[THE HANGOVER] Michael Barrett Is No Longer A Free Agent

Tampa Bay Rays (66-96)
The Rays are in the market for a veteran catcher to backup or split time with Dioner Navarro. One possible target that was mentioned in numerous circles is Michael Barrett of the Padres, a free agent. At the end of last week, Barrett decided to accept arbitration from the Padres and is now no longer a free agent. However, this does not necessarily mean that Barrett will not be on the Rays roster in 2008. In fact, this might have improved the chances.

For those not familiar with the process, the top free agents at each position are given a label of either a “Type A” or “Type B” free agent. If a team signs one of these free agents, they must forfeit either a first or second round pick in the next amateur draft. The top 15 picks are protected, so in the case of the Rays they would forfeit a second round pick in either case. In order for the former team to receive this compensation draft pick, they have to offer the free agent the option of arbitration. Of course, the risk to the team is that they are forced to keep a player they no longer want.

Barrett was a Type A free agent and losing a top draft pick may have been hurting his stance among potential suitors in the free agent market. Therefore, Barrett accepted the arbitration offer from the Padres. He now remains their property for one year. Most likely, the Padres will now trade Barrett, and the cost could be less than the second-round pick the Rays would have originally needed to give up. If a team trades for Barrett’s rights, they will have to go to arbitration or negotiate a long-term deal.

Last week we speculated that surrendering a second-round pick, was too high a price for a back-up catcher, and that in the end the Rays would pass on Barrett. The Rays recent second round picks have included Will Kline, Josh Butler, Chris Mason, Reid Brignac and James Houser. Now that the cost of Barrett will likely be a mid-level prospect, the chances of the Rays signing him may have improved. On the other hand, the number of teams that would be interested in Barrett may have gone up, especially from teams that would have had to originally surrender a first-round selection for the catcher.

Barrett accepts arbitration with the Padres [MLB]
The Professor’s Take On “Jake’s Take On The Winter Meetings” [Rays Index]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• DRays Bay has landed an interview with the Rays’ Vice President of Branding and Fan Experience. We would tell you the guy’s name, but we already forgot. So, if you ever cared about who’s came up with the idea for the “Rays Tank” in center field, or why the concession stands sell Yankees and Red Sox ice cream cups (they don’t anymore) then click the link. [DRays Bay]
• The City of St. Petersburg has set a deadline of May 1 to pick a contractor for the redevelopment of the Tropicana Field site. [Florida Times-Union]
• In one recent “Power Rankings”, the Rays were no longer the only worst team in the league. In fact they are tied with the other 29 teams for 30th. [Bugs & Cranks]
• A sarcastic look at the new stadium proposed by the Tampa Bay Rays. [St. Pete Times]

One complaint has been that the team should be named “St. Petersburg Rays” instead of “Tampa Bay Rays”. This is a short-sighted viewpoint indeed. Most people associate St. Petersburg with a city in Russia that is very cold and undesirable in the winter. Why not be creative — St. Petersburg is the city of the Rays and it should be renamed Tampa Bay Rays City. I’m sure the Rays owners would agree to this.

• Evan Meek, formerly of the Rays, was not shy about showing his excitement about be drafted last week in the Rule 5 Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. [Post-Gazette]

[THE HANGOVER] The Rays Officially Unveil Plans For New Stadium On St. Pete Waterfront

Devil Rays (66-96)
The Rays officially unveiled the plans for a new stadium on the St. Petersburg waterfront as well as the reconstruction of the Tropicana Field site. The St. Pete Times has an image gallery of what can be expected.

Most of the details have already been released, but some of the biggest remaining questions, concerning financing of the new ballpark, were addressed by Stuart Sternberg. While the plan does call for $60 million in revenue from the state as a result of the redevelopment of the Tropicana Field site, Sternberg emphasized that there would be no new taxes and any costs that are accrued over the $450 million proposal would be paid for by the team.

