Earlier this week The Professor told you about the first ever Spots Illustrated cover to feature the Tampa Bay Rays (and it was not making fun of the Rays!).

Yesterday, Roger Mooney of the Bradenton Herald got the reactions of a few of the Rays, and oh so subtly dropped this little bomb on us:

It is the first time Sports Illustrated used a cartoon-themed cover in its nearly 54 years, and the idea isn't exactly a winner inside the Rays clubhouse.

Oh really?

You would expect Mooney to then provide us with a quote from Crawford or somebody else as to why the cover "isn't exactly a winner inside the Rays clubhouse". Nope. He then immediately goes into a quote from Carl Crawford on how "nice" it was to be on the cover.

So, the Rays are on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the first time ever, in a historical issue (first ever cartoon cover) and yet some of the Rays didn't like the idea and Mooney doesn't tell us why.

Crawford, Rays happy to be on cover of Sports Illustrated [Bradenton Herald]