"I could just use a lot less discouragement."
Those are the words of Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg, who called last year's $72m payroll, the third lowest in baseball, "beyond uncomfortable."
Making the rounds with the press at the Winter Meetings, the face of the Rays ownership group claims the team is no longer able to stay competitive in the baseball financial landscape.
"We're getting left on an island," Sternberg said. "A smaller and smaller island... We're not going to be on a level playing field. I'd like to at least be in the outfield, but it's like we're out in the parking lot, looking in.