Hank: Yanks need to be more like Rays

Seeing the Rays with the best record in the American League and in first place in the AL East is one sign of their progress.

And Wednesday's back-page story in the New York Post is certainly another - with Hank Steinbrenner saying his struggling Yankees have "got to start playing the way the Rays are playing'' and that he wishes the Rays weren't in the Yankees' division.

"I'm happy for them, but I wish they were in the National League,'' he said.

Essentially, Steinbrenner - sounding more like his father at each turn - accused his high-priced players with not playing hard, and threatened severe changes if they don't.

"(The Yankees) need to start treating it like when they were younger players and going after that big contract, like they're in (Triple-A) and trying to make the majors'' Steinbrenner said. "That's the kind of attitude and fire the players have to have."

Certainly seeing his $209-million team 4 1/2 games behind the Rays, and their $43.8-million payroll, agitated the situation.

"The bottom line is that the team is not playing the way it is capable of playing," Steinbrenner said. "These players are being paid a lot of money and they had better decide for themselves to earn that money."

And if not? "There's no question we need to turn it around and we have the talent to turn it around. We've got the team in place, and now they just have to go out and do it,'' Steinbrenner said.

"This is going to get turned around. If it's not turned around this year, then it will be turned around next year, by force if we have too."

Steinbrenner also had some questions about the attendance at Tropicana Field.
"They only had 13,000 there (Monday) night. That place should be packed,' he said. "They're an exciting young team."

Comments

[Bernie]

What he doesn't realize in relation to attendence is the fact that for 7 years there was no plan for success, then we acquire a new owner 3 years ago and have now just stared to compile a winning record. It's gonna take little while before people drop the "Rays are losers" mentality. They will buy in, just give it time...You are gonna see something amazing very soon.

[The Captain]

Get the heck out there lazy floridians and support the team...lord!

[Marc]

I was a Bucs season ticket holder for the last 10 years. This year I told the Bucs they could keep their $86ea seats that were in section 302 row Z (yes, I had just about the worst seats in the house). Now I am starting to go to Devil Ray games. I can get in for between $9 and $15 depending on the game, have a GREAT beer, wine and mixed drink selection and the games are a blast to watch. Go Rays...The overpriced Bucs can ki$$ my @$$.

[Craig]

What a tool.

[Pete]

I knew the Rays were on their way up and the Yankees down, but I didn't think it would happen this quickly. Look at the Yankees roster. Almost all of their key players are on the wrong side of 30, and the pitchers (besides Wang) give up too many hits. I WILL be at the game tonight rooting for the Rays, and I believe that we will see fewer and fewer Yankees fans and more Rays fans at the games.

[rocky]

BELIEVE...support this team Tampa Bay...their pitching and defense are among the best in the league.

Great job Rays..WE BELIEVE.

Yankees fans are staying home as they do not want to see their team lose.

[Jeff]

Hmm, 300 level seats at RJS for 10 years (conveniently just as the team began winning). Yep, smells like a bandwagoner.

And why whine about ticket prices and then laud overpriced watered down mixed drinks? Yeah, makes sense.

[Barbara]

AARRGGHH I moved away and I want to get out there and support the Rays!! Well, at least I moved to Durham, and I can support their minor league team. Not the same though...GOOOO RAYS

[Tom]

Great post Bernie. An in-law of mine who used to go to a few Rays games a yr made a comment last month at a family gathering about the (crappy) Devil Rays.

I said, "excuse me? Are you talking about the best young team in baseball?" A cousin (who also USED to go to a few games a year) came to my defense, but added something like "they're still a couple of years away."

I kept my mouth shut, but I am wagering that both of them start heading back to the Trop on a semi-regular basis very soon.

My "we'll be better next year" proclamation is finally true!

[Hunter S Thompson]

It takes time to build a fan base and heal the deep wounds inflicted by Vince Naimoli. If the Rays are still playing .600 ball in July then you'll see 40k in the Trop every night. If they are playing .400 ball in July then we'll all be talking about Jon Gruden and Jeff Garcia.

[JOhn]

Fans are being set up for a fall. This team will stumble and fall. They are very young and play in a mighty division. I think the Yanks are gonna kill us today...

[REX]

Support the Rays - Punch a Yankee Pig in the Face.

[Terri]

True Rex - that is one ugly group of people. Move back to New York now.

Let's make a deal - everybody punch a Loud PIG tonight or tommorow.

Right in the big mouth.

[John]

George, TAKE the Rays, Please? Oh and the BUCS while you're at it.

