THE GOOD: Evan Longoria's home run in the 2nd, his 12th. We don't want to stretch this comparison too much, but Dirtbag's stance and swing have always reminded us of Alex Rodriguez and both hitters are very similar in that they both generate an immense amount of power despite having a very easy swing. Longoria just looks like he is flicking the bat at the ball and next thing we know the ball is flying over the center field wall.

THE BAD: All of the Astros' runs came on home runs and both home runs were hit with 2 strikes. We would love to say that the Rays were 2 pitches from winning this game 2-0. And we would love to say that Scott Kazmir pitched great outside of those 2 pitches. Both are true, but neither means diddly. Hunter Pence's solo home run in the 5th can be forgiven as the Rays still had the lead. But with Carlos Lee up with a runner on and 2 outs in the 6th. Kid K absolutely cannot give up a 2-run home run in that situation. That was the most important at bat of the game and Kaz failed.

THE TELLING: This was the first series loss at home for the Rays since April when they dropped 3 of their first 4 home series. They had won 9 series in a row at the Trop...The Rays now have a 3 game lead in the wild card over the A's and 3.5 games over the Yankees.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Don't forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven't voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
• As expected, the Evan Longoria-as-the-backup-shortstop era did not last long. After yesterday's game, Justin Ruggiano was demoted to Durham and Ben Zobrist will be called up to take his place. With Jason Bartlett's wife about to give birth, Zobrist will fill in for a day or two. [Rays Report]
• The St. Pete Times has a still-image of the questionable slide by Carlos Lee in which Joe Maddon though Lee grabbed Aki Iwamura while trying to turn a double play. [St. Pete Times]
  
• Carlos Pena will participate in pregame drills on Tuesday in Miami and is expected to come off the DL either this weekend or the beginning of next week. [Tampa Tribune]
  
• Stuart Sternberg showed up for last night's game (wearing a Rays jersey) and once again said that the Rays would be willing to add pieces down the stretch as long as it is "something that's right."...In other words, the Rays are not going to deviate very far from the plan that has gotten them to where they are. Keep in mind that the Rays are playing with "house money" in 2008. The team is at least a year ahead of schedule in terms of competing. The Rays are not about to get into a bidding war with other teams for high priced players, but they may be willing to add mid-level talent to fill in holes...And for those that believe CC Sabathia will never happen. Consider that the Rays could bring him in and then let him walk at the end of the year and take 2 compensatory draft picks. So the question then becomes: Are the prospects given up worth the two draft picks that will come later? [Bradenton Herald]
• Stuart Sternberg also noted that if the proposed waterfront stadium fails to pass, the Rays would remain in the Trop for "at least four years and not 14 at this point." [The Heater]
• Finally, Stuart Sternberg made an interesting comment about the DH rule in the AL. Noting that it hurts a small-market club like the Rays because "We don't have the cash to pay a guy who doesn't field." [The Heater]
• Her Rays recaps yesterday's loss in a way that only they can. [Her Rays]
  

The work done by SCB is just too good to be lost in the "Webtopia". At this post, they have outlined several instances in which the anti-waterfront stadium group POWW (Protect Our Wallets and Waterfront) has altered images to support their campaign to discredit the Tampa Bay Rays and their proposal.

...in POWW’s image, the stadium is magically taller than in my measured and sourced image. Curious.

They go on to point out other instance in which they altered images to their benefit, as well as several other misrepresentations of "facts".

We just want to thank SCB for taking the time to show exactly how much of a joke this group is.

POWW! Right in the kisser! [SCB]

Aaron Sharockman of The St. Pete Times spoke with MLB Commissioner Bud Selig about the Tampa Bay Rays' proposed stadium to be built along the downtown St. Pete waterfront. Selig was emphatic that the Rays needed a new stadium and that they need one "expeditiously".

"There's no question that the Rays need a new stadium. There's just no question," Selig said by phone from his offices in Milwaukee. "Look, and I've said this in a lot of other places, I'm grateful they're having a wonderful year this year.

"But their stadium now just can't produce the revenue you need to be competitive on a year-in and year-out basis," Selig said.

More importantly, the Commisioner promised a future all-star game for the new stadium if it is built. This should not come as a surprise, as this is standard practice with new stadiums. But the timing of the comments are important as the city of St. Pete stands to benefit greatly from having an event such as the All-Star game in their city and such a windfall could sway influence over local business leaders.

Previously, we speculated that if the new stadium opened in 2012, St. Pete could host an All-Star game as early as 2014 based on current and past commitments to other stadiums.

Baseball commisioner says Rays must have new ballpark [St. Pete Times]
All-Star Game Could Come To St. Pete As Early As 2014 [Rays Index]

THE GOOD: Scott Kazmir. In the first 5 innings, Kazmir only allowed 1 hit. He went 6, giving up 3 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 3...Right off the bat, we get yet another gold glove play by Evan Longoria at third base, diving to his left to rob Jonny Damon of a basehit...We actually are not that big a fan of the shift that Joe Maddon uses on Jason Giambi and David Ortiz. We have seen stats that show that it really doesn't make a difference, but it did yesterday. With Akinori Iwamura playing rover in shallow right, Giambi lined right to Aki in the 2nd inning. That was a basehit otherwise...Shawn Riggans made the most of his first start in almost 2 weeks. Diesel went 2-3, but the big hit was the 2-run, no-doubt-about-it, home run in the 4th that made the score 4-0.

THE BAD: Scott Kazmir's fastball. In his first start of the season, Kaz struggled as his fastball topped out at 88-90. In his last start, his confidence seemed to come back as his fastball was back up in the mid-90s. But last night, he was once again topping at 88-90...Scott Kazmir's pitch count. Once again, Kaz was at 100 pitches after 6 innings and could not come out for the 7th. Some pitchers have personal catchers. Kazmir needs a personal bullpen caddy to get him to the back end of the bullpen...Ben Zobrist was hit by a pitch in his first plate appearance of the season...Later on in that 3rd inning, the Rays would load the bases with no outs but only scored 1 run on a sac fly by Carl Crawford. That situation with the meat of the order up should be at least 2 runs. No excuse...When are the bad calls going to stop? Scott Kazmir had the runner picked off in the 4th inning, but called safe.

