[THE HANGOVER] Opening Day To Feature More Bucs Jerseys Than Rays Jerseys In The Stands

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]

[THE HANGOVER]

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]

[THE HANGOVER] Brett Grandstrand Leads Rays March To Top Organization

Tampa Bay Rays (20 days until pitchers and catchers report)
As you may have noticed, we are in the process of playing with the layout and design of this website. Most of the changes will be subtle, so don’t expect any grand redevelopment. Most of the changes will be to the sidebar. For the most part, the site should remain operational during the tune-up but certain features may be hit-or-miss for the next day or two as we try to decide what we like best.

Best,
The Professor
Rays Index

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• This list has not been released yet, and it comes as no surprise, but the Tampa Bay Rays are ranked as the #1 organization by Baseball America. After all, what other organization can boast Brett Grandstrand? [Nationals Farm Authority]
• Baseball America takes a look at the hardest throwing pitchers in the minors, including Jake McGee. [Baseball America]
• Rays Anatomy offers two points of view on Akinori Iwamura and what we can expect from him in 2008. You can read my full comments at the end of the post, but in short, this is a classic example of people depending too much on statistics to evaluate a player. [Rays Anatomy]
• Pinellas County has green-lighted a project to be built similar to the redevelopment proposed for Tropicana Field on a tract of land less than ten miles north of Tropicana Field. The Pinellas County Commissioner is not sure that the county can support the building of both projects. [TBO]
• Carlos Pena returned from the Dominican Republic and passed his physical, which was the only thing holding up his new 3-year $24.125 million contract. [TampaBay.com]

[THE HANGOVER] Carlos Pena Tells Us Nothing…Some Seem To Think It Is Newsworthy

Tampa Bay Rays (30 days until pitchers and catchers report)

Just the links today.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• We have updated our Meta-Analysis of Top Prospects to now include the “Cursory Top Prospect Post” from Rays of Light. Their post is worth a read if just to read the reasoning for making the list at the beginning of the post. They have summed up our feelings about these lists perfectly and is exactly why we did not make a list of our own and instead created the Meta-Analysis. [Rays of Light]
• The Heater is reporting that Carlos Pena is still awaiting word on the progress of negotiations for a new deal. If a deal is not reached by Friday the Rays will cease negotiating and will let an arbitrator decide Pena’s 2008 salary. While we expect a 1-year deal to be reached with Scott Kazmir prior to Friday’s deadline, we would be surprised if the Rays can reach a deal with Pena, who is represented by Scott Boras. The team also continues to negotiate with Dan Wheeler and Jonny Gomes [TampaBay.com]
• St. Pete officials submitted a request for proposals to the St. Pete City Council. The request lays out what the officials envision for the renovation of Tropicana Field and lays out exactly what they are seeking in developers that would like to head the renovation. [TampaBay.com]
• Bucs Dugout has a post comparing the current Pirate’s situation to the 2006 Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The post is an excellent review of the moves that Andrew Friedman and Co. have made since taking control of the team and how the Rays went from a laughing stock to being on the verge of greatness mediocrity. [Bucs Dugout]
• Joe Henderson tries to convince his readers that the Rays are on the cusp of being a competitive team. [TBO]

Best-case scenario: If things break right, the Rays could challenge Toronto for third place in the American League East. That won’t trigger many champagne showers, but after what we’ve seen here for years, it’ll do for now.

The defense up the middle should be vastly improved. Moving Akinori Iwamura to second base fills one of those spots with a potential gold glove. Shortstop Jason Bartlett, acquired in the Delmon Young trade, will get to balls that would have scooted well past Brendan Harris last season.

• The Rays have hired a firm to study the impact the proposed Rays stadium will have on local parking. [DevilRays.com]

Over the next several months, RK&K will work with the City of St. Petersburg, its residents and the Rays to analyze the relationship between existing parking locations and ballpark entry and exit routes, forecast downtown traffic volumes during event conditions, and engage the community to determine specific areas of concern. RK&K will recommend methods to ensure that adequate parking will be available for both the ballpark and its downtown environs. RR&K will also help create an effective traffic management plan to minimize congestion and provide ease of entry and exit to the ballpark.