[Tony]

Barbara...I am in Durham too and go to the Bulls games....I am heading to the Rays games in Tampa vs. Baltimore Memorial Day weekend....can't wait!

[Dr_Dug]

The stands are empty because the Rays Owners are trying harder to get a new stadium than filling the seats with fans. What good is a water view of a ballpark when the seats are empty!! GET A CLUE RAYS OWNERS!!

[the who]

GO RAYS!!!!

[Marc]

Thanks Jeff, but I am not a bandwagoner. Back in the Big Sombrero days, I used to walk up and buy tickets just minute before the game would start. Back then the tickets were $20-$25 depending on the section...Go Rays...Bucks re-sign Garcia, or I won't even bother to turn on the TV on Sunday, I'd rather be out Kayaking!

[Get-a-life]

Dr Dug,

You and Get-Smart have to be the same person. I can't believe there is truly more than one person out there whose life is so pathetic that they have to scour every news story to complain about the stadium plans.

[Reality]

Peopple who are dead set against the new stadium typically have no lifes, and hate to see other's enjoy there's. It's sad, but true. When you are disonnected, don't care about the community, sit home and complain about how hot it is.

I heard I guy call 970 yesterday and talk about what a waste of $$$ Ray Jay is. Are you kidding mwe??

[Jeff Gilbert]

Listen, leave Dr. Dug alone. It is perfectly understandable. You can only have a single issue when you have only 30 minutes of internet time on the Library computer. Dr. Dug used to be online all the time warning that the commies were after our precious bodily fluids. At least he has moved on to a more timely issue: the conspiracy of capitalists to develop tax-revenue-generating projects in an effort to energize the community while turning a profit! Utterly dispicable.

The last thing we need at Al Lang is a baseball stadium. No one would ever put a baseball stadium at the site of Al Lang. That would be crazy!

[Kris]

Dr_Dug, I'm going to spank your butt raw.

[Mark]

Ah, how I can only think of Hank bashing the Rays after the Spring Training incident that THEY blew out of proportion.

Shelley Duncan strikes out looking last night, and Jonny scores the winning run.

Karma? I'd say yes, and it's not finished.

1st place right now is still 1st place, and the Rays have definitely earned it.

I can't go to all the games because I live too far out of the area, but all who can NEED to go!

We finally have a Yankee Free stadium, so we need to capitalize! If only gas was cheaper... GAH! I'd go everyday then!

[Gordon]

I think its great that the Rays are doing so well. It was only a matter of time before this young and extremely talented team came together. They should be extremely proud of themselves as their fans are. I am headed to the game tonight. Unfortunately living far from the trop I can not make it to every game but if I lived closer, i certainly would. I think the new stadium is a great idea and support it 100%. Sitting outside on a beautiful day during spring training watching the Rays was awesome. I hope that more people will come out to supoprt the Rays. If you can't make it to the games, at least support them by watching at home or listening on the radio. It's about time that the Yankees and Redsox realize the trop is not their house!! GO RAYS!!!!!!!!!!

[DIZ]

I said in March that thisd team will finish ahead of the Yankees this year. Now I say they will win 90 games. Yougottabelieve!!

And how about Jonny "Roadrunner" Gomes?

[Bodog]

Stop the paranoia about the Rays Fans attendants, They will come. I've seen the same with the Bucs. The first couple of years the stands were full with Buc fans at the old Sombero. Fans showing their support for the team. The team didn't win and the fans stopped coming. It's the same with the Rays, first couple of years Stands were full of fans. The fans came back to the Bucs as they will for the Rays. Remember guys only a few of us diehard Rays fans supported the team during the down years, the few fans you see sitting in the stands every Rays home game, not when the Skankees or dirty Sox come to town. Plus don't forget all the bad pub the team received from our own press people, John Romano, Marc Topkins, and that other dweez. Read their articles now. People will now see all the positive national and local press and will want to be part of something special. I'll see ya at the game, section 148, with my Rays gear on.

[newstadium]

I would support the new stadium but the Rays would have to do one thing.........change the name to the St. Pete Rays. If WE are going to pay for it then WE, as a city, should reap the benifits of our city's name being said each time when discussing the team....when people see the beautiful stadium they would associate it with St. Pete, not Tampa........being from the midwest myself, I can tell you that most people don't know of St. Petersburg.......they associate the whole area with Tampa.

[Bodog]

Damn Diz, you stole my idea. I'm in the process of researching patenting the phrase "You gotta Believe" and printing it on the back of tee shirts.

