Mets coveted Piniella in 2002

Lou Piniella bid a teary farwell to baseball yesterday. [Expect him to return in some format].

You may remember that the Mets wanted Piniella to manage the team when his tenure with Seattle was winding down. Seattle wanted compensation for Piniella and the Mets wanted into that conversation. It never materialized, though at the time Piniella said, ``I wanted to talk to the Mets.''

The Mets still owed $2.7 million to fired Bobby Valentine, but would have paid big for Piniella. Piniella landed in Tampa Bay with a four-year deal worth $13 million. He had tension with ownership over their light player payroll and didn't finish his final year.

The Mets settled, really settled, for Art Howe.