Piniella surprised to hear about rift with DeRosa

MESA, Ariz. - Cubs manager Lou Piniella was surprised to hear Thursday that former Cubs player Mark DeRosa left the door open about the possibility of there being a rift between the two.

"I had nothing but respect for Mark," Piniella said before the Cubs' exhibition game with Milwaukee at HoHoKam Park. "He played exceedingly well. I used him all over and I think he had his best seasons playing for me."

The Chicago Sun-Times asked DeRosa, who was traded to the Cleveland Indians on New Year's Eve for three minor-leaguers, whether Piniella was behind his departure.

"I don't know. I really don't," DeRosa said. "I didn't ask questions once they told me. It was done, it was New Year's Eve, the ball dropped and I had a new mind-set."

Piniella, who played DeRosa in 149 games in each of his two seasons managing the club, said he found out about the trade on a television scroll while skiing in Colorado.

"I always wish my players well when they go somewhere else," Piniella said. "And I follow them. I really do because I care about them. To me there is no foundation for (a feud)."

Piniella said he has a rule of not contacting players after they are traded.

"I talk to them when I see them the following spring, the following summer," he said. "When I leave, nobody calls and tells me, 'I feel sorry you are not managing the team' or whatever."

DeRosa's trade was in response to the Cubs - who were swept in the first round of the playoffs after winning a National League-best 97 games - having too many right-handed bats in the lineup. Soon after the 34-year-old left, the team signed switch-hitting infielder Aaron Miles.