Just when I’m getting into the swing of the offseason, St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster and friends decide they’d like to see what it would look like if my head exploded.

Two months ago, Foster said he had a “detailed plan” for the Rays but he decided to keep those details to himself. I shook my fist. But, I still had Rays baseball to keep me going. That’s not the case anymore.

Yesterday, reports regarding the latest St. Pete City Council meeting surfaced. The article in the St. Petersburg Times about the meeting included so many lines about people speaking over one another or walking out of the meeting that you might believe you were reading about a reunion special for Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise.

Council member Leslie Curran was the person who pushed for the special meeting to discuss the Rays and Tropicana Field. Just a few paragraphs into the Times article, your eyes will fall upon this:

Curran had hoped that Thursday’s meeting would give council members a chance to press Foster about the city’s options and plans for keeping the Rays.

But it was not to be.

Somebody, help me.

At one point, council chairman James Kennedy said:

“I’m reluctant at this point to open it up for council questions to the mayor, because it might deteriorate and we won’t meet our objectives.”

Perfect. Council members couldn’t ask the mayor about his aforementioned detailed plan. And what objectives did they have for the meeting?

The meeting’s agenda had listed three discussion items: franchise history, the Trop contract and city marketing efforts.

Well, I’d certainly hope that council members knew about the history of the franchise, the stadium contract and marketing efforts before entering Thursday’s meeting.

But brace yourself. The worst part is coming.

MAYOR FOSTER DID NOT ATTEND THE MAJORITY OF THE MEETING.

Both the St. Pete Times and Tampa Tribune confirm that.

And we sometimes wonder why people are jaded by politics…

I know it is not easy to be a politician at any level, but please mayors, congressmen, congresswomen, and senators: SHOW UP. Just get to the important meetings on your agenda and at least I’ll believe you’re putting in some effort.

The St. Pete Times article also mentioned that Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said earlier this week that baseball would do better in Central Florida.

Back off, Buddy. MLB is struggling in St. Pete, but that doesn’t mean we need to write off the entire region just yet.

Feel like being kicked while you’re down? Tampa has about $100 million to put toward a new Rays stadium. You can read more about that on Rays Index.

But why stop there? MLB commissioner Bud Selig decided to add his two cents. Selig said regarding the stadium situation:

…I’m usually an optimist and I don’t have any reason to be too optimistic.

Perhaps the steam that is coming out of my ears will help clear up my head congestion. That’s about the only silver lining I can find right now.

The only Rays news this week that DOESN’T have me too riled up is that Andrew Friedman met with LA Angels owner Arte Moreno and president John Carpino. Kudos to DRaysBay for being on top of the story and for being credited in many national publications, including this one.

Most of the opinions I read yesterday were that Friedman will likely stay with the Rays. I would hate to see him go. He is such a HUGE part of Rays baseball for me. But professional baseball is a business and we need to remember that. Friedman is free to make whatever decision is best for him as an individual.

While we fans have a right to have a very strong opinion regarding our team and our team’s home, I don’t think we should be doing much more than wishing the very best for a man who has meant so much to our organization.