At the risk of being verbally abused by Top Gun Numba One for linking to "Florida's Best Newspaper" once again, I am still directing your attention to Aaron Sharockman's analysis of the Tampa Bay baseball market...in the dead.tree paper on Sunday, but online now.

I was born and raised there. Don't miss it...especially this kind of weirdness.

Under the guidance of a former Procter & Gamble brand manager, the Tampa Bay Rays have gone through the sort of transformation typical of deodorant sticks and shaving razors.

Topps revealed the 17th card in its 2008 Red Hot Rookie redemption program on Tuesday -- and it's an autographed card of Tampa Bay Rays 3B Evan Longoria....

The Tampa Bay Rays made history with viewership of the Major League Baseball team’s TV telecasts jumping 95 percent as it clinched a play-off berth for the first time....

On Monday, I wrote:

Way back on August 20th, the Mets signed pitcher Al Reyes. He went to the minors to work back into shape before coming up in September to supposedly help the beleaguered bullpen.

Well, he's up, and he's yet to pitch.

And now he's gone.

The Mets released Reyes before he ever threw a pitch. Apparently, his performance at Double-A Binghamton before he was called up was sub-par, and the Mets decided not to roll the dice with their third Reyes.

From The 'Ropolitans (Mets blog)

Note tattoos... No Sox logos.

For the first time in their 11 years, the Tampa Bay Rays are talking playoffs. Ticket sales are up 25 percent. Television ratings are growing even faster.

So why, in the middle of this surprising surge, are the Rays seeking a new stadium?

What's wrong with Tropicana Field?

In a word: Money. The Rays say only a new stadium will generate enough revenue to pay higher salaries and field a consistently competitive team.

A St. Petersburg Times review of baseball finances supports the Rays notion that modern, more intimate ballparks make huge sums of new money. Attendance, ticket prices and team value all increase, often dramatically.

But the link between new stadiums and more wins is tenuous at best. Over the past decade, teams in new ballparks averaged only 2.2 additional wins. Five of the nine teams got worse.

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Will run in Sunday's paper. On Web now. Also...sidebar:

Are Rays making money or losing it? Yes. Probably