[GooberSmoocher]

The Rays will fill the stadium. I once wanted the Rays to be in the NL because it's a better brand of baseball. Now I'm glad we are in the AL East, because we are spaking the Spankees and killing the Dead Sox!

We need the new ballpark. This one is out dated and doesn't showcase the beauty and the laid back feel that we have here in St. Pete.. and for you people in Tampa that say St. Pete is too far - get a life! You cry babies whine about crossing the bridge. At least you don't have to wait 4 hours in traffic to go to a game like it is at a lot of these other stadiums.

[Hawkeye]

"It takes time to build a fan base and heal the deep wounds inflicted by Vince Naimoli."

Bingo! If the Rays are still getting 13,000 after 100 years of being in the league, then they might have something to worry about. So Captain, if you want to support your New Yawk team, head east on I-4, then turn left at I-95 and keep going.

[Joe]

Remember the Lightning and their Cup run? Everyone in Tampa was not taken seriously and they were not given any credit. This young team has the potential to make the playoffs this year, especially given the state of the division. RedSox, Rays, Yankees, Toronto and O's...in that order. Let's hope they stay healty, keep up their strong play and will to win, and we will ALL BE FANS by the end of the season. Then we will have a new ball park on the way!

[Carlos Quinones]

They have to keep in mind that many people has been laid off in the past 12 months in the tampa bay area, I'm being lay-off in June, as much as I like the rays and the game itself,I can't go to the games as often as I want,I have to save money.

GO RAYS !

[chux2]

Gordon,
It is awesome to go to an outdoor game for spring training. I believe spring training is in March. July and August are not so awesome. I have parked and walked to the trop, and by the time I got there, I was soaking wet with sweat. The 72 degree temp. sure felt good. Everybody is having financial problems in Florida. I love sports, but the last thing we need to spend half a billion dollars on, is a new stadium. We still have a debt on the trop. There is a glut of unsold residential property and of failing retail businesses. We don't need to build more at the site of the Trop. I have been to many other stadia. Some very famous. The Trop is more comfortable, cleaner, has more rest rooms, and better concession stands. The aisles are wider, and the seats face the field. At some places, you are sitting sideways. Also, if the new stadium is built, and team does well, look for all prices to double or triple.

[Tony]

I've been a Rays fan since the beginning. I watched how they struggled to get San Francisco here and than Chicago only to have both teams stay where they are when they had a new stadium built for them. That's not the issue today though.

Many people out there are disappointed because of the lag in attendance. I can understand that howeever for many people, including myself, there are circumstances that prevent us from going to more games than we want to. The excuse that it is a long drive is legitimized by gas prices, for myself. The game is not expensive to go to. Getting there can be very expensive especially when I put 500 miles a week on my car going to work. It all adds up and unfortunately I have to pick and choose how many games I go to. I follow the Rays on tv all the time so I know what's going on. Don't make a person who doesn't go to the stadium not to be a fan.

Regarding traffic. We have it easy right now. When the games due start selling out or filling to capacity, traffic will be a nightmare. I have been at a few opening day games and had to sit on 275 for at least an hour. Mostly because people don't know how to drive, but PD is very inept when it comes to directing traffic. A plan needs to be set up with SPPD to alleviate that.

Lastly, right now the Rays are in the best position they have ever been in. Not only that, but now Steinbrenner Jr. wishes they were not in the AL East anymore. How convenient for him to love it when his team was winning but now he's a crybaby when his team sucks. Typical Steinbrenner. Hey, I have an idea...why not have Yankees move to National League.

[rabidr]

I moved away too and they start winning, sheeez! But I am happy for them they have put together a heck of a team, go Rays!

[Bodog]

Tony, I'm a former SPPD officer and I have worked tons of traffic at Trop Field. The traffic problem you are referring to are the fan that arrive for the game an hour before first pitch and want to park near the stadium. I understand that people work and can't get to the stadium a lil earlier than most. On those premium games when the Stanks and dirty Sox are in town, have a secondary plan to bypass the interstate traffic and go park in one of the off-site parking lots around Trop field. See ya at the game.

[bryce]

The Rays are doing great this year.I hope they beat every team none damand.
Also Carl Crawford has done exellent at batting. B.J Upton has done a great job in out field. Shields has done A great job at pitching.

bye bye..

[bryce]

The Rays are doing great this year.I hope they beat every team none damand.
Also Carl Crawford has done exellent at batting. B.J Upton has done a great job in out field. Shields has done A great job at pitching.

bye bye..