Archive for March 3rd, 2008

Mar 03

[NEW STADIUM] Mayor’s Support For New Stadium May Hinge On Name Change To ‘St. Pete Rays’

New Stadium, Rick Baker, Stuart Sternberg Cork Gaines 8 Comments »

St. Petersburg mayor Rick Baker wrote an Op-Ed piece for the St. Pete Times, concerning his decision to withhold endorsement of the Tampa Bay Rays’ proposed waterfront stadium. Baker urges the public to be patient as he and the city council evaluate all issues concerning the proposal before they decide to recommend the issue for a referendum.

…I believe the best approach is to gather and evaluate as much information as we can before making a recommendation to our community. This information is equally important to our citizens in their deliberations. Among the important items which we do not yet have are the financial details of the proposal and the specifics of the uses proposed for the Tropicana Field site. Will the mix at the Trop site provide such things as new and unique retail, parks, hotels, work force-level housing and an expanded job base? In a time of state revenue reductions, the present city budget has no room for increased funding of the baseball enterprise.

It also is important to review the impact the new stadium would have on our beautiful and vibrant downtown waterfront. The city is conducting a traffic and parking study to determine the potential impact of the traffic from 81 home games on places such as BayWalk, the Progress Energy Center for the Arts’ Mahaffey Theater, the new Salvador Dali Museum and the waterfront residential towers. We also must consider the importance of our many downtown events, the largest being the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. We certainly do not want to jeopardize the success we have achieved in St. Petersburg’s historic renaissance.

After receiving a final proposal from the Rays, completing an evaluation and considering community input, I will recommend to the City Council whether to schedule a referendum.

While Baker praises Stuart Sternberg and the Rays for their commitment to the St. Pete area and the investments they have already made, he makes one not-so-subtle request to the Rays, that if met, could go a long ways towards earning the support of the city…

I also hope the ownership will take steps to more closely identify the team with the city, which has also invested time, land, heart and money into the franchise. It is true that the Rays are the team for most of Florida, but certainly St. Petersburg has played a special role in its evolution.

It seems pretty clear that Baker is suggesting that if the Rays were to change their name to the ‘St. Pete Rays’, their path to a new stadium would become much easier.

What is yet to be seen is if this will ultimately be a sticking point in the Rays’ efforts to garner the support of the mayor and/or the St. Pete City Council, or if this is just “wishful thinking” on their part. If changing the name is a crucial ingredient for their support, then the hopes of the Rays to land a new stadium could meet strong resistance as a change from ‘Tampa Bay’ to ‘St. Pete’ seems highly unlikely.

Changing the name would go against what Sternberg and the Rays have been trying to accomplish with the Rays. The Rays have taken several steps to expand their reach outside of the Bay Area. Next year, the Rays will move their spring training headquarters to Charlotte County in southwest Florida and for the second year in a row, the team will play a ‘home’ series at Disney World’s Wild World of Sports complex just outside of Orlando. The team has also sent representatives to various meetings in surrounding counties in an effort to promote the team in those areas. Changing the name to ‘St. Pete Rays’ would actually contract the perceived coverage of the Rays and make their goal of becoming ‘Florida’s Team’ more difficult.

Let’s hope this is just a veiled threat with little substance.

Opinion: It’s still early innings [St. Pete Times]

Mar 03

[RI CONFIDENCE GRAPH] The Tampa Bay Rays Confidence Survey

Confidence graph Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

Last week’s Rays Confidence Graph results.

Below you will see two polls that ask about your confidence in the Tampa Bay Rays. Please take a moment to answer each question. We will present these same polls every Monday. The results will be presented in graphical form on Wednesday, and will be displayed permanently in the sidebar. The goal of the Confidence Graph is to get a feeling of how Rays fans feel about the team and the franchise and track how that level of confidence changes through time. Thanks!

Raysiverse events of the past week that could impact confidence levels…


Mar 03

[EVAN LONGORIA] Dirtbag-O-Meter: 28 Days Until Opening Day

Dirtbag-O-Meter, Evan Longoria Cork Gaines No Comments »

We call him The Dirtbag because of how he plays and because he played college ball at Long Beach State whose baseball team has the coolest mascot in sports…The Dirtbags.

The biggest question mark for the Tampa Bay Rays in Spring Training is whether or not Evan Longoria will be named the opening day third baseman. Manager Joe Maddon has repeatedly stated that the decision will be based less on his stats, and more on how the 22-year old handles himself on a day-to-day basis and how well The Dirtbag adjusts to everyday life as a major leaguer. From now until the Rays announce a decision on Longoria’s fate, we will track The Dirtbag’s progress through his numbers, our own observations and quotes from Maddon and Andrew Friedman…

Notes on the Dirtbag-O-Meter…

Yesterday at the plate: Started at third base. Went 0-2 with a strikeout, a walk and a stolen base. He is now 2-5 with a double, triple, 3 walks and 3 RBI in the Rays first three games.

