Lou Piniella has seen plenty of places in his baseball life, but perhaps none are so memorable as his stint with the New York Yankees. (Though if he manages to win a World Series with the Cubs, that would change in a heartbeat.)
Yes, Pinella had some good years with the Yankees. It makes sense that owner Hal Steinbrenner would be interested in reliving those days with Lou once he finishes up with the Cubs. And so that's how you get this sort of rumor: Hal Steinbrenner says Piniella would come back to the Yankees as a "consultant" when he's "finished" in Chicago. And Piniella has no idea what's going on:
Piniella insisted Monday he knew nothing about the comment and had not discussed a job with Steinbrenner. "I was there a long time," he said. "Right now, like I told [Madden], my only concern is the Chicago Cubs. I've never talked to Hal about it. I'm friends with Hal. When I was managing there, he basically was around learning the ropes in baseball a little bit. But outside of that, I haven't talked to him about any position at all. "
Who knows? At least Hal isn't actively trying to steal Piniella away, or it doesn't seem like it, and at least Piniella is warding off the rumors with his usual Lou Piniella schtick. It's interesting. But it's nothing more than a rumor, and one that doesn't seem to have much bearing on the Cubs' current issue, which is: Win a World Series. Do that, and Lou can have as many consultancies as he damn well pleases.
Eamonn Brennan is a Chicago-based writer, editor and blogger who wants to be a consultant, too. You can also read him at Yahoo! Sports, Mouthpiece Sports Blog, and Inside The Hall, or at his personal site, eamonnbrennan.com. Follow him on Twitter.