[THE HANGOVER] The Tampa Bay Rays Are Promising As Much As $300 Million For Local Schools With New Stadium

Tampa Bay Rays (31 days until pitchers and catchers report)
The Tampa Bay Rays claim that as much as $800 million in new local taxes will be generated for St. Petersburg over the next 35 years due to the redevelopment of the Tropicana Field site. As part of the proposal for a new stadium along the St. Pete waterfront and the redevelopment of the land on which Tropicana Field sits, the Rays want 52% of those new taxes for building the new stadium. The other 48% would be distributed among local St. Pete agencies, with the biggest chunk (37%) going to the Pinellas and state school system. The remaining 11% would be split among other local entities.

The Tampa Bay Rays say the successful redevelopment of Tropicana Field and its parking lots could generate $5-million a year in new property tax revenues for state and Pinellas schools. If the redevelopment includes retail, millions of dollars more could flow into the city and county coffers each year through sales tax payments.

That money, which would not help build a new Rays stadium for the Rays, could be used to build new schools or new parks or pay teachers or police officers more, the Rays say.

If the $800 million turns out to be $400 million, the Rays would still get their stadium and the Pinellas and state school systems would get nothing. Therefore, the Rays hopes for a new stadium may be dependent on proving that the redevelopment of Tropicana Field can indeed generate the $800 million they are projecting.

Rays say schools gain in redevelopment [TampaBay.com]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Stacy Long revealed his list of the Top 30 Tampa Bay Rays prospects. We have updated our Meta-Analysis of Rays Prospects to include Long’s list. Long’s list is of special value as he covers the AA Montgomery Biscuits and has seen most of these players first-hand. We are also now including a link to the meta-analysis in the side-panel. [Stacy Long’s Riverwalk Talk]
• Depending on the final numbers for the Rays final four remaining arbitration-eligible players, the Rays will most likely have an opening day payroll greater than $40 million. Based on our own projections, we place the final number just north of $41 million. This will be greater than the Rays promise of a 20% increase over their 2007 opening day payroll. Marc Topkin also includes his projected 25-man payroll and opening day lineup. The projection is very similar to our own, including Juan Salas not being on the roser. The only exception is giving the final roster spot to Justin Ruggiano and having Joel Guzman as the opening day third baseman in place of Evan Longoria. This is an idea that we are starting to warm up to. [TampaBay.com]
• Joe Maddon wants to emphasize fundamentals in Spring Training. [TBO]

“I’m going to apply a lot of pressure to the coaches and myself this spring training to make sure we get these fundamentals down appropriately,” Maddon said. “We’ve talked about them for two years; I believe this group is ready to put them into play. I believe this group is ready to take what we’re talking about and execute them. I believe this group will accept constructive criticism well and be accountable for their actions.

• Voros McCracken thinks the Rays still have a lot of work to do before they are ready to start competing. One of his biggest cautionary notes is that “Young pitchers (the strength of the Devil Rays system) will break your heart in a thousand different ways”. Everybody knows this, but the strength of the system is not just young pitching. It is the depth of young pitching. The Rays don’t need all their young pitching prospects to succeed. Just some of them. [Voros McCracken]
• The Rays have made official their plans to play a three-games series against the Blue Jays at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex. The move is contingent on the approval of the St. Pete city counsel. [Bradenton Herald]
• John Sickels reviews his Top 50 pitching prospects from 2007 and how they performed last season. Matt Garza was Sickels’ #2 pitching prospect with four other Rays that were on the list. [Minor League Ball]
• He says there have been no problems, but it seems a bit worrisome that we are only a month from Spring Training and Rocco Baldelli is only running three days a week. [Rotoworld]
• We are not sure why we are posting a link to this because it is really not news-worthy, but it does make as chuckle a little bit. Turns out, two downtown St. Pete condo associations are opposed to the proposed stadium. Why? Because the new stadium will block their view of the water. Don’t get us wrong, we understand that will have an effect on the property value, but with the numbers that are being tossed around (ie. $800 million in new tax revenue) there is ZERO chance that the fate of the new stadium will rest on whether a few condo-owners can see Tampa Bay. [Tampa Bay Parent]