Rays unveil dramatic ballpark vision [tampabay.com]
Vision of a new ballpark [St. Pete Times]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Four our take on the Delmon Young for Matt Garza trade, CLICK HERE.
• Next November, St. Pete residents may be asked to vote on a referendum to help fund a new stadium for the Rays. How the Rays perform on the field in 2008 could go a long way to determining the result of that vote. Therefore, expect the Rays to be more aggressive this off-season, than they have been the past couple of years. [TBO]

“In baseball operations, we’re trying very hard to insulate ourselves from [the Stadium referendum] ,” Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said Tuesday. “They’re very independent events, and it’s premature to factor that in at all into our line of thinking. Obviously if it gets approved it will at some point start to factor into our thought process, but how so and how much is yet to be determined. We feel a tremendous amount of pressure to improve this team independent of any outside factors, so that’s what we’re focused on doing.”

• The St. Pete Times has a FAQ regarding the new stadium proposal. [tampabay.com]
• A baseball website cannot have a regular feature called “Great Moments in Fleece History” and not include the Scott Kazmir trade from the Mets. And by the way, we are glad to see that the Kazmir trade helped the 2008 Mets win the World Series this season as so many Mets kept reminding us during the regular season. [MLB Fleece Factor]
• With the Baseball Winter Meetings just around the corner, Bill Chastain gives us a rundown of the Rays needs and wants. [Devil Rays]
• Brian Stokes tenure with the Rays is now officially over. Stokes was Designated For Assignment last week when the Rays tweaked the 40-man roster. Yesterday he was acquired by the Mets for cash. [Yahoo! Sports]

[THE HANGOVER] Evan Longoria And Justin Ruggiano Key Players In Team USA World Cup Title

Team USA 6, Cuba 3.
Team USA won all three games over the weekend including a 6-3 victory over Cuba on Sunday in the final to win the 2007 World Cup. Both Evan Longoria and Justin Ruggiano contributed in the final, with Longoria going 2-5 with 2 runs scored and Ruggiano had 3 hits in 4 at bats with an RBI single and a run scored. Ruggiano added a stolen base.

Team USA finished 9-1 in the tournament. Longoria was 11-38 (.289), with 3 doubles, a triple, a home run and 5 RBI. Ruggiano was 10-30 (.333) and 8 RBI. He tied Andy LaRoche with a team best 3 home runs.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Can we please ease up on the talk about Barry Bonds playing for the Rays? Let’s say for a moment that the Rays could sign Bonds for a reasonably cheap price…and let’s say for a moment that at 44 years old he can still hit 30 home runs and post a .450 OBP…and let’s say he does not get suspended or spend any time in jail…there is still ZERO chance the Rays will sign Bonds. Yes, he might still be effective and yes he would help increase attendance, but if there is one thing we can all agree on about the Tampa Bay Rays front office…it is that they are very image conscious. This is a team that just became the first team since the Houston Colt .45s to change their name without moving because some people react “negatively” to the term “devil”. And some people still think that it is possible for the Rays to sign a player that is A) a cheater; B) under indictment for perjury; C) universally hated by baseball fans. Let us put it this way. The Rays would not sign Barry Bonds even if he came to the Rays with a blank contract ala Andre Dawson to the Cubs in 1987. [DRays Bay]
• We still think the Rays hope that Juan Salas steps up and claims the closer role in the near future, but TBSF says that the closer-in-waiting might be Calvin Medlock. [Tampa Bay Sports Fanatic]
• The St. Pete Times has generated an artists rendering of what the Tampa Bay Rays proposed stadium might look like. [TampaBay.com]
• Tampa Bay’s 10 obtained documents that detailed discussion the Rays have had with the city of St. Pete in regards to the proposed new stadium on the site of Al Lang Field. They show that the city has (not surprisingly) expressed concerns over the financing of the new stadium. [TampaBays10]

While the Rays paint a rosy picture about moving from Tropicana Field to Al Lang stadium in downtown, the city says there are many uncertainties including the recent Florida Supreme Court decision about using what’s called tax increment funding to finance the facility.

St. Petersburg is also worried about the uncertainty of the statewide tax referendum that could reduce the available tax dollars to the city as well as the need to maximize retail space at the current Tropicana site.

Tthere is uncertainty about traffic circulation, parking and other impacts at the new downtown site. The city is also concerned about financial terms that will be acceptable to everyone.

