Sternberg Vs. Sternberg: Owner Rules Over Fan
By MARC LANCASTER The Tampa Tribune
ST. PETERSBURG - If Stuart Sternberg hadn't bought the team, he might be
upset, too.
That was the olive branch of understanding extended from the Devil Rays'
owner to the team's fans during his first visit to spring training this year.
"I've been a fan much longer than I've been an owner, and I've been
frustrated and I've asked the questions," Sternberg said Tuesday morning at
the Naimoli Complex. "But once you sort of get on the inside of the fence,
you see what the realities are and what's important. Now I can't look at it
as a fan. I am a fan, I like to be a fan of the team, I'd like nothing more
than for us to win a lot of games this year, but I have to look at it and see
what's in the best interests of the entire organization."
If you've been paying attention since Sternberg, president Matt Silverman and
executive vice president Andrew Friedman took charge, you know the plan. The
Rays have poured money many fans want funneled toward the major-league
payroll into other areas, from international scouting and development to
aesthetic improvements at Tropicana Field.
The decision to rebuild the club from within by shunning high-priced veterans
has easily explainable philosophical roots, but defending a 2007 payroll
projected to be Major League Baseball's lowest at around $25 million is a
continuing effort for Sternberg.
"I look at it as a whole expenditure and I know what we are spending, and the
spending - as I have said in the past and will continue to say - flows
throughout the entire organization," he said. "Whether it's in our Dominican
academy, whether it's in Venezuela, whether it's in overseas players, whether
it's in development, upgrading our staff, upgrading our video capabilities
and certainly upgrading the stadium experience."
But are the Rays really, truly trying to win?
"Yes - we're absolutely trying," Sternberg said. "I can't do it without any
regard to the future, though. I think from a fan's standpoint, I want to win
in 2007. As an owner, as a person who's responsible as the steward for this
business, I have to balance all that - and it is quite a balancing act - with
the future. How much of the future do you give up to win in the present?"
The Rays' preference is clear. They have chosen to hold on to the majority of
their young talent, resisting overtures this offseason to trade hot
commodities such as outfielders Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli - two
emerging players signed to below-market contracts. If the Rays can fast-track
some pitching prospects to the majors, they finally may contend.
If not, Sternberg will have to change his approach or keep answering
questions about the payroll.
"If we had spent a good deal more money, I think people would be excited
about the amount of money we spent but they wouldn't necessarily be excited
about the team that's put on the field," he said. "I'm pretty excited about
where the organization is and I have to look at it in that respect."
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If you're not have fun in baseball,
you miss the point of everything.
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