ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Even Larry Rothschild was caught off-guard.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays retained him as manager Monday, one day after finishing with the second-worst record in the American League. Three of his coaches were fired, however general manager Chuck LaMar said Rothschild deserved to stay.

	Larry Rothschild guided the Devil Rays to a 69-92 record this season.

The club's decision to try to boost attendance and win more games by assembling a power-laden, veteran lineup backfired, and LaMar said the manager couldn't be held responsible.

"The easy decision was to get rid of Larry Rothschild. And very candidly, that's probably what would have happened in a lot of places," LaMar said. "Historically in this business, the manager is the first scapegoat."

The coaches who will not return next season are hitting coach Leon Roberts, bench coach Bill Russell and bullpen coach Orlando Gomez. Rothschild would not discuss specifics of why they were dismissed.

But LaMar said Rothschild didn't make the decision to increase the payroll by $27 million to nearly $64 million. And the manager couldn't control the injuries that decimated the pitching staff and projected lineup, forcing the Devil Rays to use young, mostly unproven talent for significant stretches of the season.

"If we made a mistake, I'll be the first one to admit it. We had a five-year plan (for improving with homegrown talent) and we stuck with that until the off-season this past year," LaMar said. "It was a consensus among the organization to roll the dice, go out and spend, but we got away from that five-year plan."

Rothschild, who has one year remaining on his contract, said his gut feeling heading into a meeting with LaMar was that he would not be retained.

The Devil Rays went 69-92 this season and are 201-284 with three last-place finishes under the only manager they have had.

"I didn't have a good feeling coming to the park today ... But I had hoped and I wanted to be sitting here because when I started out and took the job I planned to be successful and I planned to help this organization be successful," Rothschild said.

"I don't like to walk away from anything. The easiest thing for me today is if I get fired. I can sign a three-year contract as a pitching coach or manager somewhere. Something would have come up. That's not what I wanted. I wanted to finish the job here, and that's what my plans are.

"I knew going in that we needed changes, long before this was ever discussed. There's an energy level I need on the field, there's a perception I need with the players, and we need to get things done," he said. "I think everybody here worked hard to get it done, but it just didn't happen."

Lamar and Rothschild met for more than an hour at Tropicana Field before meeting individually with the coaches. While Rothschild was surprised he was retained, he said he didn't lobby to keep the job.

"After managing 485 games, there is not a lot for me to say," the manager said. "We talked about the team and how I felt ... the direction I wanted to go in. It wasn't that I had to come in and plead my case. That's not what this was about. It was about trying to get things right for this organization."

The Devil Rays traded their best pitcher to obtain power-hitting third baseman Vinny Castilla, thinking they upgraded on defense, as well as at the plate, But Castilla struggled to remain healthy and wound up hitting .221 with six homers and 42 RBI after averaging 38 homers, 112 RBI and batting .302 for the Colorado Rockies the previous five seasons.

Wilson Alvarez, the projected No. 1 starting position, was lost for the season during the spring training and Juan Guzman, signed as a free agent to be the No. 2 starter, lasted two innings in the only game he pitched this year.

The best two off-season acquisitions turned out to Gerald Williams, who had a career season (.274, 21 homers, 89 RBI) batting leadoff, and slugger Greg Vaughn (.254, 28 homers, 74 RBI), whose numbers neverthelsss were affected by injuries that limited him to 125 games.

"We are at a crossroads," said LaMar, who began trimming the payroll in July when he traded starting pitcher Steve Trachsel, relievers Rick White and Jim Mecir and outfielder Bubba Trammell before waiving designated hitter Jose Canseco.

"But whether the expectations were 82 wins, 80 wins, 70 wins, whatever they were, I feel like with a healthy club Larry Rothschild, as a manager, would have reached that goal. That's why he's here today."