Faceoff
Will the Rays turn things around under new ownership?
By TIMES STAFF WRITERS
Published April 16, 2006
IF THE BUCS AND LIGHTNING DID IT, SO CAN THE RAYS
Remember how bad the Bucs and Lightning used to be?
Remember how you sat on metal bleachers in an empty, steaming Big Sombrero? Remember watching hockey in the cow palace?
It was, and this can't be emphasized enough, awful.
Much like the Devil Rays.
Then again, much like the Rays, ownership changed, players changed, and guess what, the teams not only turned around but won league titles.
Here's a prediction: Like the Rays.
Vince Naimoli is gone. So is Wilson Alvarez (and his salary). Stuart Sternberg is here. So are Carl Crawford, Jorge Cantu and Jonny Gomes.
So is promise.
Delmon Young is a five-tool monster waiting in the wings along with guys such as B.J. Upton and Wes Bankston.
And so it seems, like the Bucs, are a new team emblem and uniforms.
So is this any time to give up hope? What good is it to be negative with all this positive springing up?
Ten years from now - and don't laugh, because remember you laughed at the suggestion the Bucs or Lightning would win championships - you might be celebrating a World Series with a Tampa Bay (insert emblem) on your cap.
It happened in the not-so-distant past. Why not in the not-so-distant future?
- SCOTT PURKS
WINNING TAKES MONEY ... AND TONS OF TALENTDid you see Stuart Sternberg shaking all those hands at the home opener?
Thousands of Floridians are thrilled Sternberg has plucked the Devil Rays from Vince Naimoli and given the team a shot at respectability.
Things are looking better in St. Petersburg - assuming your idea of better is competitive baseball.
But if you expect the new ownership group to propel the Rays atop the American League East, think again. In baseball, winning takes money, and the Rays don't have it.
At least not like the Yankees or Red Sox.
According to research conducted by USA Today, the Yankees ranked first for opening-day salaries, spending $194.6-million on payroll.
The Red Sox are second at $120-million.
Where are the Rays, you ask?
Tampa Bay is 29th, with an opening-day payroll of $35.4-million.
Unlike the previous regime, Sternberg's ownership group likely will spend enough to improve. And with the new infusion of capital, the Rays should finally finish above .500 soon.
Still, without an extra $100-million, there will be no pennants hoisted at Tropicana Field.
So, Rays fans, enjoy your free parking and your tailgating.
But remember, it's all about the money.
- BRIAN SUMERS