Mar 26
Earlier this week, Miami approved a $634 million stadium (right) for the Florida Marlins. While St. Pete Mayoral candidates are sparring over where to build a new stadium for the Rays, John Romano takes a look at how that deal does and does not affect the Rays quest for a new stadium.
Some of the key points…
- Romano says there is no direct impact but now that the Marlins have a stadium, the Rays’ and A’s quests for new stadiums will become priority A for the league.
- There have now been 22 stadiums planned and/or built since Tropicana Field was built in 1990.
- Romano gives us a none-too-subtle quote from Matt Silverman: “[Miami's] willingness to invest $500 million in a baseball stadium and parking facilities are a strong indication of how much they value the Marlins, and baseball, in their community.”…In other words, how much does St. Pete value a major league team in theirs?
- About three-fourths of the Marlins deal comes from public funding which is an increase over recent stadium deals.
- The Rays have yet to make a threat of leaving, but Romano believes that if Pinellas County does not offer the Rays a strong solution, the team will start looking in Hillsborough County.
- Romano feels that if the Rays can’t secure a new stadium, Stuart Sternberg will sell the team.
The Biz of Baseball also tackles this issue, feeling that eventually the city will cave and give the Rays what they want…
I think it’s nearly a given. It’s a matter of timing…The Marlins took 15 years to land stadium funding. The Twins took over a decade, and the A’s are still looking after a considerable period of time. Call it water on rock, but over time – either through wearing out host cities, or undue fear of relocation – cities buckle under the constant pressure from multi-millionaire owners.
The Biz of Baseball also notes that the situation is not as dire for the Rays as it was for the Marlins who were losing out on revenue in their current stadium deal. They also say that ultimately it will come down to winning, and increasing the fan base.
Miami stadium deal for Marlins sends bay area up to bat [St. Pete Times]
1 Fish, 2 Fish: How the Marlins Stadium Deal Impacts the Rays [The Biz of Baseball]
Scott Wagman: New Rays stadium might not be in St. Pete [St. Pete Times]
Mar 26
Time to bring back the GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
THE GOOD: Adam Kennedy. Kennedy may have put an exclamation point on making the opening day roster after Reid Brignac was demoted. Kennedy hit his first home run of the spring. He also has his spring line up to a very solid .293/.370/.372…Jeff Niemann. If we were going to play oddsmakers with the final job in the rotation. We’d say it was 90% for Hammel a week ago and now it is about 60% after Niemann’s latest start. He worked 4 strong innings, giving up 1 run. He did not walk a batter a struck out 2. He did give up 2 well-hit doubles…Troy Percival. Another inning, and more zeros across the board. He has allowed only 1 baserunner (hit batter) in 5 spring innings…Matt Joyce. Joyce saw his first spring action in the field, playing the 9th inning in right field.
THE BAD: Jason Isringhausen. Not terrible, but he did give up a run on 2 singles in an inning of work. From what little we have seen, it just seems like he is close, but not quite ready…Gabe Kapler. It is time for Kapler to start picking up the pace.He was 0-1 and is now hitting .105/.209/.184 this spring.
THE TELLING: Jason Bartlett continues to get the bulk of the leadoff duties in the absence of BJ Upton and Aki Iwamura, and Ben Zobrist started in center…Does it seem like the Rays have played about 20 games against the Pirates this spring?…Matt Joyce will start in center field today…Matt Garza pitched 5.2 innings in an intrasquad game…Jason Hammel will get his next start on Saturday…Akinori Iwamura will play his first spring game on Friday…BJ Upton played 5 innings in a minor league game.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The Rays demoted a who’s who of top prospects yesterday, with the biggest name being David Price. He will joined in Durham’s spring camp by Reid Brignac, John Jaso, Justin Ruggiano and Elliot Johnson. Price’s demotion means the final spot in the rotation will indeed be between Jason Hammel and Jeff Niemann. And with Brignac gone, the final bench spot will likely go to Adam Kennedy. [Rays Report]
- Joe Maddon defended the decision to demote Price. Maddon also indicated that Kennedy has not yet won the final bench spot, saying that Matt Joyce still has a shot at making the roster. Maddon spoke very highly about Joyce’s swing (he is 0-6 thus far) but said he needs to see him play the field. [Tampa Tribune]
- Marc Topkin says the Rays traded April innings for August, September and October innings by demoting David Price. He also says the Rays two biggest reasons for demoting Price were the innings totals and fastball command, noting that he met their wishes of improving his changeup. [St. Pete Times]
- Evan Longoria and JP Howell have returned to the Rays. We can only assume that Aki Iwamura’s absence indicates he is still drunk. [The Heater]
- Jordi Scrubbings previews the Tampa Bay Rays over at his other home. Worth the read. [Thunder Matt's Saloon]
- In an endeavor that likely required therapy once finished, Sully Baseball compares the Rays’ all-time home-grown and all-time acquired teams. Good read. [Sully Baseball]
- Wow. Just wow. He hasn’t even played a game yet for the Rays. The possibilities are endless. [The Fightins]
- A porn star bought herself some Rays gear…Well. At least it will look better on her than Peter King. [Bugs and Cranks]