THE TELLING: The words "Gary Glover is in to pitch" scares us...Dioner Navarro got the day off for the day-game-after-the-night-game. He had started 9 games in a row...Jason Batlett was a late scratch for "personal reasons"...The Rays are now a full 2 games up in the loss column on the Sox in the East and the A's and O's in the Wild Card...

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Don't forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven't voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
• This past week has been a Rays Love-Fest in the New York Times. "Rays Provide Yanks Glimpse of What Could Be". Nice. [New York Times]
  
• The Rays pitched their financing plan for the proposed waterfront stadium to the St. Pete City Council. Aaron Sharockman, who is to the new stadium what Pedro Gomez is to Barry Bonds, outlines the plan. [St. Pete Times]
• DRays Bay has an interview with Aaron Sharockman. [DRays Bay]
• Fangraphs takes a closer look at how much better the Rays bullpen has been in '08. [Fangraphs]
• One site compares the Rays '08 numbers to the AL playoff teams of the past two seasons. The pitching ranks near the top of the group but they don't see the bullpen maintaining their dominance and so far the offense is not playoff-caliber. [Freedom, Glory, America]
  
• Rob Neyer predicts that the Rays will have BJ Upton signed to a long-term extension by the all-star break. He also, notes that after that, there will be no more excuses for the fans to not support a first-place team with all their young talent locked up. [ESPN]

Really, other than perhaps Matt Garza, the only remaining Ray who's worth locking up is B.J. Upton. No, he's probably not as good as his little brother. But he's 23 and his best years are ahead of him, and he's going to play in at least a few All-Star games.

Speaking of All-Star games, I'm guessing B.J. Upton's locked up before this year's Classic. At which point -- assuming the Rays are still playing well -- the locals will have no remaining excuse for not showing up to watch their team. At the moment, though, Tampa Bay ranks 13th in the American League in attendance. Not real good for a first-place team that's locked up nearly all of its good young players.

• Her Rays has a picture of Scott Kazmir that is RI-diculous. [Her Rays]
• Sports Talk makes a comparison that we have screamed about in the past when naysayers say that the Tampa-St. Pete area won't support baseball. They compare the '08 Rays to the '97 Bucs. We vividly remember a time when we would go see the Bucs play the Packers and seeing more Packers fans than Bucs fans. [Sports Talk]
  

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[UPDATE 10:06PM] We touched on this quite a bit in the Live Blog-A-Baloo. Marc Topkin is reporting that the Rays and Scott Kazmir have agreed to a 3-year, $28.5MM deal with a 4th year team option for $11MM. In essence, the Rays have bought out two of Kid K's free agency years.

Stuart Sternberg just appeared as a guest on WFAN's "Mike & The Mad Dog" show. Among the several topics covered was the Tampa Bay Rays' recent willingness to give long-term deals to their young stars. After reminding the hosts that the team had also secured James Shields, Sternberg dropped this minor Cherry Bomb...

"We are exploring something with our other star pitcher as we speak right now"

The show's hosts did not push Sternberg further on the topic, but it can be assumed that he was referring to Scott Kazmir, and the quote suggests that the team is in active negotiations with the young Ace.

Other topics covered...

• Sternberg referred to the attendance for the Orlando series as "dissapointing" and his tone suggested that the team will not schedule any future series at the Disney complex.
• On the proposed waterfront stadium, Sternberg made it clear that the stadium would either be open by 2012 or it will not happen. If the referendum does not pass this fall, there will not be another attempt to get it passed.

THE GOOD: We know the numbers and we know there are other players that need playing time, but we hope that it kills Papa Joe Maddon to keep Jonny Gomes on the bench when he does. The first run of the game was all-Gomes. Started with a single, after which he stole second off of a lefty and then scored on a 2-out single by Dioner Navarro. He would later steal third base just before scoring on Jason Bartlett's triple and moved to third in the 7th inning on a pitch in the dirt that barely got away from the catcher. He would score during that at bat on a ground out...Speaking of Jason Bartlett's triple, how often are you happy when a player can't get a bunt down? Bartlett appeared to be attempting a safety-squeeze in the 4th, fouling off one attempt and pulling back on the second pitch. He would then hit a triple to left-center that would score 2....A solid game from Evan Longoria. The opposite field double off the top of the wall in the 4th was a good sign as it was only his 3rd hit this season off a lefty. He also started a huge double play in the top of the 6th to quell a Yankees rally that had 2 runners on with only 1 out. Dirtbag gets rid of the ball faster than any third baseman we ever remember and his throws to second base are pinpoint.

THE BAD: Knowing that Jonny Gomes has to sit against righties. We understand. But we don't like it.

THE TELLING: Cliff Floyd sat against the lefty while Jonny Gomes got the start at DH and Eric Hinske got the start in right...The Rays will have to earn tonight's victory. Edwin Jackson takes the mound for the Rays while the Yankees will counter with their Ace, Chien-Ming Wang...The Rays remain 1 game up in the loss column over the Angels in the Wild Card standings. The Rays are 3 games up on the next teams, Baltimore and Cleveland.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Don't forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven't voted yet today, go NOW! For those that haven't done it yet, once you have voted for the first time, it takes a matter of seconds to vote a second time. The ballot stores all your info. So you have ZERO excuses. C'mon, let's make sure C.C. is in NYC in '08. VOTE OR DIE! [MLB All-Star Voting]
• We will have the Rays Index Live Blog-A-Baloo on Wednesday night for game 3 of the Yankees series, with James Shields going against Mike Mussina. The Live Blog-A-Baloo will be held right here.
  
• Anybody want to take bets on what substances Her Rays was under the influence of when writing their post-game recap? Not that there is anything wrong with that. Much of the best writing in history was done "under the influence". Just ask fans of the Beatles or Hunter Thompson. [Her Rays]
• Jonny Damon said that the scoreboard gun that had Matt Garza at 92-93 last night, must have been low. [New York Times]

Before we knew it, he was jamming us and making us pop out. That’s what happens when you’re late on the fastball, and it seemed like we were late all day. It just seemed like we couldn’t catch up to it.

