Sternberg Still Frustrated with Attendance

As I said last week, 99% of what Rays' principal owner Stu Sternberg says to local media is deliberate and calculated. While last week may have been his rare from-the-heart moment, he went back to the script this week in an interview with the Tampa Tribune:

"To run a payroll like we do now, basically the second-lowest in baseball, and barely keep our nose above water, we can't sustain that."

Not that Sternberg doesn't have a right to be upset with the 29th-best average home attendance of 17,954.

"It is what it is,'' Sternberg said of the disappointing turnouts at Tropicana Field. "It could be better and should be better. I know we can't sustain ourselves like this. It hasn't gotten better. If anything, it's worse. We had another successful year last season and the economy, while it's not good, has not gotten worse, but our numbers I think will be down, coming off a postseason appearance. It's unheard of."
...
"People are watching us on TV and listening on the radio. I walk around and I see all the hats. I want to have a team that's going to be able to compete, but we can't lose money year in and year out, hand over fist."

If the Stadium Saga were a 9-inning game, we'd still only be at about the bottom of the 3rd.