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Players are sorry, but not surprised

Larry Rothschild's lack of playing experience is cited as a factor in firing.

By JOHN ROMANO

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 19, 2001

Vaughn

Castilla

ST. PETERSBURG -- It was not a jovial mood in the Rays clubhouse in the wake of Larry Rothschild's firing. The prevailing opinion was that the players were at fault for the manager's dismissal.

Yet there was also a sense that the managerial change was necessary. Perhaps even overdue.

"I'm not surprised by too much," designated hitter Greg Vaughn said. "Sometimes I'm surprised how long things can go before something is done."

"I'm not surprised," third baseman Vinny Castilla said. "Are you surprised? I don't think anybody in here is surprised."

Players seemed to suggest that Rothschild's lack of experience as a major-league player (he pitched in seven games in his career) and lack of prior managing experience may have impacted his tenure.

Johnson

"If you get a guy who's been there, been in the trenches, knows what an 0-for-30 feels like, knows what struggling is like and you know he's gone through it, you look at him different," second baseman Russ Johnson said. "You know when he says something he means it. To me, that's a big thing for a manager. ... There were things that were missing. A manager doesn't win and lose baseball games, but you've got to want to go out there and respect what he says, understand that he's been there and done that."

First baseman Fred McGriff said Rothschild appeared to be growing increasingly frustrated with the team's performance and that he might even be happy that the move was finally made.

McGriff

"I'm sure when he gets the chance to reflect on things he'll probably tell himself he maybe should have handled some situations differently if he had to do it all over again," McGriff said. "I go home every night telling myself maybe I should have done things differently. It was his first time. I'm sure he'll resurface. He'll be fine."

Tensions in the clubhouse had risen in recent weeks with Rothschild arguing with Gerald Williams and Castilla criticizing management when he was removed from the lineup.

"I'd play hard for Larry Rothschild every single day, and I know a lot of guys in here would," Johnson said. "But if one person decides that he comes across the wrong way or that something doesn't work out the way you expect, it's a chain reaction in the clubhouse. Then you're trying to battle an element you can't defend."

No one was pretending that a managerial change would automatically make a difference on the field. As if to prove that point, the Rays went out and dropped their fourth straight home game.

Grieve

"It doesn't matter who's the manager; you've got to win to be happy," outfielder Ben Grieve said. "If we keep losing, the attitude's going to be the same. If we start winning, everyone's going to be happy."

For the moment, no one was acting happy.

"Somebody loses his job, you're not going to see people jumping for joy," catcher John Flaherty said. "The reason he lost his job is that we didn't get the job done on the field. If everyone doesn't feel a little sense of responsibility for that, there's something wrong with him."

-- Staff writers Bruce Lowitt and Marc Topkin contributed to this report.

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