• Ben Zobrist has been activated from the DL with Andy Cannizaro being DFA'd...Ahh Andy Whatever-your-name-is. We hardly knew ya. [Rays Report]
• Alex Rodriguez will not play in this series...Also, Marc Topkin says that Al Reyes could be activated as soon as today, although there is no clear indication who will be let go. Scott Dohmann and Gary Glover seem like the only options to be removed from the roster. Both are out of options, meaning they would have to be DFA'd. Of course, we could see another "Willy Aybar" injury by tomorrow afternoon. That is Dohmann or Glover could come down with a mystery ailment that would normally keep a player out for a week or so, but still need to go on the DL, just in time for a needed roster move and 2 months later, they are still MIA...Just sayin'. [The Heater]
• Gary Shelton says the Rays are not "fluky" and are here to stay. [St. Pete Times]
  
• Yet another positive piece on the Rays in the New York Times...That is 2 this season and 2 more than the Yankees have had. [New York Times]
  
• Here is a neat graph that compares payrolls to performance. [Benfry.com]
• Always in love with the underdog, Joe Maddon said that if he were to name MVPs for the first month and a half, it would be JP Howell and Jason Bartlett. [MLB]
  
• An early proposal for a ballpark in St. Pete circa 1983, looks an awful lot like the new proposed waterfront stadium. [Ballpark Frankness]
• Seriously, this is getting a bit ridiculous. Yahoo! Sports has the Rays ranked 5th in their power rankings. [Yahoo! Sports]

Supposed to be that the Rays would do well generally, but struggle against the AL East powers. They’re now 15-11 against their own division.

• The Rays will make public their financing plan for the proposed waterfront stadium on Thursday. [Ballpark Frankness]
  

THE GOOD: Evan Longoria made yet another great defensive play in the first inning. These plays seem to happen on a daily basis now and Dirtbag probably should be the favorite to win Rookie of the Year based on his defense alone...After the 5th inning, the Rays trailed 5-4. It could have been worse if not for the arm of Gabe Gross who saved a run by gunning a runner down at the plate...Darren Oliver, the Angels only lefty in the 'pen was unavailable after pitching 1.2 innings on Saturday. Mike Scioscia could have used him on Sunday. Scioscia pulled Ervin Santana from the game with 2 outs in the 6th inning with the top of the order due up. The next two batters were lefties. Aki Iwamura doubled followed by a Carl Crawford 3-run home run that would be the difference in the game...JP Howell was simply terrific shutting down a very good offensive team for 3 innings, giving up only 1 hit. In particular was getting Vlad the Impaler to end the 7th. He wasn't a threat at the time with the bases empty and the Angels down 3, but Vlad never looked comfortable during the at bat and that does not happen very often.

THE BAD: This is Andy Sonnanstine. Although it does appear that these versions of Duke are fewer and farther between recently. When he is hittable he is very hittable...Granted the Rays had a 3-run lead at the time, but if a team gets the bases loaded with no outs as they did in the 8th, 1 run should be automatic and a team has to try pretty darned hard not to score at least twice. The Rays did not score.

THE TELLING: A miscommunication play in the 9th between Carl Crawford and Jason Bartlett led to a pop up being dropped and an error charged to CC. That was the first error charged to the Rays since the previous Sunday in Boston...The Rays are starting to get more efficient on the base paths. We haven't seen a serious branfart in a while and in the last week the Rays are 8-10 (80%) in steal attempts. Prior to this week, the Rays were only 28-42 (67%)...With no runs allowed in the first 2 innings, the Rays had set a record with 24 consecutive scoreless innings from the pitching staff...Cliff Floyd was back in the lineup for the first time in over a month. He had 2 hits and and 2 RBI...The Rays have now swept the Red Sox, the Angels and the Jays at home and now sit at 13-7 at home...Despite playing in a dome, Rain was not kind to the Rays yesterday. The Yankees game in Detroit was postponed. Without the rain, the Rays would have likely faced Kei Igawa and Darrell Rasner in games 3 and 4 of the series. Now the Rays will face Andy Pettite in game 1 with Rasner bumped to game 4 and Igawa will be skipped...Despite being swept in Boston, the Rays have earned at least a little respect from the Sox. They have yet to earn any from the Yankees. And to be honest it would probably take a sweep to get some. But if the Rays can win 3 of 4 we can at least shut them up for a while...Oh yeah, if the season ended today, the Rays would be the American League Wild Card representative.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Gary Glover has been activated off the DL and Kurt Birkins has been optioned to Durham...Marc Lancaster also indicates that Ben Zobrist could come off the DL as early as today, with Andy Cannizaro sent back to Durham. If that happens that would leave only Willy Aybar on the 15-day DL. [Rays Report]
• Ben Zobrist is to have the pins removed from his left thumb today and has been told that he will be cleared to play immediately after the procedure. [MLB]
• Troy Percival says that defensively, this is the best team he has ever played with. [MLB]
• Roger Mooney notes that the Rays starting pitchers have grown up and are holding themselves accountable for the first time. Mooney notes that the most impressive feature has been their ability to rebound from bad starts. [Bradenton Herald]
  
• The St. Pete Times has a new blog dedicated to covering the progress of the Rays' proposed waterfront stadium. [St. Pete Times]
  

THE GOOD: Eric Hinske hit his 4th home run and is red hot. That is a home run in back-to-back games and 3 in the past week, of which he has started 6 games. Since April 9, he is 9-24 (.375) with 3 home runs and 5 RBI...We would be remiss if we did not point out the great stop and throw made by Jason Bartlett for the 2nd out in the 3rd. With a runner on first and 1 out, Bartlett ranged to his right to grab a ground ball in the hole, spun 180 degrees and fired to Akinori Iwamura at second base for the force...The bullpen continues to shine. JP Howell picked up his first career save, of the 3-inning variety. He did not allow a run and gave up only 2 hits, no walks. The bullpen now has an ERA of 3.08, which is a little better than the 6.20 ERA posted in 2007...We don't want to go crazy about Jason Hammel's performance, 6 hits, 2 walks, 3 runs in 6 innings, but he has given the Rays exactly what any team needs from a 5th starter. He goes out and gives the Rays 6+ inning, and gives the team a chance to win.

THE BAD: Carlos Pena left the game in the 4th inning with "hamstring tightness". He is listed as day-to-day...In the 4th inning, with the Rays up 3-1 and with Justin Morneau on second base after a lead off double, Delmon Young came to the plate. Why would anybody ever throw Young a first-pitch strike? There is ZERO reason. Hammel throws a pitch down, but in the zone and Young ropes it for an RBI single. Not smart...Will the baserunning brainfarts ever end? With 2 outs in the 6th, Carl Crawford was picked off first base.

