CLOSER
RF	B. Grieve	E. Yan
DH	S. Cox


Nov 23: Added outfielder Josh Hamilton and pitchers Seth McClung and Doug Waechter to the 40-man roster; released pitcher Ryan Rupe; designated pitcher Steve Kent and shortstop Jace Brewer for assignment.
Complete Team Transactions


No significant injuries.