• The Tampa Bay Rays believe that a new stadium could generate $1 billion in new revenue for the city of St. Pete, along with 2,500 new permanent jobs and 14,000 temporary jobs. [MLB News Blog]
• The Rays sent new personalized jerseys to several legislators, but claim they were not intended to sway their vote on a stadium subsidy. [tampabay.com]

“It’s the $60-million jersey,” joked Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, who got one in the mail Friday.

• Joe Maddon thinks that several voters did not vote for Delmon Young on their Rookie of the Year ballots because of his reputation and personal prejudice. Young finished second in the voting and received three first place votes, but eight voters did not include Young in their top 3. [tampabay.com]

“It’s really disturbing,” Maddon said Friday. “I can see him not winning the award, but leaving him off eight ballots is just a sign of personal prejudice.”

• Of course, it may have been because Delmon Young posted the lowest OPS (.724) for any right fielder in baseball in 2007. [Recondite Baseball]

[THE HANGOVER] There Are No Carl Crawford Rumors To Deny

Team USA 4, South Africa 2.
Evan Longoria went 1-4 with a triple and Justin Ruggiano went 0-4 as Team USA moved to 5-1 and clinched a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals. They have one final game in the preliminary round versus Taipei with the quarterfinals set to played on Friday with the opponent yet to be determined. Longoria was the team’s DH while Andy LaRoche played third base.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Baseball Musings took a look at the “Probabilistic Model of Range” for centerfielders in 2007 and the Devil Rays centerfielders finished next to last, ahead of only the Brewers. The number must be taken with a grain of salt. When we look at Range Factor, BJ Upton was above the league average of 2.71 with a 2.91. On the other hand, Elijah Dukes and Delmon Young, who had the next two most innings played in center field were both well below the league average with a 2.30, which likely brought the Rays overall Range value down. Rocco Baldelli only played 20 games in center, but came in with a 3.61 range factor. [Baseball Musings]
• Four of the 12 players named to the Topps Double-A All-Star team are Devil Rays farmhands. The list includes Evan Longoria, John Jaso, Chris Mason and Dale Thayer. [The Raw Feed]
• More hardware for Carlos Pena. This time it is the fictional 2007 Andre Dawson Award, presented to the best player on a last place team. No word on what exactly the trophy looks like, but we are guessing it is a hawk with bad knees. Pena is the second Devil Ray to win the award. Fred McGriff won the award in 1999. [Home Run Derby]
• The Cubs are trying to put together a package to land Carl Crawford. No word on whether or not discussions have already occurred. [Herald-News]
• According to team officials, there are no deals being worked on that involve Carl Crawford. The denial is interesting and possibly unnecessary as we haven’t actually heard any rumors involving CC. All we have seen and read is that other teams are targeting CC. But who wouldn’t want CC on their team? [Bradenton Herald]
• Al Reyes and Greg Norton both filed for free agency. The Rays still have until tomorrow to pick up options on both players. Reyes’ option will be picked up. Norton is likely to be granted free agency. [TBO]
• The Rays are one of 10 teams interested in signing Troy Percival. While Marc Lancaster sites Percival’s close relationship with Joe Maddon as a reason the Rays may have an edge, it didn’t seem to help last year when he ultimately signed with the Cardinals, so we are not sure why it would help this time around, except to add another team to the bidding process and ultimately raise the price. [TBO]
• In the end, we were a little high with the target dollar amount, but as we predicted, the Yankees went to four years on their contract offer to Jorge Posada and the catcher decided to not even test the free agent waters. The Yankees re-signed Posada for 4 years and $52.4 million. The Yankees will have to pay the devil on the back end of the deal, but that is the advantage they have. They will be able to swallow that cost when Posada is a 40-year old part-time DH. The Rays are in no financial position to assume such a cost. [TBO]
• Redeveloping Tropicana Field and the land on which it rests is key to the Rays moving to the St. Pete Waterfront in 2012. According to Aaron Sharockman this will not be a problem as land developers are already drooling over the prospect of building a residential and office space development on the 70 acre lot that is close to the interstate. [St. Pete Times]

Transforming the Tropicana site is “the kind of thing you dream about,” said Craig Sher, the chief executive of the Sembler Co., which developed BayWalk in St. Petersburg and Centro Ybor in Tampa.