THE TELLING:The Rays are now 1-2 in games started by Hammel, meaning that the Rays have lost at most 2 wins so far due to the injury of Scott Kazmir, but more likely only 1 win...Evan Longoria is not about to sell out on any pitches. With 2 strikes in the 5th inning, he nearly spun himself into the ground with a huge swing. He struck out...Jonny Gomes started for the 3rd straight game and the 2nd straight against a right handed pitcher, going 1-4 with a double and RBI...Mike DiFelice got his 3rd start in 5 games, and we have to wonder if he stays once Dioner Navarro comes off the DL and it is Shawn Riggans that is sent to Durham...The Yankees play in Baltimore this weekend and we have no idea who to root for? It depends on whether you are rooting for the Rays to finish 4th or if you think there is still a chance for the Rays to make a run for the playoffs...San Diego and Colorado did not score a single run for the first 14 innings last night. Considering the Rays offense, the offenses of the rest of the AL East and the still shaky nature of the Rays pitching staff, what is the over/under on most innings the Rays will go this year in a game with a scoreless tie? We say 6.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Another power ranking with the Rays in the top 10? Hell is a little colder today. [Bugs & Cranks]
• Jayson Stark takes a look at some early season performances and tries to determine which are real and which are not. Edwin Jackson comes in a third category "Hung Jury". [ESPN]

"...while he had more "for real" votes than "not for real," he even makes his supporters nervous. One scout praised his improved take-a-little-off-to-get-strike-one approach, quipping: "He's like a NASCAR driver working the gas pedal. When he goes into the corners, he slows up. When he gets into a straightaway, he lets it loose." But another spoke for just about everyone when he said: "I'd lean more toward 'for real' than not. But even when he's good, your instinct is not to believe it because you've seen too much of the other way."

• Juan Salas has finally arrived. It is like the Beatles landing in the U.S. for the first time. WooHoo! Salas was placed on the 30-day restricted list, in essence giving the Rays 30 days before they have to decide what to do with him. [MLB]
• If you are curious, Marc Lancaster explains why the Rays just played back-to-back 2-game series. [Tampa Tribune]
  
• In a move about as surprising as a Shawn Camp implosion, St. Petersburg's Council of Neighborhood Associations voted against the Rays proposed waterfront stadium, 19-3...The council cited reasons such as "will block view of the bay", "fear of crowds", "fear of change", "onorariness", "worried other people will want to live in downtown St. Pete" and "a love of being pains in the ass"...OK, maybe they didn't give those reasons, but those are the real reasons. [Bay News 9]
  

In an effort to get back to talk about stuff on the field or at least in the ballpark, we bring you this story from USA Today which talks about the Rays hiring Tim Bogar this past off-season to be the quality assurance coach.

"Quality Assurance" you ask? We'll let Joe Maddon explain...

"Everybody talks about quality control," says Rays manager Joe Maddon. "But that means evaluating things after they've occurred. Quality assurance means we're evaluating things in advance — trying to head off our mistakes."

In other words...instead of just scouting other teams, the Rays are now scouting themselves. Tracking mental mistakes, looking for patterns other teams may exploit and trying to look at things from different perspective.

What we love about this story is that it is just another example of how forward-thinking the Rays organization can be. Even to the detail of where Bogar is stationed during the games...often in the pressbox. This is telling as football assistant coaches have been coaching from the pressbox for years, yet few baseball teams ever thought to try it. It offers the coach a different, more complete view of the action on the field.

It is only fitting that the Rays proposed waterfront stadium goes against the trend in baseball in the last 20 years to build "retro" parks. Rather the Rays are building a futuristic park unlike anything found in the U.S. today.

Much like how Billy Beane and the Oakland A's have revolutionized how teams scout players, The Rays are also changing the way the game a baseball organization is run.

Self-examination may bring Rays solutions [USA Today]

Tampa Bay Rays team President Matt Silverman wrote a letter printed in the Tampa Tribune in an effort to address issues being raised concerning the environmental impact of the proposed stadium to be built along the St. Petersburg waterfront.

One of the biggest concerns is that the Rays have yet to complete their own environmental impact analyses.

It seems to us that in stating that they found it disconcerting that we have not completed our environmental and engineering analyses, the Agency [on Bay Management] is attempting to have it both ways. Certainly, had we appeared before them after all of the necessary analyses were complete, we undoubtedly would have been criticized for not consulting with them first.

The Rays and our consultants have already completed a number of preliminary analyses, will be starting additional data collection shortly and believe that we are proceeding with an appropriate scope and sequence of activities to create a plan that will limit any environmental impacts of the project.

We are confident that this project will meet all relevant environmental regulations and produce a net environmental benefit to the community.

As noted in Chapter 10 of the Rays' preliminary design consideration document (submitted to the city on March 11, and readily available to the public on the city's Web site), by reducing our carbon footprint by over 70 percent, seeking LEED certification for the ballpark and incorporating innovative stormwater management techniques, we believe we will develop the most sustainable ballpark in all of Major League Baseball.

It would be silly for us to comment on the environmental impact of the proposed stadium without any details, even if Conservation Biology is part of our day job. But one thing we do know about the Tampa Bay Rays is that they are probably the most forward-thinking franchise in baseball and possibly all of sports. If any team would try to build a stadium with a minimal amount of impact on the environment it would be the Rays.

There is a perception that many professional sports franchises care only about making money and will screw the fan at any given opportunity if it means padding their own wallets. This may certainly be true of teams with well-established fan bases that are not likely to be impacted greatly by decisions like these. However, the Rays are not one of these teams. Alienating potential fans, even if it is a small percentage of the constituency would be counter-productive to not only building a fan base but also to building the bottom-line.

If they are anything, the Rays front office is filled with smart businessmen. Certainly the Rays want to build a stadium that is more profitable. But we are fairly confident that they also want to build a stadium that won't leave any negative footprints. This is a franchise that cannot afford any further negative impacts on the local community. And while it is impossible to please everybody, sometimes it is possible to please most. And it seems as though that is what the Rays are trying to do.

