"Lou Piniella sat down on the dugout bench on a scorching Friday morning at Wrigley Field. "It's hot," he said. So would that make it a hot seat? "That's it," he said with a laugh. Piniella will be on the hot seat for only a couple more months before turning over the reins to the next Cubs manager. Who that man will be is the greatest guessing game on the North Side since, well, since Dusty Baker's job was in peril four years ago. St. Louis manager Tony La Russa, who is in the final year of his contract, was asked how he handles speculation he would be a candidate to succeed Piniella. "Just ignore it," he said. La Russa is not considered a target of general manager Jim Hendry, not to mention that his close relationship with White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf should put to rest any rumors that he'd be interested in managing on the North Side. Piniella and La Russa have known each other a long time and are two of the longest lasting managers in baseball history. Are there too many demands on modern-day managers for anyone to last as long as Piniella and La Russa have? "I think if you love the game and try to learn it, that's one side," LaRussa said. "I see some young guys managing now that have all those qualities. Then it's just a matter of being fortunate. You've got to be in organizations where everybody's together -- the ownership and the front office -- and they give you a shot because in the end, if you don't have at least some success at some point, you don't have the job. " http://www.chicagobreakingsports.co...nores-speculation-on-succeeding-piniella.html
