Devil Rays owner aims high for 2007

Stuart Sternberg wants 50 home wins, "a pretty reasonable goal."

By MARC TOPKIN
Published February 28, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - Stuart Sternberg doesn't like predictions, projections or round numbers. But the Devil Rays principal owner threw out a big one Tuesday morning during his first visit to training camp, saying he'd like his team improved enough this season to win 50 home games.

"I think it's a pretty reasonable goal," Sternberg said.

"Once you win 50 games at home, you have a chance now to more than just compete, but to put yourself in a position to succeed."

The Rays won 41 - of the 81 - games at Tropicana Field last season, but an increase to 50 won't necessarily be easy. Only four teams won as many as 50 home games last season. Three won divisions. The other finished second.

Plus, the Rays don't know if their homefield advantage will be the same as it was last season. The Trop's FieldTurf has been replaced with an upgraded version expected to play considerably slower, potentially helping their pitching staff but negating advantages such as their speed on the bases.

Certainly, they have more room for improvement on the road, where they went what Sternberg called a "putrid, to say the least" 20-61 3-33 after June 30. By finishing a major-league worst 61-101 overall, they became the majors' first 100-loss team with a winning home record.

Sternberg, who lives in New York, plans to travel with the team more this season to get a better sense of the issues on the road.

During a chat with Tampa Bay area media, he also said he believed his honeymoon period "is over;" understood the fans' frustration but defended the decision to not increase the payroll; hoped the team could be in playoff contention next season; and revealed plans to build a fan concourse outside the Trop for next season.

But his one specific personal goal - "my sort of bugaboo" - is for more home success. A team with 50 home wins needs to play only around .500 on the road to reach the 90-win mark that usually means playoff contention.

"I think our fans at home should come out and expect us to win a ballgame," Sternberg said. "Last year ... we did seem to play a lot better at home than on the road. The way I have grown up in business, and in life, is you sort of press your advantages and you try to deal with other things that are a little bit problematic. So we're going to deal with what happened on the road and focus on it. But we're going to try to press our advantage at home."

Here are some excerpts from his informal chat:

How did you know the honeymoon was over?

I'm a big newspaper guy, and obviously on the Internet and on the blogs, there seemed to be a little bit more discourse. You can get a sense of things. You get a whiff and a smell. And I think all of it emanated from the payroll (which was reduced to a major-league low $24-million). If we had spent a good deal more money, I think people would be excited on the amount of money we spent. It wouldn't necessarily be (they were) excited on the team that we put on the field.

Do you understand the fans' frustration that you get revenue sharing money and there are other teams spending more and you are cutting back on payroll?

Of course. I've been a fan much longer than I've been an owner. And I've been frustrated, and I asked the questions. But once you sort of get on the inside of the fence, you sort of see what the realities are and what's important. ... I look at it as the whole expenditure, and I know what we are spending. The spending flows throughout the entire organization whether it's our Dominican academy, whether it's Venezuela, whether it's overseas players, whether it's in development, upgrading our staff, upgrading our video capabilities, certainly in upgrading the stadium experience.

That discourse includes people raising the question if you are even trying to win. Are you?

Yes. Yes. We're absolutely trying. ... I can't do it without any regard to the future. From a fan standpoint, and I've been a fan, I want to win in 2007. As an owner, as a person who is responsible, as the steward for this business, I have to balance all that. And it is quite a balancing act with the future and how much for the future do I give up to win in the present? It's no different than how we run our home lives and anything else.

What are your thoughts going into your second year?

We are in a great place. We're just where we wanted to be. And there's nothing I would have changed looking back to this point. I feel good about it.

Last year, you measured success in terms of increased attendance, Web hits, TV/radio ratings. What's the measuring stick for 2007?

It's growth. And growth happens in ways you can measure which are the simplest - Web hits, attendance, how many people watch and listen to our games. There also are the sort of things you can't measure, which is really the level of interest that bubbles underneath. ... We're putting ourselves in a position to succeed that as the team shows some better performance on the field - as I expect it will - that we've made the avenue available for people to come to the park and have a good experience, as opposed to a rotten experience, and to able to see us in different parts of the state and the region.

. Coming Thursday

Spring Training special section

A four-page preview includes looks at the Rays, Yankees, Phillies and Blue Jays as well as schedules for every team in Florida.

[Last modified February 27, 2007, 23:16:33]