Rays Will Be Good Stewards [Tampa Tribune]

Tampa Bay Rays (17 days until Opening Day)

With the Rays proposed stadium starting to feel like it could become a reality, we got to wondering when the new stadium might host a Major League All-Star game. The Rays are one of only three franchises that have never hosted the mid-summer classic, with the other two being the D-Back and the Marlins.

There have been 10 new stadiums opened in MLB since 1999. Of those stadiums, seven have already hosted an all-star game. Of the three new fields not to have hosted an all-star game yet, all three cities (Philly, San Diego, Cincinnati) have hosted the game in the last 20 years.

Including the Nats' new stadium this year and the Rays' new park in 2012, there are seven new stadiums scheduled to be opened in the next five years. The Yankees will host the game this year in the final year of Yankee Stadium so it will be a while for their new park. That leaves six parks that appear to be in line to host the all-star game.

According to the Biz of Baseball, the Angels will host in 2010, with the D-Backs following in 2011 and the Royals renovated stadium in 2012. Biz of Baseball is predicting the Mets new park to host in 2013. If this is true, 2014 will be the earliest the other five stadiums can host the game. 2026 seems like a logical year for the Nationals' which would coincide with the 250th birthday of our nation.

Therefore if the Rays do indeed land a new stadium along the St. Pete waterfront, we can most likely expect the Major League Baseball all-star game to come to St. Pete for the first time as early as 2014 and no later than 2017.

2008-2013: Here's the locations for the All-Star Game [Biz of Baseball]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Jonny Gomes, Shirley Duncan and Melky Cabrera were each suspended for their roles in the rest bench-clearing incident. Gomes was hit with a 2-game suspension, while Duncan and Cabrera will sit out the first three games of teh regular season. Cabrera's suspension comes as a surprise as he was not mentioned in any reports immediately after the incident. Word on the street is that Cabrera hit or punched Evan Longoria in the back of the head. [Fox Sports]
  
• Because of the recent bad blood between the Rays and the Yankees, Joe Maddon has altered the team's travel schedule. Maddon was originally schedule to attend the team's split-squad game on Saturday in Orlando, but will now go to Tampa where the rest of the squad is facing the Yankees. Jonny Gomes will no longer be part of the group going to Tampa. [Tampa Bay Rays]
  
• John Romanoof the St. Pete Times comes down pretty hard on Joe Girardi for being a hypocrite. [St. Pete Times]

The New York manager continues to tap dance his way around questions concerning Shelley Duncan's spikes-high slide into Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura...Girardi tried to avoid the topic after Wednesday's game, and then again 24 hours later. He said he still hasn't seen a replay, despite video on ESPN, numerous newspaper Web sites and several YouTube posts....What's disturbing here is that Girardi didn't feel the need to wait before criticizing Johnson and Rays manager Joe Maddon last week. Back then, he used words like "disheartening" and "scary" and "uncalled for."

• Rays of Light debates the merits of signing Kenny Lofton to replace Rocco Baldelli. [Rays of Light]
• Jayson Stark of ESPN.com looks at how Troy Percival went from semi-retired to signing a 2-year contract with the Rays and becoming their clubhouse leader and mentor to David Price. [ESPN]

...first, you need to understand that this isn't only a story about Troy Percival, the pitcher. This is just as much about Troy Percival, as unique a member of the human species as you'll ever run across in this life.

• St. Pete Times' writers look closer at a sponsorship agreement the Rays had with a local financier that went bankrupt. The Rays are now suing the group. [St. Pete Times]
  

Tampa Bay Rays (19 days until Opening Day)

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays 7, Twins 1. Joe Maddon and Jim Hickey is starting to let their starters stretch it out early this year. James Shields worked 5 scoreless innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 walk. His last inning was his strongest with his only 1-2-3 frame. Elliot Johnson has not let all the media hoopla get to me or his poor 2007 campaign. Johnson led off going 3-5 with his first home run and his 3rd stolen base. He is now 9-18 in the spring with 3 walks. And people thought we were crazy to keep his name so high on our list of prospects...Willy Aybar started at third and went 2-2 with a double. Some kid named Evan Longoria hit his first spring home run. Eric Hinske saw time at first in his effort to show Joe Maddon he can be a utility player. Joel Guzman started in left field but later moved to third base. Dioner Navarro hit his first spring home run.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• After pitching a perfect ninth inning, David Price was sent to the minors along with Jae Kuk Ryu and Justin Ruggiano. Ruggiano's demotion is a bit surprising considering the unknown status of Rocco Baldelli. The move leaves non-roster invitees Jon Weber, Eric Hinske and John Rodriguez as the only in-house options to be the Rays' fourth outfielder. The Trib also quotes Ben Zobrist as saying he will be ready for opening day and that he will be 100%. [Tampa Tribune]
• David Price says there is no doubt in his mind that he is ready. He also feels that the clubhouse knows he is ready also but acknowledges that the team has a plan for him and a process that needs to be followed. Don Zimmer noted that Price's first appearance was as impressive as it gets. [Tampa Bay Rays]

"To me, where are you going to see anything better the whole spring than that one inning?" Zimmer said. "I don't care if you're 17 years old or if you're 77 years old -- that was thrilling. Strike, strike, strike, strike, and low, and breaking balls. It's easy to say they didn't have their regular lineup in there. That, to me, has got nothing to do with it. It's where he was throwing it."

• Andrew Friedman spoke at length yesterday about Rocco Baldelli noting that he does not have a good feel of the situation and will not be proactive in looking for a replacement until they know for certain that Rocco cannot play. [Herald-Tribune]
• Joe Girardi says there will be no bad blood when the Rays play the Yankees after last weekend's home plate collision. Girardi seems to have changed his tune a bit after hearing so many big names side with the Rays (incl. Lou Piniella and Mike Scioscia). Girardi now says that he thinks there was enough plate left exposed for Elliot Johnson to slide into home around the catcher. [Newsday]

Girardi said he had not told his catchers to leave some extra plate open in case of any Rays sliding into home... "I thought there was plate open the other day, and it still happened," Girardi said.

