Another day, another video...This time we go to the wayback machine for this commercial for the opening of Tropicana Field, or "The Florida Suncoast Dome" as it was known back then. It was "the biggest gala party in Florida history." Of course it was. Kenny Rogers (ballads not baseballs), performed.

Florida Suncoast Dome Grand Opening

• This is why the Rays reporters bug the heck out of us. Here is an article about Elijah Dukes. The article itself is fairly benign. But early in the article Dukes has the following quote...

Hopefully when I get that call saying I'm in the league, I'll probably be about 220 [pounds] again.

Then the article makes reference to his "245 pound frame", and then never mentions his weight again. Did Dukes show up to camp out of shape? That's how we read it. And if that is the case, why isn't anybody making a bigger deal of this. One of the team's top prospects, that has a legitimate shot at making the club and he shows up to camp 25 pounds overweight? Once again it looks like we have been duped by the talent that is Elijah Dukes.

• Casey Fossum's goals for 2007? How about 180 innings and a groin that isn't sore. Now, we don't know about the groin. That sounds like a personal problem. But in six major league seasons, Fossum has never pitched more than 162 innings. In 2006, Fossum made 25 starts and only had 130 innings. That's just over 5 innings per start. Even if he stays healthy for 35 sta....We're sorry. We had trouble typing that without laughing. Even if he stays healthy for 35 starts, that would be about 175 innings. There is no way Fossum is making 35 starts and he is not getting 180 innings. The best news is that Fossum is the most likely candidate to be traded by the deadline in July.
• Jorge Cantu is saying the same things every player says when they come back from an injury-filled season. He is healthy. He is in great shape. He is ready to get back to doing what he is capable of doing...yada, yada, yada. We'll see. The Rays are hopeful at best, which explains why they have contingency plans. At least his dad explained to him that he shouldn't jump in the hole in the road. huh?
• Earlier this week we wondered aloud when Jeff Niemann would make his major league debut. Looks like he could follow a similar path of James Shields who made 10 AAA starts before making his debut at the end of May.
  
• In the same article is word that B. J. Upton took some turns at second base.
  
• Shawn Riggans is three years older than Dioner Navarro and he likes him sum fishin'. Speaking of Little Pudge...He is only the fifth catcher in the last 25 years with as much major league catching experience at such a young age. There are some pretty big names on that list. Catcher's are notorious for developing slowly, especially with the bat. It is the most difficult position to master. That is why Riggans is still considered a prospect at the ripe age of 26. Navarro's experience will pay dividends down the road.
• Great interview with Rays prospect Jacob McGee. Hard to read that and not salivate just a little. We here at RI always try to temper our excitement when it comes to prospects at lower levels. That's why Reid Brignac is not ranked higher in our TVI. We have seen too many instances where a top prospect just levels out and fails to progress. But this kid just keeps getting better. This kid is going to be good.
  
• The Trop is getting new FieldTurf. Early reviews are that the turf slows the ball down which will be good for pitchers, but will cut down on the number of extra base hits. It will be interesting to see if Carl Crawford will still be the king of triples
  
• We stared at THIS page for a good five minutes trying to figure out why a website with that name was doing a Devil Rays preview.
  

• We understand the excitement about the possibility of Edwin Jackson being the 5th starter for the Rays this season. Of course, everybody points to the 3-2 record and 1.60 ERA in the Venezuelan Winter League. The St. Pete Times ran an article on Jackson and his hopes of making the rotation out of Spring Training. They were correct to point out that he has had some control problems in his stint with the Rays. In 2006, he walked 25 in 36.1 innings of work. What they failed to mention is Jackson continued to have control problems in winter ball. Jackson somehow posted an impeccable ERA despite walking 23 batters in 45 innings. In addition, Jackson issued six wild pitches in those games. We beg everyone to temper their excitement. We still have our money on J. P. Howell being named the fifth starter. Jackson may have the inside track on a spot in the rotation if Casey Fossum is not ready for opening day.
  
• Here is a great photo of a very young Tropicana Field in diapers. We barely recognize it. We are fairly certain that this is a photo from the preparations for the New Kids on the Block concert from the fall of 1990, which amazingly is still the attendance record for the Trop. In the past we have made reference to The Curse of LaMar-Naimoli. But that may have been unjust. Maybe the Curse goes back further. The Curse of the New Kids? (thanks to griff3758)
• Nothing surprising here...Evan Longoria will not be on the opening day major league roster. In fact the only reason he appears to be in Spring Training at all is due to an obligation written into Longoria's contract by his agent. If the Dirtbag can put up another strong campaign down on the farm in 2007, we would still put it at 50:50 at best for a Longoria sighting at the Trop in September.
• Casey Fossum felt good after his fourth bullpen session. Still no word of whether or not the team is expecting him to be ready for opening day. Fossum is hoping that he will come back stronger from this surgery than he did from the first time his shoulder was worked on. We think it is more likely that the Fossum Flop becomes his only pitch.
  
• Finally, former Rays prospect Josh Hamilton met with the media yesterday and had his first workout with his new team. It is a little disheartening to see Josh in a Reds uniform.