[THE HANGOVER] Manatees Anticipating Carlos Pena’s Home Runs

Tampa Bay Rays (36 days until pitchers and catchers report)
Like any major redevelopment, the Tampa Bay Rays will have to win a lot of fights along the way as opposition will pop up everywhere. After removing their request for $60 million in state subsidies, the next fight that is starting to brew is the quest to protect the Manatee and how filling a portion of the St. Pete waterfront will affect the endangered species.

“The manatees need to be protected,” said Cathy Harrelson, chairwoman of the coastal task force for the Suncoast Sierra Club. “It is a very big concern.”

“The environment is just the tip of it,” said Lorraine Margeson, an environmental activist opposed to the ballpark. “To me, right now this gives every reason to take this plan right off the map, not even waste our time talking about desecrating the city’s waterfront when there is no need for the city to do this.”

Stadium plans call for dumping fill dirt over six-tenths of an acre of Tampa Bay to create about 26,000 square feet of new land, the equivalent of three house lots. The Rays would then reroute Bayshore Drive across the new land, making the road bow out into the bay.

For those that are not familiar with my daytime job, I work directly with endangered sea mammals. So I am very familiar with the plight of the Manatee and always err on the side of caution when it comes to endangered animals. BUT…this fight reeks of rich people suddenly giving a shit about an animal, only because it suits their needs. As soon as the stadium issue is resolved…either way…these people will be fighting for the Manatees as much as OJ Simpson is searching for the real killers.

Opponents say Rays, Manatees don’t mix [TampaBay.com]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• The Sporting News ranks the AL starting rotations. The Rays quintet comes in at #10 (out of 14). We are torn here. Before we read the list, we were worried that this would be another writer that jumped on the Rays rotation bandwagon. We have seen some say that the Rays now have one of the best. And with Scott Kazmir, James Shields and Matt Garza, the Rays have one of the better trios. But those seem to ignore Edwin Jackson and Andy Sonnanstine. And while both have the potential to be much better, the truth is, the Rays will be an underdog in almost every single one of their starts. That is 40% of the schedule. Now saying that, #10 seems a bit low, but looking at the list, we are not sure who we would bump. So maybe #10 is about right. [Sporting News]
• The Hardball Times used some fancy math to calculate how many runs each outfielder prevented based on their arm in 2007. BJ Upton was rated as the best arm in center field. Delmon Young rated as the fourth best right fielder and Carl Crawford came in as the 20th “best” left fielder…Nobody has ever questioned Upton’s arm strength, but when Bossman Junior was playing shortstop, he often threw the ball as if he was trying to give a souvenir to every fan behind the first base dugout. In the outfield he has more room for error, and psychologically, he probably thrives with the freedom to just “let ‘er rip”. Crawford’s poor ranking is no surprise as he does have below-average arm strength and often has the accuracy of a blind man. Still. 20th? Among left fielders? The left fielder is generally the outfielder with the weakest arm and Crawford is one of the worst of the bunch, meaning CC ranks among the worst arms in baseball. Maybe he should try throwing right-handed. [The Hardball Times]
• And yet, one blogger lists Carl Crawford as the third best outfielder in baseball. [Dionne’s Dugout]
• Rays Anatomy excerpted an interview with Jim Callis in which he covers the Rays farm system in depth. The most telling point is the prediction that David Price will be in the majors by September at the latest. [Rays Anatomy]

[NEW STADIUM] $60 Million Is Chump-Change To Team Like The Tampa Bay Rays

On the same day that we reported that 11 Pinellas County lawmakers would not endorse a bill that would have given the Rays a tax rebate of $60 million over the next 30 years, the Rays announced that they would no longer seek the tax rebate from the state.

Team senior vice president Michael Kalt said the decision does not affect the team’s stadium proposal or timetable…”We said from the beginning that we don’t see (the state money) as crucial…We’re not in the business of pushing things through that we think are unrealistic.”…Kalt said it’s unclear whether the stadium would have to be redesigned to accommodate for the loss of state funding.