• Anaheim Angels All the Way, who previously used their CHONE projections to predict that the Rays will win 89 games this year, now looks at those results a little closer. The biggest difference will be from the pitching staff and the defense as the Rays are projected to allow 200 fewer runs in 2008. Of course, the Rays could throw out 9 guys off the street and allow about 50 fewer than the 2007 Rays. [Anaheim Angels all the Way]
• SI.com profiles the Rays proposed stadium. One question that recently pooped into our heads about the new stadium...When the "roof" is closed, it seems that the tunnel effect could produce very strong wind currents inside the stadium. This could lead to some very low-scoring games as we would think most of the wind would come from the bay. [SI.com]
  

Tampa Bay Rays (20 days until Opening Day)

Links are coming in fast and furious today, so let's throw a few more out for your Happy Hour amusement...

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• A consultant for the Rays notes that 14,000 off-street parking spots would be available during Rays home games at their proposed stadium, while sellout crowd would only require 11,950. [Tampa Tribune]
• Jayson Stark of ESPN.com is reporting that the Rays have expressed interest in acquiring Kenny Lofton. According to R.J. Anderson of DRays Bay this is not the first time the Rays have flirted with the veteran outfielder. [DRays Bay]
• Bill Chastain explores the different possibilities to replace Ben Zobrist on the opening day roster, including Reid Brignac who would be happy to play a backup role for a few weeks. [Tampa Bay Rays]

"Absolutely," Brignac said. "If that's what it comes down to, I'll be very ready for whatever option comes up. I want to play every day. But if they need me to be a utility guy for a couple of weeks, I'd be more than happy to help them out, get my at-bats here and there, be a back up at second and short."

• Outs Per Swing is playing catch-up on their "40 Rays 40 Days" feature, throwing a bunch out today tomorrow. Our favorite is Jeff Niemann. Our love for Niemann is thinly veiled on this site. We just feel, that Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel are known commodities and they are not going to help the Rays over the top. Niemann at least has the possibility to be very good or even great and he has enough minor league innings under his belt that we feel he is ready. [Outs Per Swing]
• Marc Lancaster takes a look at the parallel careers of Jake McGee and Wade Davis. [Tampa Tribune]
• The Rays submitted a preliminary project design for their proposed stadium to St. Pete officials. [Tampa Bay Rays]

"This preliminary design consideration document illustrates how the Rays' new ballpark will respect and enhance the rich history of baseball on the Al Lang site and its dynamic downtown waterfront location; we expect this project will mean as much to downtown St. Petersburg as most of our other projects have meant to their communities," said Joe Spear, founding senior principal of HOK Sport, in a release by the Rays.

• FoxSports.com handicaps the rookie of the year races. [FoxSports.com]
  

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]

Tampa Bay Rays (34 days until Opening Day)

What could possibly knock the Barry Bonds non-story from above-the-fold. Hmmmm? What could possibly be a bigger story than that? What is THIS?

Rays ace Scott Kazmir will have an MRI exam on his left elbow this afternoon after feeling discomfort while warming up on the mound during today’s intrasquad game.

WHAT THE [several explicatives deleted]!?!?!?!? Excuse us while we go curl up in the corner in fetal position mumbling incoherently...

But wait...It might not be so bad after all.

“We did all the strength tests and everything and he said I had great strength, and I didn’t feel one thing,” said Kazmir. “That’s always a good sign.”

And could this actually be a blessing in disguise...Scott?

“It was just a little scary because I’ve never felt it before,” he said. “But after I talked with Ron and we did some strength tests, I felt confident that we’ll be all right. Just got to check it out just to make sure.”

Little nervous are we? Maybe you want to reconsider that long-term extension after all.

Kazmir headed for MRI [Rays Report]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Oh yeah. At the bottom of the same story, David Price experienced stiffness in his throwing shoulder, but it does not sound serious. [Rays Report]

He’ll be checked out again tomorrow to see if his work schedule needs to be pushed back, but Joe Maddon said there was nothing to worry about. “He’s fine,” said Maddon.

• Stuart Sternberg acknowledged that the Rays may back off of their stadium proposal if the sale of Tropicana Field does not generate as much revenue as the team has projected. Sternberg also stated that he told Andrew Friedman not to consider the fate of the stadium when making trades and signings this off-season even though more wins will certainly help push the proposal through. [Bradenton Herald]

"What I try to do and what I've instilled in the organization . . . is remove as many variables as I can from any equation. I said to them immediately, just take the stadium out of it because If you don't, you're just going to end up driving yourself crazy and what you start to do is to say, 'Were only trying to win for that reason' or, 'Lets try to win a few extra games to get some votes.' We just removed that immediately and we don't have to think about it...There are a lot of factors we can't control. Yes, we can help control the wins a little bit, but quite frankly is there a lot we can do to help us win a ton more games? If you win three or five more games is that going to make the difference at the voting booth? I doubt it. I would hope and I think that people see past that a little bit. I think if you win 53 games and were shedding payroll and were doing some bad things, that's a bad thing. But the economy is certainly an issue. How do people look at it? There's so many variables that I just try to remove as many as possible whenever I make a decision."

• Stuart Sternberg also rekindled his 2007 goal of 50 home wins (The Rays went 37-44 at home in 2007). Seven teams won 50 home games in 2007. Six of those teams went to the playoffs. He also stated that he thinks this team could make the playoffs if they stay healthy and everybody plays to their potential. [Rays Report]

"What I would love to have happen, you don't know October is going to look like, but you'd like to get well into the summer, into August and see that the guys are performing real well and that you're within at least shouting distance and that you're making some noise, making some trouble. If we can stay out of a bad stretch like we did last year, we had a real rough spot in July, I think that's very possible.''

• We already got a look at how Baseball America ranked the Rays top prospects. Now we get to see how those guys stack-up against the rest of the prospects in baseball with BA's "Top 100 Prospects". Four Rays are in the Top 20, including Evan Longoria (2), David Price (10), Jake McGee (15) and Wade Davis (17). Reid Brignac (39), Desmond Jennings (59) and Jeff Niemann (99) also made the list. [Baseball America]
  

Seriously we can't make this shit up...

Tonight the St. Pete City Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed redevelopment of Tropicana Field and the subsequent building of a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays along the downtown waterfront.

Aaron Sharockman of the St. Pete Times will attend the meeting and will be live-blogging the event.

I'm here in City Hall, more than 3½ hours before the public hearing on the Tampa Bay Rays' stadium and redevelopment proposal begins at 6:30 p.m., and already people are lining up for their turn to speak.

