Enquirer wire services

SEATTLE - Lou Piniella, the man who more than anyone else taught the Seattle Mariners how to win in his 10 years there, may have managed his last game for the club.

In a meeting Friday in Tampa, Fla., with three Seattle team officials, led by CEO Howard Lincoln, Piniella formally asked to be allowed to resign.

"I asked them if I could be allowed to get closer to home," he said Saturday from his home in Tampa. "We had an amicable meeting, as amicable as amicable can be. We talked for over an hour. Now they're going to make a decision."

He later told the St. Petersburg Times that he had asked "for permission to talk to other teams."

Asked if there were a timeline, Piniella simply said: "Soon. That's all I can say."

ESPN reported that the Mariners had granted Piniella's request to talk to other teams, but Piniella and team President Chuck Armstrong said that wasn't the case.

CARDINALS: Game 3 of the National League Championship Series got off to an emotional start when Kannon Kile, the 5-year-old son of late pitcher Darryl Kile, was introduced along with the rest of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Kannon also served as one of St. Louis' batboys.

The San Francisco Giants paid tribute to Darryl Kile, putting his name on the scoreboard at Pacific Bell Park. One problem: his first name was misspelled, using only one "r" in the first name.

Kile, a former 20-game winner and the team's clubhouse leader, died June 22 in a Chicago hotel room. The players wears patches on their sleeves commemorating the deaths of Kile and broadcaster Jack Buck, and players also have written Kile's initials and his number on their caps.

INDIANS: Cleveland general manager Mark Shapiro said Jim Thome's agent, Pat Rooney, has recommended that the club make a contract offer to its career home run leader before he's eligible for free agency.

But Shapiro said the Indians still haven't decided when they will present a deal to Thome.

"We're still evaluating when is the right time," said Shapiro.