To kill the metaphor that we began yesterday, this is the equivalent of being told by your parents that you can’t have an XBox and then shouting that it doesn’t matter, you never wanted one anyway.

Some suggestions for changes in the proposed stadium to account for the loss of $60 million in state subsidies…

• New stadium no longer needs to include a day care center for Elijah Duke’s children
• Make stadium smaller and decrease capacity to 9,000. Nobody wants Yankees and Red Sox fans there anyway.
• Bullpen by committee…Committee of fans. Hold raffle every night for the fans with the winner being the first relief pitcher out of the ‘pen. Make money…and improve the pitching staff.
• Trade Rocco Baldelli. Would mean fewer trainers on payroll and smaller trainers room needed in new stadium.

Rays abandon quest for state stadium subsidy [TampaBay.com]

[NEW STADIUM] Tampa Bay Rays Encounter First Roadblock In Pursuit Of New Stadium

When the Tampa Bay Rays unveiled their plan for a $450 million open-air stadium along the downtown St. Pete waterfront, the plan included a $60 million state subsidy. The $60 million would come as a tax rebate of $2 million per year for 30 years. In order to push the rebate through the state legislature, the Rays need two local lawmakers to sponser the proposal. If a recent survey of Pinellas County lawmakers is any indication, the Rays better start working on Plan B.

The overwhelming majority of the Rays’ hometown lawmakers – the 12 members of the Pinellas County delegation that would be most likely to push the team’s interest – sound unwilling or uninterested in aiding the Rays when contacted by the St. Petersburg Times this week…Of the 11 members the Times reached, none said they were likely to sponsor a subsidy bll for the Rays. Most, in fact, said they were hesitant to support the subsidy even if it was sponsored by someone else. “Put me down as a no,” state Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Treasure Island. “Not a maybe. A no.”

It’s as if the Rays have 12 parents and so far 11 of them have either said “No” or “Go ask your mother”. The Rays claim that they will still proceed with the new stadium proposal even if they fail to secure the $60 million subsidy. This should come as no surprise to baseball fans as the Rays clearly have money burning holes in their pockets.

Delegation uninterested in Rays’ wish [St. Pete Times]

[THE HANGOVER] One More Time…Scott Kazmir Is Not Going Anywhere…For Now

Tampa Bay Rays (38 days until pitchers and catchers report)
Will everybody please shut the hell up about Scott Kazmir? This has been going on all off-season and it is approaching ludicrous levels. The original source for all the stories and speculation was a New York Post article written by the idiot Joel Sherman. Here is the original line…

An executive familiar with Tampa’s thinking said if the offers for Santana grow to a substantial level, then the Rays would test to see what they could get for Scott Kazmir.

“An executive familiar with Tampa’s thinking…” His source was not even a Rays’ executive. Hell it may not have even been a baseball executive. He might have talked to the executive at his morning coffee shop.

Now we have been inundated with dozens of stories and blog posts speculating that the Rays will trade Kazmir because he has not signed a long-term contract and does not seem to have any interest in doing so.

SO WHAT?!?!

He is still three years from free agency. Three friggin’ years! 2008 marks Kid K’s first year of arbitration eligibility. Our best guess has Kazmir and the Rays agreeing to a one-year deal somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 million. If Scott Kazmir was a free agent pitcher today and he approached the Rays and said he would sign with Tampa Bay for one year at $4 million, the Rays would throw a party. Kazmir is going to pitch for the Rays in 2008. He is going to pitch for the Rays in 2009 and there is at least a 50/50 chance he pitches for the Rays in 2010.

If and when the Rays decide to move Kid K, it will not happen until after the 2009 season at the earliest. Why do it before then? There really is no incentive.

And so what if there is a chance the Rays trade Kazmir after the 2009 season? We have absolutely ZERO idea what the Rays’ rotation will look like entering the 2010 season. What if David Price, Wade Davis and Jake McGee are all fullfilling their promised careers and two have already joined James the Greater, Matt Garza and Kid K in the rotation? If the Rays have five young and talented starting pitchers at the major league level, and Kazmir is entering the final year before free agency the Rays better trade Kazmir. They would be stupid not to.

