The St. Pete City Council deadlocked – an appropriate term – 4-4 on a vote to allow the Rays to search the area for a new stadium site.  Actually, that vote doesn’t sound all that bad.  Flip one person, and Tampa Bay can go window shopping.  Rays’ owner Stuart Sternberg has supposedly scheduled a meeting with Mayor Bill Foster for mid-February to discuss the stadium issue.

That’s enough of the potentially negative. This is Thursday, and I can see the weekend from here.  Therefore, I’d rather look at things a bit more positively.  When James Shields was traded, some believed it was the end of the Rays as we know them.

I’m a big Shields fan, but I realized two things:   first, Tampa Bay needed to deal him to be sure they didn’t come up empty when he left.  He was going to command too much money for them to hang onto him.  Secondly, teams that are as successful as the Rays have been the past several years don’t just make moves without having success in mind.  They got Wil Myers, an intriguing minor league outfielder and good young arm in righty Jake Odorizzi and two more promising prospects.  Third, while they were getting some good young talent, the Rays have some pretty good young talent themselves on the cusp of major league success, starting with Chris Archer who showed occasional brilliance and overall toughness.

I’m looking for good things this season in the Tampa Bay area.  Luke Scott appears to be fully healthy, and if so, will greatly improve the lineup.  Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson bring more offense to the team, with Johnson giving the Rays flexibility at second base.  And what about Wil Myers?  Put him in the mix, and the lineup could be far more effective than last season.

As I type this, James Shields is on the MLB Network.  He’s being asked what he’ll take to K.C. from Tampa.  His answer?  A winning mentality.  Shieldsy certainly has it, and so do the Rays.

St. Pete loves them. Tampa loves them.

But who will get to have them?

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn has said that he doesn’t want to get in the middle of St. Pete’s relationship with the Rays, but Hillsborough County Commision chairman Ken Hagan wants to cut in.

Hagan told the Tampa Bay Times:

“I’m willing to be the boyfriend that causes the divorce.”

Oh boy. Things just got really awkward. » Continue reading “Rays: A Love Triangle”

OK, so the mayor of St. Pete walked out on a meeting with the city council Thursday in which the Tampa Bay Rays’ contract with Tropicana Field was to be discussed. Seems he didn’t want to be involved in discussing anything more than contracts, and the history of the Trop.

So basically, for an hour-and-a-half, the mayor left the area. Little, if anything, was accomplished, and the reason is that the mayor doesn’t seem to want to open up a Pandora’s Box of ideas. He’ll only talk Rays leaving Trop if they stay in the city limits.

I’ve been to more than my share of meetings which weren’t, in fact, meetings. They were more or less info dissemination sessions, and no one got much out of them. Sort of like digging for gold with a toothpick.

I would think it’s time for some good discussion regarding how to amend the contract with Tropicana Field, figure out a middle ground that allows the Rays to stay in the Bay Area, or simply have a drone fly over from McDill A.F.B., and leave a pile of rubble where the Trop once stood.

Then, maybe, someone could find a way to make a move forward. Right now, it seems like there is little more than a spitting contest going on, except that no one is allowed to spit. You get the picture.

A friend of mine always reminds me that “A swift kick in the butt is a step forward for both of us.” Maybe that’s all that’s needed to get things moving.

As for MLB moving the Rays franchise, I don’t see that happening for a while, if ever. It’s a great place to market the Red Sox and the Yankees. There are plenty of folks willing to spend the big league dime for bumper stickers and apparel, just not enough fans to fill the stadium.

Sadly, baseball hasn’t done too good a job getting out there in front of its teams. The Bronx Bombers and BoSox don’t need any help.

The big guys in the expensive suits need to take care of the little guys – especially when those little guys play the game as well as the Rays, and put those big boys in their place.

On Friday morning, I saw a question on CNN.com that asked how interested people were in the World Series. Something less than 30% said they were very interested.

That’s sad, when in the N.F.L. all you need to do is throw up some goalposts and toss out a football and everyone will tune in to see the game. For example, this week’s epic battle between the Dolphins and Broncos.

Baseball needs someone with vision to come in and light up the media, fire up the fans, and generally show everyone what a great game it is. Oh, that’s right. They can’t do that. They’ve already turned down Mark Cuban.

» Continue reading “Walk-Out, Not Walk-Off, Doesn’t Help Rays, And More”

Did you decide to stick with Tampa Bay as your postseason team after reading Part One of this post? Glad to have you!

If you haven’t read that portion yet, go ahead, I’ll wait.

In this post, I’ll cover a little history, the great stadium debate, our ALDS schedule and I’ll make sure you have a heart.

5. Know some of the team’s history.

If you jump on the Rays’ bandwagon, you only have to look back to 1998! Tampa Bay is one of the youngsters in the family of MLB teams. Back in ’98, the Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks each began their inaugural season. No team has been added to the league since that year. (The Washington Nationals, who began playing in D.C. in 2005, were originally the Montreal Expos. The Expos were founded in 1969.)

Scott Kazmir was pretty darn good when he played for Tampa Bay. My sister got to see him pitch in his major league debut. Lucky b****.