It kind of has the atmosphere of a big-time college basketball game –- without the pep bands or cheerleaders. Proponents of the Rays' plan, mainly from the group Fans For Waterfront Stadium, are expected to be wearing white. Opponents, those associated with the group Preserve Our Wallets and Waterfront, will be dressed in red.

Big-time college basketball game? Sure. Minus about 15,000 people.

We are not sure why Sharockman is live-blogging the event. Certainly it would be sufficient to provide a summary write-up after the fact. In fact, we will go one step further and provide everybody with a play-by-play of how things should go down.

Playa Haters: Well, well, well. It's Stuey's Stool Pigeons. Where's your mommy?
RaysCrazies: You back off, Fake Manatee Lovers.I've had enough of you. This is gonna end right here, right now
Playa Haters:Let's dance, asshole. You wanna dance, Stuey?
RaysCrazies: I wanna polka. Come get a taste. (turns towards another RaysCrazy) Andrew, where'd you get a hand grenade?
World B. Friedman:I don't know.
Playa Haters:All right. Let's do this!
RowdiesRowdies: Hey! If you're gonna have a fight, then don't forget the Tampa Bay Rowdies with me, Rodney Marsh! We want our own stadium!
Playa Haters: You dirtbags have been dead for 24 years.
RowdiesRowdies: Yeah? Well, you're about to be in dead place.
CrazyCatWomen: Not so fast, you ingrates! The coalition to save the Florida Panther is taking a break from its pledge drive to kick some ass. No commercials! No mercy!
Ybor'sEyores: Cómo están, bitches! Cuban Anti-Communist Federation is here. Tonight's top story: The sewers run red with Stuey's blood. Hyah! Hyah!
RaysCrazies: Well looks like we got ourselves a bilingual bloodfest
RaysCrazies: Now, before we do this, let's go over the ground rules. Rule number one: None of this will actually have an effect on the City Council's final decision.
Playa Haters: Of course
RaysCrazies: And that's it! Now let's do this!
Playa Haters: Begin! I'm gonna straight-up murder your ass!
(all hell breaks loose. World B. Friedman kills somebody with a trident)

Rays stadium: Let the debate begin [The Heater]

Tampa Bay Rays (40 days until Opening Day)

Just the links for now...as we crank Warrant on National Cherry Pie Day...

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• In case you missed it last night, ABC-7 is reporting that Cal Ripken Jr., is leading a group to purchase the Vero Beach Rays and move them to Charlotte County. [Rays Index]
  
• The Bradenton Herald has a list of questions concerning the 2008 Rays. [Bradenton Herald]
  
• Apparently some opponents of the Rays new stadium have been showing a rendering of the proposed ballpark with a closed roof that is yellow-orange. We assume their point is that they are trying to scare people into thinking the new stadium will be really ugly. Only one problem. The new roof will not be yellow-orange. It will be white and the Rays have released a new artist's rendering that shows the proposed ballpark with the 'roof' closed. [The Heater]
• The Rays have decided to contribute their $150 million to the funding of a new stadium in one lump sum up front as opposed to annual payments over 15 years as originally proposed. [St. Pete Times]
• They say a pitcher doesn't learn how to pitch until he suffers his first serious injury. That appears to have been the case with Jeff Niemann. [Tampa Tribune]

"When I came back from rehab, I didn't have my best breaking ball, so I had to learn how to pitch with my fastball," he said. "There are things you pick up that I would never have gotten taught if certain things hadn't happened to me. So all things considered, it kind of worked out better. I'm more of a complete pitcher because of all this stuff happening."

• David Price is quickly impressing many members of the organization, especially Jim Hickey. [Tampa Bay Rays]

"In terms of stuff, [Price is] extremely impressive," Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey said. "Very nice delivery -- under control. [He has] three pitches that, in my opinion, all have a chance to be above-average Major League pitches, [with] pretty good command of all three.

"Even if [one of his pitches] doesn't necessarily move, it carries well late through the strike zone. It gives that appearance of a little bit of a hop. I'm impressed with that. Overall, it's a very impressive package. But I don't think any of that is very much of a surprise. He is what was advertised."

• The Ledger ranks the major league rookies by who will have the biggest impact for their respective team in 2008. Evan Longoria is ranked first. [The Ledger]
• OK. we will link to this post about Barry Bonds joining the Rays. At least this one isn't serious. Unfortunately, it isn't really funny either. And it is 'McGwire', not 'McGuire'. It is bad enough that our family probably shares Fermanagh roots with the 'roider. Let's not make it any closer than it needs to be. [Barry Bonds Trial]
  

Tampa Bay Rays (6 days until pitchers and catchers report)
Just the links this morning...we will be back in a little while.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• We thought we were going to have to retire our #40 Bucs jersey permanently, but it looks like it will get at least one more day in the sun dome. Mike Alstott will throw out the first pitch at the Rays home opener. Might there actually be more Bucs jerseys in the stands than Rays jerseys during the home opener. Magic 8 Ball says 'Absolutely'. [TampaBay.com]
  
• Rays of Light breaks down how Trever Miller has fared against some of the better left-handed bats in the AL East. Verdict is, Miller will make a strong situational lefty for the Rays. [Rays of Light]
• Despite his most recent spat of legal issues, Willy Aybar is expected to join the team for the beginning of Spring Training. [TampaBay.com]
  
• Carlos Pena is only 50-1 to hit the most home runs in baseball in 2008. The Rays are currently 200-1 to win the World Series, tied with 5 other teams for the longest odds. They are 100-1 to win the AL, tied with the Orioles and the Royals and 50-1 to win the AL East, ahead of the Orioles at 100-1. The Red Sox are the current faves to win the World Series at 7-2, trailed closely by the Mets and the Yankees, both at 5-1. [Vegas Watch]
• Curt Schilling has a serious shoulder injury that may ultimately require season-ending surgery. This makes us giggle a little. Not because we enjoy schadenfreude, but because we wonder if those few people still think it would have been such a great idea to have him on the Rays for 2008. That would have been money well spent. [Boston Herald]
• The St. Pete City Council voted yesterday to accept community input on the fate of the land that is currently the home of Al Lang Field, if the area is not used for the Rays new stadium. a portion of the community would like to see the area become a park. [TBO]
  