That’s right. We said it. And we will repeat it now for the cheap seats. If the Rays rotation entering 2010 is some combination of Kazmir, Shields, Price, Davis, Garza and McGee and all look to be above-average starting pitchers and the Rays have failed to lock Kazmir into a long-term deal…THE RAYS BETTER TRADE KAZMIR. And they will. Make no doubt about it. It is the smart move.

And if Kazmir continues to develop at his current pace, the Rays would be fools not to trade him. While he is not Johan Santana, look at the packages that are being offered for his services. Even if a proposed trade was slightly less than one of the Santana packages, it would still be a sweet bounty that would include 3-4 top prospects/young major leaguers. Add that group to Shields/Price/McGee/Davis/Garza/Upton/Longoria and the Rays will continue to have a very strong core of young players.

Kid K is the type of player that we covet. We may not get his peak years but we will get at least 5 seasons of top-level pitching and then he is moved for a number of pieces that will replenish the cupboards. Kid K is the type of player that keeps a team like the Rays competitive over the long-term.

As Rays fans we cannot be afraid to lose a player like Scott Kazmir. As a small-market franchise, the Rays cannot be afraid to trade a player like Scott Kazmir.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• The Rays have signed former Devil Rays catcher Mike DiFelice to a minor league contract. He will be invited to spring training with an opportunity to make the squad as the backup catcher. With the other option being Shawn Riggans, we give Difelice the edge, unless another catcher is signed. [TampaBay.com]
• Each week until the opening of Spring Training, Bill Chastain will preview a different position for the Tampa Bay Rays. The first week is catcher and a close look at Dioner Navarro. According to Joe Maddon, the team is not concerned with Navi’s bat, but are more worried about his development defensively. His throwing is above-average, but the team needs improvements in other aspects of his game. [DevilRays.com]

“He really came on offensively,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “But the quantum leap we want to see is defensively calling a game…”He does a pretty good job of blocking pitches. We like to see him receive balls on the corner better than he has in the past. Taking charge of the staff, communication wise, we have a ways to go. … It’s vital to the development of [Scott] Kazmir, [James] Shields, [Matt] Garza, [Edwin] Jackson, etc…We do lack experience (at catcher). No question. We have to accelerate the learning curve behind the plate. We talk a lot about it and we’re trying to address it.”

• Joe Maddon has placed on emphasis on making sure that Dioner Navarro arrives to Spring Training in shape and ready to take on a leadership role with the Rays. [TampaBay.com]

Maddon said he was in contact with Navarro this week, and he has been working out at the Naimoli complex trying to get into better shape for spring training. Last spring Navarro struggled as Maddon called the starting job open….”I really got a sense of urgency from him,” Maddon said. “I would be very surprised if he didn’t come into camp in much better shape and ready to play. I know he’s not going to forget what happened last spring, also because I’m not going to let him.

• Dayn Perry, of Fox Sports, who we have been very critical of in the past, has a feature story predicting a bright future for the Rays. [FoxSports.com]
• With Baseball America set to unveil their list of the Rays’ top 10 prospects and best tools list, Future Considerations makes their predictions for which Rays farm hands will be named in the “Best Tools” categories. We don’t see much to argue with, although we are not sure we would name Evan Longoria “Best Power Hitter and “Best Average Hitter”. Rhyne Hughes or John Jaso for “Best Average Hitter”? [Future Considerations]
• RotoAuthority lists the top 25 catchers. Not a single Dioner Navarro among the bunch. [RotoAuthority]
• Did Carl Crawford ruin the career of Matt Clement? [The Dugout]
• Michael Kalt, the Rays Vice President of Development, has been named by the St. Pete Times as one of “10 People to watch in 2008”. He is the man behind the plan to bring a new stadium to the St. Pete waterfront. [TampaBay.com]

After helping parlay other people’s needs and money into new homes for the Yankees and Mets in New York, Kalt cobbled a plan that would raise most of the cash to build a new $450-million stadium in downtown St. Petersburg by selling publicly owned Tropicana Field as site for a $600-million-plus mixed-use project.

