SB Nation Blog: webdoyenne

Tips to avoid getting your car towed during Trop games

webdoyenne — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:13:20 -0000

Yet another unanticipated consequence of having a suddenly-awesome team. Now we have parking issues.

Some Fans Tried To Use Counterfeit Tickets, Rays Say

webdoyenne — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:57:29 -0000

The surest indicator yet of this team's success...

Are you a converted Rays fan?

webdoyenne — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:45:18 -0000

Rays fans at the Trop have become accustomed to encountering fans of out-of-town teams, especially during games against the Yankees or at this week's series against the Red Sox. Even so, there's no question they're finding more Rays fans at this year's games than in the past. Have you switched loyalties from the Red Sox — or some other team — to the Rays? Tell us why! E-mail Times staff writer John Barry with your story.

Baseball and Football

webdoyenne — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:44:49 -0000

R.I.P. George Carlin

Selig rips Trop in ESPN interview

webdoyenne — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:15:11 -0000

Via SPTimes Heater blog: Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has only attended one game at Tropicana Field as far as anyone knows, and that was in June 2004, before all the improvements by the Stuart Sternberg-led ownership group. But that didn't stop Selig from bashing the Trop, in his bid to push the importance of the new stadium, in an interview with ESPN's Howard Bryant, which is excerpted below. And the way Selig answered the St. Pete/Tampa question is interesting, especially since the Rays have a lease with St. Petersburg through 2027.

NYT -- For Youthful Rays, Changes in Stands and in Standings

webdoyenne — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:14:13 -0000

From today's New York Times ...interesting read:

The Rays had baseball’s lowest attendance in 2005 and the second lowest in each of the past two seasons, ahead of only Florida. For the second consecutive year, the Rays have played a series at the Disney Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando. Even then, they played to less-than-capacity crowds of 8,269 to 9,540 against Toronto from April 22-24.

The reasons for the Rays’ attendance woes are many. The club has never won more than 70 games, finishing last in the A.L. East every season but 2004, when it was fourth. Vince Naimoli, the franchise’s previous managing general partner, took a heavy-handed approach to running the franchise, alienating fans and local civic and business leaders.

Also, the Rays play in a domed stadium built in the late 1980s to attract a major league team. It seemed antiquated when the Rays played their first game in 1998, before another generation of new ballparks opened. And though the Tampa market has supported spring training for decades, it has one of the lower per capita incomes and corporate sponsor bases of any market in the game.

Under Stuart Sternberg, who became principal owner of the Rays after the 2005 season, the Rays have become more fan friendly, sprucing up Tropicana Field and offering free parking during the first two seasons of his tenure. The Rays hope to rally support for a new waterfront ballpark to be built in time for the 2012 season on the site of Al Lang Field, the longtime spring training site just a few miles from their current home.

On Monday, Tampa Bay attracted a mix of Yankees and Rays fans. Typical were Brian Fink, 32, and Emi Young, 24, who attended together, each wearing clothing of the opposing team. Young, who had a Yankees jersey and cap, has seen virtually every Yankees game here since 1998, but no others.

“It doesn’t seem as tilted in favor of the Yankees as it used to be,” said Fink, a Rays fan and radio producer in Tampa. “But given how they’ve been playing, you’d think there would be more people out here.”

Young Rays Give Yanks a Model to Envy

webdoyenne — Fri, 02 May 2008 22:01:02 -0000

From the New York Times, no less... After the Rays quieted the Baltimore Orioles, 4-2, on Thursday at Camden Yards, they improved to 16-12, the best 28-game start in their 11-year history. The Rays have won eight of nine games, including three-game sweeps of the Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays. So far, something is different with a team that has never won more than 70 games. "People want to watch our team play now," left fielder Carl Crawford said. Watching the Rays roll can be refreshing. See center fielder B. J. Upton uncork a throw from near the warning track to nab a runner at second. Marvel as Crawford churns around the bases like an Acela. Follow James Shields’s changeup as it baffles batters. Study Longoria’s fluid at-bats and smooth defense. Stare at Carlos Peña’s sweet swings. Manager Joe Maddon sees those elements, sees terrific athletes becoming terrific players and sees a young team gaining valuable experience. Although Maddon does not dwell on being marooned in the same division with the two teams that usually have the highest payrolls in baseball, he said that the Rays were starting to believe that they belonged in the company of the Red Sox and the Yankees. Maddon smiled when he said the Rays, who had lost their last 23 series in Boston, should be viewed differently when they visit Fenway Park this weekend. The Rays are in first place in the division, percentage points ahead the Red Sox (17-13) .

Canseco loses mansion to foreclosure

webdoyenne — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:47:45 -0000

Jose Canseco, the former AL MVP who made millions during his baseball career, has had his home foreclosed. Canseco told the syndicated TV show "Inside Edition" that he walked away from his $2.5 million, 7,300-square foot home in suburban Encino because it didn’t make sense to continue making payments. "I do have a judgment on my home and it to me is very strange because it didn’t make financial sense for me to keep paying a mortgage on a home that was basically owned by someone else," he said in an interview that aired Thursday.

Ballpark Frankness

webdoyenne — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:40:50 -0000

Aaron Sharockman's new blog, offering "the latest from the ongoing debate, focusing on the impact to taxpayers, the evolution of the Rays’ proposal and the politics unfolding behind the scenes."

Shields honored as AL's best

webdoyenne — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:47:29 -0000

Rays starter James Shields got two wins, and Monday he got something to go with them - American League Player of the Week honors.