Tampa Bay Rays (9 days until pitchers and catchers report)
Today is Hank Aaron's birthday. Major League Baseball tried to honor Aaron by naming an award after him, when in fact the award does nothing to honor his legacy. We have made our feelings known about the Hank Aaron Award in the past, but in short it is a glorified advertising opportunity for MLB to make money off of Hank Aaron's name, and the award needs to be overhauled or it will never have any legitimacy.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• If you have not had a chance to vote in our "Tampa Bay Rays Confidence" polls, please do so. This will become a weekly feature and the resulting graph will makes it debut tomorrow. [Rays Index]
• Willy Aybar has been jailed in the Dominican Republic on charges of domestic violence. He has been held without bail since last week. We will have more on this topic later on this morning. [ESPN]
  
• Rays of Light reports that Rocco Baldelli stated in a radio interview that he has been working out at first base in the off-season. Do the Rays think this will actually help? We are talking about a guy who once needed Tommy John surgery after injuring his knee. Rocco could pull a hamstring just thinking about running. [Rays of Light]
  
• Tom Singer believes the Rays are one team that could surprise in 2008, comparing them to the 1969 Mets. [MLB]

The rest of the AL East is concerned. In fact, Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi has frankly branded the Rays a team "no one will want to face."...But why stop at .500 -- the Rays haven't been closer than 11 games to that -- as a major surprise? We keep looking at Tampa Bay's new uniforms and seeing "Mets" scrawled across the chest...The Amazin's averaged 56 wins in their first seven seasons, then broke loose for a World Series title in the eighth. And they did so without any major roster additions; a young team simply grew into it.

• The Rays have planned a series of appearances in neighboring counties with players and staff, in their effort to expand the team's fan base. [TampaBay.com]
  
• Edwin Jackson is one of several major leaguers working to bring baseball back to young African-Americans. We wish we had not read that. Last thing in the world we need is a soft-spot for Nuke. [MLB]

"In the black schools, football and basketball are getting more attention than baseball," Jackson said. "We need to expose it within the community, talk about it more. It starts in the household, where most parents are talking about basketball and football to their young black children."

• One website names the best and worst moves of the off-season for each team. Signing Troy Percival to a two-year contract is rated as the Rays worst move. [SWB Yankees Blog]
  
• One fantasy baseball site compares BJ Upton to Alex Rios. [The Fantasy Man]
• The Rays will be offering free skin cancer screenings throughout March at various spring training facilities. We will avoid the obvious joke of a team that plays in a dome offering skin cancer screening. [DevilRays.com]
• The Gaston Gazette profiles Chris Mason. [Gaston Gazette]
  
• One protester is creating a Manatee named "Pete" made of duct tape to help bring awareness to the plight of the Manatees and to dredge up support for the opposition of the Rays new stadium...seriously [Tampa Bays 10]
  

Tampa Bay Devil Dogs (11 days until pitchers and catchers report)
Marc Lancaster believes the Rays are using the Royal's Alex Gordon and Milwaukee's Ryan Braun as case studies for their decision about where Evan Longoria will start the 2008 season. Gordon was the opening day third baseman for Kansas City while Braun began the season in AAA.

Gordon struggled early for the Royals hitting .173 in April and .195 in May. However, he rebounded in June hitting .327. Braun on the other hand started off hot in AAA, where he hit .342 with 10 home runs in the first month. He was then called up to the Brewers and continued his torrid pace hitting .349 in his first month.

If the Rays are indeed using Gordon and Braun as a barometer to help them decide where Longoria starts the 2008 season, then there is a very good chance we will not see the Dirtbag in a Rays uniform until June.

Longoria spoke publicly for the first time about the possibility of the Rays front office deciding prior to Spring Training where he will start the 2008 season. Longoria stated he would be disappointed if the Rays decided to keep him in Durham to start the season without at least giving him a chance to show what he can do in Spring Training.

"I heard they might tell me beforehand but not for sure, so I assume it will be based on how I do," Longoria said from California. "It's only fair. I feel I'm coming into spring a lot more ready than I was last year. I'd kind of be a little disappointed if they told me beforehand I didn't have a chance to make the team."

"If they are going to make the decision beforehand, I'd rather not know," he said. "I'd rather go in, play my best and throw it all on the table. It's only my second year, so it's not like it's a make-or-break year or anything, but a chance is always nice."

I sure hope the Rays are not going to base their decision only on how Ryan Braun and Alex Gordon performed. There is nothing to suggest that Braun would not have hit well if he started the season in the majors and there is nothing to suggest that Gordon would not have struggled for two months even if he had started in the minors. In fact, one could argue that Gordon benefited from being given the opportunity to work out the kinks in the big leagues, knowing that his job was not in jeopardy, as opposed to struggling in the minors with a job on the line.

The biggest reason the Rays should not base this decision on Gordon and Braun is that they represent a sample size of 2. For every Alex Gordon that struggles in his first two months in the big leagues, I can give you a Dan Uggla who started the season in the majors and hit well all season long.

There may be reasons to keep Longoria in the minors for another month or two *cough, cough* arbitration *cough, cough*, but Alex Gordon and Ryan Braun should only be a minor reason if a reason at all.

Path to greatness [Tampa Tribune]
Prospect hopes to control fate [St. Pete Times]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Marc Topkin also noted that Rocco Baldelli is already working out at the Rays Spring Training complex and says that Baldelli is running "almost all out". [St. Pete Times]
  
• Matt Silverman received honorable mention in a recent St. Pete Times survey of local businesses when asked "Who do you see emerging as the area's top business leaders?" Making the top 9 was St. Petersburg mayor Rick Baker who the Times. The Times sees Bakers biggest business related task in 2008 being how he represents the citizens in the Rays quest for a new stadium. [St. Pete Times]
• 43% of local businesses support the Rays proposed stadium. 37% do not. [St. Pete Times]
• The Tampa Bay Rays are taking their fight for a new stadium door-to-door...literally. In the last two months the Rays have made presentations about the new stadium to more than 30 local neighborhood associations, rotary groups and chamber of commerce meetings. They have 26 more meetings scheduled between now and the beginning of the season. [St. Pete Times]
  
• A profile of Carlos Pena and his emergence as a top hitter in the American League. [MetroWest Daily News]