Piniella vows rise in East

Manager tells Tampa chamber that revamped Rays won't finish last.

TAMPA - With a roster that's both older and better, the Devil Rays expect things to be different this season.

Manager Lou Piniella on Tuesday promised they will be, guaranteeing that for the first time in team history the Rays won't finish in last place.

"The AL East is the toughest division in baseball," Piniella said. "But our ballclub is going to play very well in that division, with a good combination of left-handed pitching and a good bench.

"We're not going to finish last in our division. Put it that way. We're going to start moving up the ladder."

Predictions of fourth place are not usually front-page news, and chants of "We're No. 4!" aren't likely to sweep through the Tampa Bay area, but with the Rays, success is relative.

They have finished last in each of their six seasons, behind the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles in order, often by a hefty margin. Three seasons they had the worst record in the American League.

All teams are optimistic in February, but Piniella, even with substantial additions by the four division foes, insists he is genuinely enthused and excited by the possibilities.

He figures the Rays will be improved because their young players, such as Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, Toby Hall, Aubrey Huff and Doug Waechter, will be better and because they brought in some better players, such as Tino Martinez, Jose Cruz, Danys Baez, Geoff Blum and Rey Sanchez.

Piniella stopped short of predicting a number of victories, but it's clear he is looking into at least the mid 70s. He said they will win more than any previous Rays team (69 in 1999-2000) and will make a greater improvement from last season than from 2002 to 2003 (an eight-win increase to 63).

Speaking to an enthusiastic Tampa Chamber of Commerce luncheon crowd at the downtown Hyatt, Piniella also said it won't be long before the team is competing for a playoff spot.

"This thing," he said, "is really starting to come together."

Also:

Senior vice president Dave Auker said season-ticket and package renewals and sales were going well (though there were "plenty of good seats available" for the April 6 home opener with the Yankees), merchandise sales were 250 percent ahead of last year and a new major sponsor would be announced next week. Two 12-game ticket plans were revealed.

Six rostered pitchers agreed to one-year contracts: Jesus Colome, Mark Hendrickson, Carlos Hines, Jason Standridge, Waechter and Alec Zumwalt.

The winter caravan continues today with the Pinellas County multichambers luncheon at the Pinellas Expo Center and a 2 p.m. visit to St. Anthony's Hospital.