“There’s a real potential to build a really neat mixed-use project, residential and office,” Sher said. “There’s just not a lot of land left in St. Pete. Any time you get a critical mass of land, you can get something spectacular. Hopefully, we’d be on somebody’s list of people to call.”

• Now that the Devil Rays have changed their name to “Rays”, has the team automatically eliminated itself as a potential destination for a small segment of players? Would Ray Durham have ever signed with the Tampa Bay Rays? Not likely. [Home Run Derby]

NEW STADIUM The Tampa Bay Rays Distract Fans With Plans For New Stadium

[Ed. Note: We are reposting this from Saturday because we know nobody reads the internet on the weekend]

On Thursday the Tampa Bay Devil Rays unveiled their new uniforms and logos and officially announced that they would be changing their name to the “Tampa Bay Rays”. Knowing that these moves would anger a large percentage of the team’s current fans, the front office decided that Friday would be a good time to distract the fan base with a real big cookie. A cookie big enough to seat 35,000.

On Friday, the Rays leaked to the press, plans to build a 35,000 seat-open-air baseball stadium to be built along the bay at the current site of Al Lang Field (AKA Prospect Energy Park).

The Tampa Bay Rays have developed a bold plan to build a $450-million downtown stadium that would give fans waterfront views and protection from rain…The stadium, to be built on the site of Al Lang Field, would seat about 35,000 and could open as early as 2012. Hitters there would have a chance to send the ball into the bay…Financing is still being worked out, but a primary source would be proceeds of the sale of the Tropicana Field site to a developer who would build a large retail/residential complex there. The Rays also would make a contribution, perhaps as much as $150-million, covering one-third of the cost…The team also would seek legislative approval for $60-million of state money in future sales tax revenue from food, beer and merchandise sales in the new park.

The idea of the Rays playing in an open-air stadium that overlooks the bay makes us giddy as a school girl. The innovative idea of using two sail-like structures to cover the field in the event of rain, is such a simple and obvious idea, it can only be described as brilliant considering nobody had thought of it before. Our only question (besides wondering how plausible the funding scenario is) is how will the new stadium fit in the proposed location.

Based on the description of the stadium, home runs over the right-field fence would have a chance of landing in the bay, and left field would sit above the current parking lot on the north side of Al Lang Field. The problem with this scenario is that even a small minor league park such as Al Lang Field would not fit in the space provided between Bayshore Dr. and 1st St.

We decided to see exactly how a new stadium would fit into the allocated space.

Here is an aerial view of Al Lang Stadium…

As can be seen from the aerial view, Bayshore Dr (to the east) and 1st St. (to the west) draw closer together traveling north past the stadium. Even Al Lang Stadium would not fit between those two streets if it were shifted even slightly to the North.

Based on the description of the proposed stadium (35,000 seats, open air), the closest approximation we could come up with was the new PNC Park in Pittsburgh which seats 38,500. In fact, PNC Park works well, because the right field wall runs parallel to the river in Pittsburgh.

We took an outline of PNC Park, drew it to scale and overlayed it on the above image.

If the new park is rotated and shifted, so that right field is along the water and left field is over the current parking lot, the stadium would need to be pushed out over the water, so as to avoid disrupting 1st street. Doing so, would require the city to shut down Bayshore Dr. In fact, part of the bay would have to be filled in to accommodate the new stadium.

Here is an idea of what a new stadium would look like from an aerial view, using PNC Park as a reference.

Is it possible that the Tampa Bay Rays could be playing in a new open-air stadium as early as 2012? We are not getting our hopes up yet, as team and city officials still have a lot of hoops to jump through. And we are still not absolutely certain a new stadium would fit in the proposed location, but if the goal of the team was to divert the attention of their fans…it worked. We barely remember that Kevin Costner has made a lot of bad movies.

Rays on the bay? [TampaBay.com]
For Better Or Worse, The New Uniforms Are Now Official [Rays Index]