• The Rays signed Andy Cannizaro and outfielder John Rodriguez to minor-league contracts. Both players will be invited to Spring Training with a shot at making the 25-man roster. Neither will. Rodriguez would have to beat out Jonny Gomes for the fourth outfielder spot. And even if Gomes is traded, there is still Justin Ruggiano. Cannizaro has a slightly better shot as the only real competition for utility infielder at this point appears to be Ben Zobrist, but as a switch-hitter, Benny Boo Boo has a strong advantage as the only available left-handed bat off the bench at this point. [TampaBay.com]
• Beyond the Boxscore interviewed Paul DePodesta. Why are we including this in the “Webtopia”? Because DePodesta confirms something we have been screaming at the top of our lungs ever since we read Moneyball…That is, a “Moneyball” player has NOTHING to do with a good OBP. It has everything to do with finding a player that is undervalued. Nothing more. Nothing less. At the time Moneyball was written, players with a strong OBP were undervalued. Nowadays, strong OBPs are on everybody’s radar so they are no longer undervalued. [Beyond the Boxscore]
• Reid Brignac has a rooting interest in tonight’s BCS Championship game between Ohio State and LSU. Probably don’t have to tell you which team The Cajun God of Baseball will be cheering for. [Stacy Long’s Riverwalk Talk]
• The Rays will discuss their stadium proposal with members of the Downtown Neighborhood Association at 7 pm on Thursday at the Sunshine Center. [TampaBay.com]
• On Wednesday, The Rays will hold a meeting open to the public to discuss the new stadium. The meeting will be held at Tropicana Field at 6pm. City officials are requesting RSVPs but will not turn anybody away. [TampaBay.com]

[NEW STADIUM] Carlos Moncada Does Not Know The Difference Between Apples And Oranges

The biggest point of concern with the new stadium proposed by the Tampa Bay Rays (outside of financing) is the parking, or lack there of, along the St. Pete Waterfront. Carlos Moncada of the Herald-Tribune tries to give his readers a glimpse of the problem by comparing the parking situation for a typical Rays game with the parking situation seen in downtown St. Pete during the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

For a peek at how a waterfront Rays stadium might steer summer traffic and parking downtown, plan to attend the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in April…Tens of thousands of people converge on the same spot at the same time…For one weekend, downtown becomes an array of barricaded streets, uniformed police directing traffic and electronic message boards to accommodate more than 40,000 race-day spectators. That compares to 34,000 people if a new, open-air Rays stadium fills up.

There is only one problem with this comparison…The Tampa Bay Rays will play more than one home game over the course of a single season. In fact, the Rays will play at least 81 home games in any given season. Carlos Moncada would like you to think that the parking situation with the Rays home games would be 81 times worse than that of the Grand Prix. In actuality, the problem will be much less because the Rays will play 81 home games.

When confronted with a single-day event such as the Grand Prix, the city of St. Pete and the local businesses make the necessary adjustments to accommodate the fans for that one day. For something that will become a regular feature of the downtown area, changes will be made. Permanent changes. While we can only speculate what those changes will be, we can assume that the city will make structural as well as public transportation changes. We assume that local landowners and businessmen will see the financial benefit to building parking garages and offering other services in the downtown area to accommodate Rays fans. A financial windfall that would not have been realized if the only big downtown event was the Grand Prix occurring on one day a year.

In fact, the new stadium along the St. Pete waterfront will be home to much more than the 81 scheduled home game of the Tampa Bay Rays. The ballpark is also likely to be home to other events such as concerts and other sporting events.

There may be problems with the new stadium proposal, but a lack of parking is not one. Necessity is the mother of invention. If there is a niche that needs to be filled…In this case parking for events at the new stadium…You can be sure that there will be people that will step in to fill that niche, with their eye on the prize. And of course, by “prize” we really mean “profit”.

Parking for proposed Rays stadium an issue [Herald-Tribune]