Rays

Soul purpose: Yanks have one, Rays in need

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© St. Petersburg Times
published March 3, 2003

TAMPA -- You wonder, sometimes, how the other half lives. Then you see a picture of David Wells running naked through a field of sheep.

And you begin to understand.

This is what Tampa Bay and its Devil Rays have been missing. This is what an abundance of riches, and an absence of shame, will get you.

The best, and most entertaining, team in baseball.

The Yankees have characters. They have controversy.

They have Boomer, Rocket and Godzilla. They have an owner more obsessed with victories than profits and a pitcher disputing the facts of his autobiography.

Mostly, you have talent at every position and hope at every turn.

For five years we have deluded ourselves into believing big-league baseball had arrived in Tampa Bay. That it was worth the price of admission to see Felix Martinez gripping a bat three inches up the handle.

The truth is there is no comparison to the type of baseball being played by the Yankees and the Rays.

One team expects to win the World Series. The other hopes not to wobble quite as noticeably as the year before.

One team went from Cuba to Japan in search of players in the offseason. The other went from Lakeland to Bradenton in search of fans.

One team has seven starting pitchers for a five-man rotation. The other has one starting pitcher and a lot of nervous long relievers.

The Rays talk of the future.

The Yankees deal in the present.

Baseball always has been a sport of haves and have-nots. In this case, the Yankees have done everything possible to win. The Devil Rays have not.

New York is looking at beginning the season with a payroll in excess of $150-million. Tampa Bay will pay out less than $30-million.

Or you could look at it this way:

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter has a 10-year contract that pays him an average of $18.9-million a season. That is roughly what the Rays will spend on 24 of their players this season.

And you know what?

Jeter may be the better bargain.

Really, who among the Rays would make an impact in the Yankees lineup? Which of Tampa Bay's best 25 players could squeeze onto New York's bench?

Do not misunderstand. Do not assume this is simply a way to rip the Rays.

It is more a way of pointing out Tampa Bay has not really experienced the big leagues. Not in any way that approximates New York or Boston or St. Louis.

The Rays have struggled because, yes, they have made some poor decisions. But they also have struggled because corporate and fan support has been less than overwhelming. And because baseball's economic structure does little to bring balance between markets of different size.

"The easy thing to do is point a finger at the system as to why these teams are at opposite ends of the spectrum," said Yankees catcher John Flaherty, an original member of the Rays. "As a player who spent five years there, I know things didn't go according to plan. Players who were brought in to do well did not do well, including myself.

"You can point at bad decisions, bad performances, bad players. Whatever the reasons, it happened. The (Yankees) have made a lot of good decisions, but they've also made a few bad decisions. The difference is you can swallow it a lot easier in New York than in a market like Tampa Bay."

So we are left with this:

A manager more popular than his players.

Visiting players more recognizable than the hometown guys.

Attendance for spring training games at Legends Field that compares to some regular-season crowds at Tropicana Field.

"Until you win in an area, you can't tell how good a situation you have fan-wise," manager Lou Piniella said.

"People want to be associated with winners."

This is why Piniella has been the best thing ever to happen to the Rays.

He offers credibility where there had been none. He brings a passion, and maybe a certain fear, to a clubhouse that has been too comfortable for too long.

He also offers honesty like no one else.

There are some in the organization who chafe at reports of shortcomings, yet fret when the talk becomes too optimistic.

It's like they are ashamed of living with the reality and afraid of falling short of the hope.

Piniella is less bothered by perceptions. He has been in charge of enough winners to know his legacy is secure. He spent enough years with the Yankees to understand how the other half really does live.

This is why he could sit in the visiting manager's office at Legends Field on Sunday and make jokes with a dozen reporters about how the Rays stack up.

"I'll probably go for a lot of soul-searching walks," Piniella said.

Who knows, maybe the Yankees will have to do the same.

Of course, they'd probably hire someone to do it for them.