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Rays

Rays revitalized in a month

By GARY SHELTON
Published November 4, 2005

They have not won a game. They have not managed a hit. They have not increased the payroll, improved the roster or affected the standings.

They have not made a trade. They have not hired a manager. They have not healed the sick, raised the dead or brought a smile to Delmon Young's face.

If you want to be realistic, the Devil Rays really haven't done that much over the past month.

Aside from reinventing themselves, that is.

The feel-good buzz of a reborn team continued Thursday when Stuart Sternberg, the most popular owner the Rays have ever had, introduced Gerry Hunsicker, the most accomplished general manager they have ever employed. To be accurate, Hunsicker's title actually will be Senior Vice President in Charge of Being Born Before 1975, but you get the picture.

All in all, it was another fresh and minty day for a team on its second honeymoon. In other words, it felt very much like the 28 days that had come before it.

Just think: Four weeks in, and already, Sternberg has undone much of the damage it took Vince Naimoli eight years to inflict. If Hunsicker and his boss, executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, can clean up Chuck LaMar's mess in the same amount of time, then we're in business.

Who knew? One month in, and Sternberg is pitching a perfect game. For goodness' sake, he's Mr. October. He has not hit one wrong note, not made one wrong step since taking over.

Along the way, he has managed the most improbable of tasks: He has earned a mulligan for his franchise.

For the first time in years, perhaps since before the first pitch (a ball, by the way), it is possible to feel good about this franchise. The Rays seem renewed, refreshed, recharged.

Also, and this is the amazing part: They are interesting again.

Frankly, I thought Tampa Bay would be a tougher sale. I was certain I would be. The scars were so deep, and the sights so awful that I figured we would be standing with our arms folded and our eyebrows raised at the prospect of a rookie owner. "Show us," I was sure we would be saying. "Prove to us that you're different."

Instead, it took a gesture, maybe two, and Sternberg had a town in his grip. Perhaps it is because he is so charismatic; Hunsicker called him "the Pied Piper." Perhaps it is because Tampa Bay wants so badly to believe. Perhaps it is because the team has been so desperately lost that a step or two in the right direction makes Sternberg look like he's leading a parade.

Good for Sternberg.

Good for Tampa Bay, too.

Early Thursday afternoon, Sternberg sat in a boardroom facing the field at Tropicana, reflecting on his one-month anniversary. He has been as delighted as anyone by the first month. People have responded to the team's gestures, and his employees talk of being energized by their interaction with the public. Sternberg, a constant reader of Internet blogs (he addressed one recently as himself), likes what he sees. "Breathtaking," he says of the first month.

On its own, free parking and imported chicken might not sound like much. Well, if it's so small, why don't other owners do it? Here's why: Sternberg says the policies will cost "in the seven figures ... in the multiple seven figures."

That's a lot to pay for good will; on the other hand, the Rays' tank was empty.

Eventually, fans are going to demand more. Yes, Sternberg is off to a good start, but remember, Cadillac Williams had a good first month, too. In the long run, Sternberg's approval rating will read very much like the win-loss record.

Sternberg knows that. He admits that he was prepared for a little more skepticism all along, about his newness, about the youth of team president Matt Silverman and Friedman, about the pace of the search for Hunsicker and a manager. That didn't come. Still, Sternberg says what has been accomplished does not compare to what must be.

"We're nowhere," Sternberg says. "We have miles of work to do."

Hunsicker will help. He has the credentials, and the perspective, to be the sage the Rays need. He gives them a chance to avoid the Ben Grieves of the world.

What could go wrong? If you have been paying attention to the past two four-year terms, then you know there are trap doors.

1) The payroll. It has to get bigger. Hunsicker has never had to have as many quarters as the next general manager to succeed, but this is a major sport. Eventually, the Rays are going to have to spend more. Also, wisely.

2) The organization. Say what you wish about LaMar, but under the old regime, Hunsicker wouldn't have succeeded, either. Heck, Merlin wouldn't have succeeded. "No general manager can rise above a dysfunctional organization," Sternberg admits.

3) The boss. At this point, no one knows much about Friedman. But if this partnership is going to work, Friedman has to value Hunsicker's opinion. In other words, Hunsicker's voice is only as good as Friedman's ears.

Still, for the Rays, it is so far and so good. People are talking about the team again. People are smiling about the team. People want to know who the new manager will be. People don't fear trade talk anymore. People are going to watch free agency.

In the months to come, the Rays are going to be interesting.

And how many months since anyone has suggested that?

[Last modified November 4, 2005, 01:41:19]