Principal owner Stuart Sternberg said that even if attendance remains below expectations this season, the Rays won't cut back on their $63-million payroll as long as the team remains in the race. Some teams have indicated they may seek to get rid of higher-paid players and trim payroll to make up for lost revenues.

"As long as we're in the hunt I don't see us, because of financial reasons, pulling back from that,'' Sternberg said on a conference call. "Clearly though it's a multi-year process and the money doesn't come out of thin air, and money spent this year and budgetary shortfalls from our end from a revenue standpoint lead toward future years being a little bit leaner. I won't say a lot leaner, but certainly a little bit leaner, for starters.''

Sternberg said they made a commitment after last season's success to "try to put the absolute best product we can on the field, and then some" because the wanted to give the players, the organization and the fans "the best chance we can to succeed again.'' He said they wouldn't do anything different than they did during the off-season in making additions and "we still feel great about the team.''

The Rays hoped to reach the major-league average in attendance. Going into tonight's game, they are averaging 22,699 is well below the average of 31,300. The Rays are 26th overall and 12th in the 14-team American League.

Sternberg also acknowledged that despite their efforts to avoid it, there "clearly there was a hangover effect from last year" and suggested that the week-long celebration during the first homestand was a reason for their slow start.