Wade Boggs was with the Rays when he got hit number 3,000. It was a homerun. That’s right kids, it’s not only Derek Jeter who can pull off that feat. Joe Maddon, our beloved skipper/philosopher, was hired prior to the start of the 2006 season.

We are no longer the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Please, do not call us that.  Every time I see a tweet that includes the words “Devil Rays” or hear someone say it, I feel like I’m surrounded by people who are scraping their nails across chalkboards. The team dropped the Devil prior to the 2008 season. That year, the Rays made it all the way to the World Series where they fell to the Phillies.

6. Learn a little bit about the stadium saga and if you really want to sound like a fan, take a stance on the issue.

The Tampa Bay Rays play in St. Petersburg, Florida at Tropicana Field. The Trop is a domed stadium. It’s a domed stadium that was built in the 1980s and opened in 1990 as the Florida Suncoast Dome. Over a decade ago, people wondered how long the Trop would last. It is currently the only domed stadium in Major League Baseball. Too bad no prize comes with that distinction.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn has repeatedly said he does not want to be the “boyfriend” in the situation if the Rays divorce the city of St. Petersburg. But that hasn’t stopped those of us who live in Hillsborough County from hoping that they Rays will make a move before their contract with St. Pete ends when we close out 2027.

My particular vote on this issue: Build a new stadium with a retractable roof downtown near the St.Pete Times Forum (home of the Tampa Bay Lightning). Then we can attract more visitors from Orlando by cutting off nearly 40 minutes of their game day commute AND I can create my own glorious days of sports when the Rays and the Lightning happen to play on the same date. I’m sure the latter is enough to drive the Rays to downtown Tampa.

» Continue reading “Take A Trip To The Postseason on Tampa Bay’s Bandwagon, Part Two”

Let’s go with the good news first.

David Price (11-10) pitched beautifully on Wednesday.  No, it wasn’t another complete game, but it was eight shutout innings against one of the beasts of the AL East.  The southpaw allowed just three hits and walked three en route to his 11th win of the season.

Price spoke to Sun Sports’ Todd Kalas following the game.

When Kalas noted that it seemed the Rays starters were able to feed off each other (James Shields and Jeff Niemann each threw complete games on Tuesday) Price responded:

I watched the two performances in front of me and knew I needed to step up.

Price spoke about the Rays chances to reach the playoffs twice saying:

We’re in this thing.  We know we are.

And:

We’re playing good baseball right now.  If we continue to do this and everyone can continue to do their part, we’ll be all right.

Price certainly did his part on this most recent road trip.  He began it with a win over the Yankees on Friday and ended it with Wednesday’s W over the Red Sox.

Ben Zobrist went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI in the 4-0 Rays victory. Each of those hits was a double.  Zorilla now leads the majors in two-baggers with 40 on the season.

Tampa Bay currently sits eight games back from second-place Boston in the AL East.  But playoff hopes, that light at the end of the 162 game tunnel, remain.  History isn’t entirely against us. Joe Maddon told MLB.com:

“Crazy stuff happens as long as you stay engaged. And as long as you believe, stuff can happen. Once you disengage, disconnect and don’t believe, at that moment it is over; go home. So you have to remain engaged and believe it.”

Stadium Saga Update: The Devil is in the undisclosed details.

Now for the not so great stuff.

The damn stadium saga.  I knew better than to get excited when I read about the St. Petersburg City Council meeting scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

The outcome of the meeting?  It’ll make your head spin.  St. Pete Mayor Bill Foster said he has a “detailed plan” that will keep the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg.

A plan other than staying in the Trop through 2027? Hey, that’s a step in the right direction!

Not so fast my friend.

He wouldn’t say if that plan involved a new stadium.  When pressed for more information, Foster wouldn’t give reporters any of the details from this detailed plan.  Instead of commenting, he went into a private office.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, several of the city council members aren’t sure what plan Mayor Foster is talking about.

“He’s got something, but he won’t say what,” said Jeff Danner.

“I have no idea,” said Herb Polson, “but I would like to know.”

” I haven’t heard anything about it,” Karl Nurse said. “Maybe the mayor really does have a secret plan.”

Council members Steve Kornell, Wengay Newton and Leslie Curran also said Foster had not discussed any detailed plan with them.

St. Petersburg’s City Council voted to hold a workshop to get more information.  Seems…uhh…pretty necessary.

Mayor Foster, a plan revolving around the Rays stadium issues does not involve national security. There’s no need to go all covert ops here and keep people, especially St. Pete’s other elected officials, out of the loop.

All of the secrecy could make one wonder: Does this detailed plan exist?

Michael Sasso of the Tampa Tribune even begins one paragraph of his article regarding the city council meeting with the phrase: “If there is such a plan.”

If. There. Is. Such. A. Plan.

The full sentence reads:

“If there is such a plan, Thursday was the first time Foster or anyone else had mentioned it. St. Petersburg City Clerk Eva Andujar said she knew nothing of it Thursday.”

I’m laughing, but it’s that kind of laugh that could easily turn into a sob.  If there is such a plan, please share it Mayor Foster.  Many Rays fans around the region are desperate to know how we can get our team out from under the dome.

And if the plan is simply to keep the Rays at Tropicana Field…well…that’s not very “detailed.”