“I’m signed through next year and that’s it,” he said in a Chicago Tribune interview published Friday. “I’m signed.”

Asked point-blank Friday if he expected to return next year, Piniella didn’t give a direct answer.
“I’m signed through next year. What do you want me to say? What if the organization doesn’t want me back?” the manager said before the Cubs and Sox began their second interleague series.
But if it’s up to him, will he be back?
“Look, I like this job. I enjoy this job. I really do,” Piniella said. “I’ve had fun here. ... Why do I have to be talking about myself in the middle of June or during the Fourth of July? Let’s talk about the team. My situation basically is a non-issue as far as I’m concerned.”
The Cubs picked up the $4 million option on Piniella’s contract for 2010 last September, right before the team was swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round of the playoffs.
With the two-time defending NL Central champions at .500 after beating the White Sox 5-4 on Friday, some Cubs fans say their team is flat and one reason is because the once fiery Piniella is too mellow.
The manager who once threw highlight-reel tantrums will be 66 in August. In his first season in Chicago, he did go on a dirt-kicking outburst against an umpire and right after that, the Cubs took off on their way to their first division title.
But that’s not Piniella’s style these days, even though some critics are crying for more emotion.
“I was younger then. It was a different era. I grew up in the era of Billy Martin and Earl Weaver and they were very successful. The era has changed and you have to change with the era,” Piniella said.
“I just don’t see myself having to go out there — and basically probably make a fool of myself at times — like I used to when I was younger to try to instill a fire or help the team win more baseball games. I just don’t see the correlation, I’m sorry.”
Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said Piniella’s “not missing anything. We just haven’t played as well.”
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said he understands the toll managing can take.
As the White Sox were making a run to the World Series title in 2005, Guillen acknowledged that he thought about quitting if they won the championship.
“This job takes so much out of yourself and your family, I don’t blame him thinking that way. But I hope not. We need people like him,” Guillen said.
“I think Lou Piniella is one of the biggest faces of this game. He’s a grown man and he knows what he wants, he knows what he should do,” Guillen said. “I hope he keeps competing.”
The Cubs have battled injuries — Aramis Ramirez, last year’s RBI leader, has been on the DL since early May with a dislocated left shoulder. Major offseason acquisition Milton Bradley has struggled, as have Alfonso Soriano and last year’s NL rookie of the year, Geovany Soto.
It was revealed Thursday that Soto tested positive for marijuana during this year’s World Baseball Classic.
Piniella said he would have encouraged Soto to speak out much earlier, because he thought delaying the announcement had affected the catcher’s performance. But now that Soto has come out and acknowledged the mistake and the embarrassment it caused, Piniella said it was a non-issue.
“I smoked dope one time in my life and it didn’t do a damn thing for me, OK?” Piniella said. “I never tried it again and I’m fortunate because of that. ... I do know young people make mistakes at times and they learn from the mistakes.”