Loria excited about 2005

As Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria watched an intrasquad game Thursday, his cell phone rang to the tune "Take Me Out To The Ballgame.''

The music matched his mood.

"We've put ourselves in a position to be an exciting ballclub,'' Loria said. "People are going to have a lot of fun watching this team play.''

Making his first visit to spring training, Loria said he's eager for the season to start. He may lose money, but he hopes to win a lot of games.

Loria gave free agent slugger Carlos Delgado a $52 million, four-year contract, the most lucrative per-season deal in franchise history. Left-hander Al Leiter signed an $8 million, one-year contract. The Marlins' payroll will approach $60 million for the first time, even though they claimed losses of more than $20 million in 2004.

"We always try to do good things in the offseason to keep improving the team,'' Loria said.

Since purchasing the Marlins from John Henry just three years ago, Loria has revived the foundering franchise.

The New York art dealer was unpopular in Montreal when he owned the Expos, and he endured a rocky transition in Miami. His regime was derided for eliminating fax cover sheets to cut costs and running out of hot dogs on opening day 2002.

But the Marlins became improbable World Series champions in 2003 and stayed in the playoff race last year until the final two weeks, giving them consecutive winning seasons for the first time.

"Not only has the situation stabilized, we're in another mode _ building on what we've established,'' Loria said.

The Marlins hope to build a ballpark. They've won local approval for a $420 million stadium adjacent to the Orange Bowl and need only a sale tax rebate from the Legislature to plug a $30 million financing gap.

Loria said he'll likely travel to Tallahassee to lobby lawmakers, but he declined to discuss the stadium issue further.

He also declined to predict how many games the Marlins will win, and said he considers the Atlanta Braves the favorites in the NL East because they've won 13 consecutive division titles. But he acknowledged that expectations for the Marlins are high.

"I would rather be under the radar,'' he said. "But we are where we are because we got better.''

Besides acquiring Delgado and Leiter, the Marlins bolstered their bullpen with offseason acquisitions. But they also lost ace Carl Pavano and closer Armando Benitez via free agency.

The relationship between Loria and Pavano dates to when both were with the Expos, but the right-hander spurned a $21 million, three-year offer from Florida in favor of a $39.95 million, four-year contract with the New York Yankees.

"We talked a number of times during that process,'' Loria said. "Carl and I had a good cry on the phone, because I know him from back when I first started five or six years ago. Carl did the right thing for himself and his family, and we wish him nothing but good luck.

"It's going to be a different situation for him in New York. I don't know how much TLC he got, but he certainly got it here.''

Loria's passion for winning helped lure Delgado and Leiter to Miami. Both were impressed by the owner's sales pitch.

"He got the fever,'' Leiter said. "When players experience a world championship and that euphoria, it's contagious, and he got it. He wants to always maintain a very good major league team, and he wants to keep going back to the World Series. As a player, what else can you ask for?''

Loria said he remembers the World Series experience as "a lot of fun.'' If Florida is in playoff contention as the trading deadline approaches in July, the owner said he'll be prepared to spend money to upgrade the roster _ as he did the past two years.

But he believes his team already has the talent to contend.

"You have to be lucky, you have to be healthy and you have to have the horses,'' Loria said. "We've got the horses, but I've got to wait and see about the luck and the health. That's in somebody else's hands.''

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