One victory isn't much, but it's still something

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© St. Petersburg Times
published April 3, 2002

ST. PETERSBURG -- Watch closely, and you will see the gains. Stare long enough, and you can make out the benefits.

It might be difficult to locate the inner beauty when a team is dumping salaries, but one attractive quality can be found.

As the payroll drops, so does the pretense.

This is where we find the Rays today.

At 1-0 and out of breath.

If there was a story line to be found in Tuesday night's opener, this was it. The Rays are lacking in talent yet seem willing to acknowledge it. And, better still, willing to battle and overcome it.

This is how general manager Chuck LaMar can claim the 2002 opening-day roster is superior to last season's. This is why manager Hal McRae can talk about a .500 record as if it were within reach.

"You need goals. Losing every night is not a purpose in life," McRae said. "I want a reason to be here. They should feel they have a reason to be here rather than saying, "I'm in the big leagues, and I'm going to show up and lose a ballgame and then go home.' No, no, no.

"That's not an attitude that's acceptable to me."

So you saw 240-pound catcher Toby Hall busting it down the first-base line for an infield hit to drive in a runner from third with two outs.

So you saw starting pitcher Tanyon Sturtze pumping his fist toward second baseman Brent Abernathy after a nifty double play and shouting encouragement to Hall after retiring Robert Fick with a runner on third.

So you saw passion.

"This was the kind of game you saw at the end of last season, and we're starting off the same way this year," Sturtze said. "We need to pick each other up. That's the kind of team this needs to be."

There was not the detached air of a first baseman on cruise control. There was not the discontent of a third baseman wishing he were somewhere else.

You may complain a positive attitude and overactive metabolism are not enough. That more should be expected as the Rays begin their fifth season.

You may point out Arizona handed out World Series rings to its players Tuesday night while the Rays handed out magnetic schedules.

Maybe that does not seem fair. But, then, neither is the comparison.

The Diamondbacks have hit on more successes than the Rays, but they also had the good fortune of being able to absorb their failures. Arizona's revenues and attendance have afforded it that luxury. Tampa Bay's has not.

Which leaves us here. With a team getting younger before it gets better.

Understand, this is not a good team. The Rays are a batting champion away from mediocre and a 20-game winner shy of pretty good.

They have little power and zero pizzazz. You know the season will be long when spunk is the first strength that comes to mind.

They are not proud of this but nor are they ashamed. And there is something honest and pure about that.

"It's going to be difficult for this to be a .500 team," McRae said. "But we're not going to give in to the thought that we're not that good. I'll never do that. Why even show up?

"If we give in to the thought that we are (terrible) and are going to lose 100 games again, we might as well phone the games in. Just phone them in. Or fax them in these days, I guess."

As battle cries go, it does not exactly stir the soul: We don't stink as badly as you think.

Still, it is an upgrade from previous seasons. In the past, the Rays have had the payroll of a halfway decent team and the disposition of losers. Now they have a teeny payroll but the starry-eyed appearance of dreamers.

Most nights, that will not be enough. Pluck is not the best weapon against talent. And the Rays will face better teams than Detroit. Actually, every team might be better than Detroit.

There also is the question of how long this group will remain intact. As the tale goes, an angel gets its wings whenever a bell rings. Except when LaMar's phone rings, which usually means the Rays are reducing payroll.

Even before Esteban Yan closed out Tuesday night's victory, there was talk of a potential trade with the Mets. If Greg Vaughn gets many more winning hits such as his eighth-inning single against the Tigers, he'll be a memory by the All-Star break. Sturtze will be a hot commodity, and John Flaherty's name will pop up as soon as a contender has a catcher go down.

But for now, this is what we have. And it does not seem half bad.

Keep this in mind as you watch the rest of the season: We are not likely to see many other last at-bat victories. The crowds will not be as large, and the emotions will not run as high.

Still, there is reason to pay attention. More often than not, the effort will remain the same. And the potential will continue to grow.

"We're not a powerful club, so we have to be an aggressive one," shortstop Chris Gomez said. "Basically, we're playing the game the way it's supposed to be played."

For the first time in 364 days, the Rays will greet the dawn with a winning record.

Maybe that does not seem like much.

But it is a start.

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