Quotes: None reported.

Summary: As much as we would have loved the idea of The Dirtbag going through the spring with an .800 OBP and a 1.667 SLG, it just wasn’t meant to be…On the other hand, the team wanted to see how Longoria handled a prolonged slump. Considering his first 2+ years in pro ball, 0-2 might qualify as a “prolonged slump” for Longoria.

Mar 03

[THE HANGOVER] Jeff Niemann Suffers In Spring Debut With Kazitus

Brian Anderson, Carlos Pena, Dan Wheeler, David Price, Desmond Jennings, Evan Longoria, Jeff Niemann, Joe Maddon, John Manuel, Rocco Baldelli, Scott Kazmir, Troy Percival, Wade Davis Cork Gaines No Comments »

Tampa Bay Rays (28 days until Opening Day)

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays 7, Pirates 5. The Rays are now 3-0 after starting the 2007 spring schedule 1-14.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • Jeff Niemann did not allow a run yesterday in his first spring appearance, but it took him 33 pitches to get through the first inning, which meant he could not go out for the second inning. [MiLB]
  • Joe Maddon reemphasized that as soon as Jeff Niemann can start consistently pounding the strike zone, he will be in the majors. [Bradenton Herald]

“If we can get this guy throwing the ball consistently in the strike zone, he’s going to come up very quickly,” Maddon said, “regardless of experience.”

  • Wade Davis’ first spring appearance was a “learning experience” after he allowed 4 runs in 1+ innings, failing to record an out in his second inning of work. Joe Maddon is not worried. [The Ledger]

“He came out of his delivery in his second inning,” Maddon said. “He just wasn’t as in sync. The first inning, everything was together. It’s just one of those first-time-around things…He’s fine,” Maddon added. “He’s got great stuff, and it’s a learning experience.”

  • According to Marc Lancaster, Scott Kazmir can begin playing catch in the next 2-3 days…David Price threw in the bullpen and could get into a game later this week…Brian Anderson threw a 45-pitch bullpen session and could get into a game later this week…Rocco Baldelli will not play again until Tuesday when he will DH and then play in the field later this week. [Rays Report]
  • Troy Percival is expected to see his first action on Wednesday. [Tampa Tribune]
  • Dan Wheeler wonders allowed what it would be like to walk around the Tampa-St. Pete area wearing a World Series ring. Joe Maddon thinks he can get the best out of Wheeler by not working him more than two days in a row. [Tampa Tribune]

“I really want to avoid trying to abuse this guy,” Maddon said. “I think if we get him back on pace, throwing the appropriate number of pitches and innings, I think we’re going to see a very successful year out of him. He’s in great shape, he had a great offseason, he’s highly motivated – I see him having a really good year, actually.”

  • Bill Chastain interviews Joe Maddon. Most of the questions and answers are topics that Maddon has covered earlier this spring. [Tampa Bay Rays]
  • The Bradenton Herald profiles Carlos Pena…the Rays’ DH? [Bradenton Herald]
  • MiLB profiles the Rays’ farm system, including their list of “Ten prospects to watch out for in 2008″, four players that are “Under the Radar” and a list of predictions for 2008 players of the year in the organization. [MiLB]

Organizational Player of the Year: Desmond Jennings
As long as he’s healthy, Jennings will get a full season in the Minors and a chance to show what he can do with his prodigious across-the-board tools.

Organizational Pitcher of the Year: David Price
Though he could land in the big leagues as early as midseason, at this point the Rays are being cautious with the polished product’s pro debut and won’t rush him. In fact, Price should see enough time to show why he was the undisputed top pick.

  • Armchair GM previews the AL and project the Rays to finish 4th in the East at 82-80, with the 5th best offense and the 10th ranked pitching staff. [ArmchairGM]
  • Rays Anatomy interviews John Manuel of Baseball America. They touch on a number of solid topics like Evan Longoria’s status, the 2008 Draft and the 2009 rotation. [Rays Anatomy]
  • Freeze Fire provides the latest 2008 Rays preview and bring up a good point about the Rays spring training move to Charlotte County: At less than 30 miles from Ft. Myers, spring games versus the Red Sox will be filled with pink hats of Red Sox Nation. It is hard to imagine that the Rays will make much of a dent in what is Red Sox country right now. [Freeze Fire]