Piniella, Lofton high spots of MLB lately

Over the 10 years I played softball, there is one game that I distinctly remember.

This… Over the 10 years I played softball, there is one game that I distinctly remember.

This particular game was important to me, not because it was the 12-and-under championship, but because my dad, who was also the coach, said that he would shave his head if we won the game.

Of course I wanted to see my dad bald, so I went out, tossed a no-hitter and was three-for-three from the plate. I guess nobody else was motivated; we lost the game 3-2, with the team committing five errors.

So I had to wait a few years to see my dad lose his hair – so much for bribes in sports.

Lou Piniella, the Tampa Bay Devil Ray’s manager, tried a similar tactic for his team after the team snapped a seven-game losing streak in June, during interleague play.

Although the Devil Rays do not hold the honor of being the worst team in baseball, as of Monday, they have a 30-56 record and are 23 1/2 games behind the league-leading Yankees.

Sick of being in the cellar of the American League East, Piniella said he would dye his hair if the floundering team could put together a mere three-game win streak.

This past weekend, Piniella was eating his words – as a blond.

His young team managed to defeat Esteban Loaiza and the White Sox 3-2 on Saturday, which made it three straight Tampa Bay victories for the first time since last September.

However, the very next day, almost as soon as the dye was being washed out of Piniella’s hair, the White Sox snapped Tampa Bay’s short-lived streak. Chicago got the 11-3 win, denying the Devil Rays their first sweep of the season.

Losing records are not something the flamboyant Piniella is used to. During his 10-year tenure in Seattle, he led the Mariners to an AL record 116 wins in 2001, earning recognition as the league’s manager of the year.

Guiding a team that has lost 206 games over the course of the previous two seasons will not be an easy task, but if Piniella is willing to dye for Tampa Bay, maybe he is the only hope to bring the Devil Rays out of the cellar.

Major League Baseball announced its 2003 All-Star line-up on Sunday. Of course, as with every year, everyone has some complaint about who should and shouldn’t be making the trip to the 74th Midsummer Classic.

There will be the noted absences of perennial superstars at U.S. Cellular Field; among the missing will be Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and Sammy Sosa, all of whom are injured or statistically undeserving.

However, since the All-Star Game “counts” this year, 30 first-timers made the roster, seven much-deserving selections from the Atlanta Braves’ will be in attendance and, in both leagues, the fans’ and players’ ballots nearly resembled each other in voting. These facts more than make up for any shortcomings.

Also among the National League All-Stars could be the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Kenny Lofton. Lofton was added to the field of five in the 2003 All-Star Final Vote.

Orlando Cabrera, Luis Castillo, Geoff Jenkins and Benito Santiago are the other choices for the fans, who have until 6 p.m. Wednesday evening to cast their votes to complete the All-Star roster.

As a Pirates fan, I want to see Lofton receive the 32nd All-Star spot, regardless of how he looks on paper. However, Lofton makes a good case for himself.

He holds the longest hitting streak of the season, at 26 games, has a .282 batting average and leads the Pirates in runs scored (54) and stolen bases (16).

Lofton’s presence has made a noticeable difference in the Pirates lineup; he’s their first true leadoff hitter and centerfielder in recent years.

He has my vote, but unfortunately, I doubt Pittsburgh fans will flock to their computers en masse to support Lofton in the balloting.

Shaunna Stuck is a columnist for The Pitt News and thinks the Pirates’ Matt Stairs should change his player-intro music from Stone Cold Steve Austin’s theme to 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P.” Now if you took the time to read the italics, you can vote for Kenny Lofton.