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Serving youth wasn'tamong veterans' goals

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times,
published July 1, 2001

NEW YORK -- The face of the Rays is getting younger. It has some peach fuzz, a little acne and a fresh perspective.

Many -- including fans, media and some team officials -- welcome the accelerated evolution, espousing the theory that since the Rays aren't going anywhere they might as well go young.

But there is another side to the youth movement. There are the veterans, guys like John Flaherty and Fred McGriff and Greg Vaughn. Guys who signed, or re-signed, with the Rays at the end of or after the 1999 season to be part of a future turning out nothing like they expected.

"When I signed my (three-year) extension, I signed hoping to see this whole situation out, to see a winner on the field and be around for the good times for this organization," Flaherty said.

"This isn't what anybody envisioned. There is no way you could have envisioned this. I thought I was going to see the better days for this organization at the beginning of my three years rather than the end."

He may not see it at all. None of the players imported during the ownership-drive attempt at rapid improvement may be around by the time the Rays are good. Or even better.

Vinny Castilla and Gerald Williams have been released, though the Rays are paying their salaries this year. Juan Guzman, who begins a minor-league rehab (and trade-deadline audition) today, is done at the end of this season. So too is Albie Lopez, who almost certainly will be allowed to leave as a free agent.

Flaherty, McGriff and Vaughn are all readily available, as general manager Chuck LaMar tries to meet ownership's mandate to make the team less expensive. Ironically, it is their hefty contracts, contracts the Rays gave them, that limit their attractiveness.

New chief operating officer John McHale Jr. said he expects the payroll, which was about $56-million on opening day, to be reduced a "considerable" amount for next season. He won't say how much, that it depends on "how we see the industry going and how our own marketing efforts are going." But by the end of the 2002 season, when Flaherty, McGriff and Wilson Alvarez are gone, it could be down to $20-million.

For now, the veterans can only wait to see what happens. They acknowledge their play as part of the problem and aren't complaining.

"They're going to determine what direction they want to go," said Vaughn, who, like McGriff, is having an All-Star caliber season. "I have no control over that, so you really don't sit around and worry about that stuff. They're going to do whatever they want to do whether I like it or not, so why should I worry about it?"

SCHEDULING ISSUES: The first bit of good news about the tentative schedule for next season -- considering all the contraction conspiracy theories -- is that the Rays are on it. Next is that the interleague play divisions are, as promised, being rotated.

The Rays are scheduled to visit Arizona, Colorado and San Francisco (all in one trip) while hosting the Padres, Dodgers and intrastate rival Marlins. The Rays also are slated to open the season at home (probably against Detroit) and close the year in Boston.

GRIEVING: Agent Seth Levinson may file a grievance seeking to recoup the difference between the $2-million Williams got from the Yankees for next season and the $4-million he could have made had he vested his option with the Rays.

Grievances are not that unusual, and are often dismissed or resolved before ever coming to a hearing. This one would only be a big deal if it were to go before an arbitrator, which probably wouldn't happen until the off-season, and if the Rays, who are trying to trim payroll, were forced to pay the other $2-million.

Even then, it wouldn't be their only pending grievance. Agent Rob Plummer said he filed one claiming the Rays sent Jesus Colome to the minors when he was still injured during spring training. His goal is to get Colome major-league service time for the two months he was out, making him eligible for arbitration that much sooner.

HOO-RAYS: Tuesday, the Rays of Hope Foundation will present a $10,000 check to the St. Petersburg RBI League, the local version of the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program. ... Vaughn's generosity wasn't limited to new suits for rookie Joe Kennedy. He showed up another day with new Nikes for the trainers and game-day staff. ... Ex-manager Larry Rothschild turned down an offer to be a special assistant to Marlins GM Dave Dombrowski but may do some consulting for them.

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