STIRRUPS IN ’08

The Campaign To Put The 2008 Tampa Bay Rays In Stirrups

Baseball is a sport built on its history. The great teams in baseball can look back and talk about players like Babe Ruth and Ted Williams and Ty Cobb and Sandy Koufax and Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron. Fans of those teams can talk about the “Shot Heard ‘Round The World” or The Big Red Machine or the GasHouse Gang or Kirk Gibson off of Eck or Bill Buckner.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays history consists of exactly 10 losing seasons, A swan song from Wade Boggs, some terrible free agent signings and some of the worst uniforms in the history of baseball.

Thankfully, the Rainbow Warriors are a distant memory and we have been treated to a much classier set of uniforms for the last few years. But the days are numbered for the green and grey, as only 10 games remain in the 2007 season. In 2008 the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will officially change their name to the Tampa Bay Rays and their colors will change to Navy, Yellow and Light Blue.

Paul Lukas of Uniwatch has seen the new unis and calls them “a total snooze — not wonderful, not awful, just booooooring“. Of course that report scares us a little bit as our only complaint about the current set was the green jersey.

One reason to allow Paul Lukas to see the uniforms so far in advance of the public unveiling (Nov. 11), may be to gauge public reaction.

So we will take this opportunity to call for a minor aesthetic change.

ADD STIRRUPS TO THE NEW UNIFORMS!

This is an opportunity for the Tampa Bay Rays to add a bit of class to the uniform. To add a bit of nostalgia to a franchise that has no history of its own.

Few things say “baseball” more than stirrups. And not just plain Navy stirrups. Why not throw some stripes in there. Maybe Navy stirrups with three stripes towards the top in a yellow-white-yellow pattern?

If you would like to see the Devil Rays include stirrups with the new uniforms, please support our campaign by sending the letter below to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Just copy the letter and paste it in the main section of THIS PAGE, with “Stirrups in ’08” in the subject line.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Tropicana Field
One Tropicana Drive
St. Petersburg, FL 33705

Re: Stirrups in ’08

To Whom It May Concern:

It has now been confirmed that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will change their name to the “Tampa Bay Rays” and that the new uniforms will be Navy, Yellow and Light Blue.

I am writing to ask that the team please consider including striped stirrups as part of the new uniforms. Stirrups have long been a part of the baseball uniform and they have fallen out of favor in recent years as longer pants and solid sanitaries have become more popular.

It is my hope that the Devil Rays would consider adding striped stirrups to the new uniforms and at the same time add a nostalgic piece of baseball to a team that lacks a history of its own

Sincerely,

Consistently inconsistent [Uniwatch]

Tampa Bay Devil Rays New Name And Colors Have Been Confirmed

Paul Lukas of the highly recommended Uniwatch reported today that he has seen Tampa Bay Devil Rays new uniforms and has confirmed what many people suspected.

The franchise will drop “Devil” and will be known as the Rays and the new team colors will be Navy, Yellow and Light Blue. While he is unable to show us the uniforms or give any further details, he describes them as a step-down from the current unis.

I have seen the new Devil Rays uniforms. Can’t show them to you, but I can confirm what’s been reported (the team is now just the Rays) and what’s been rumored (the new colors are navy, yellow, and light blue). As for the design, it’s a total snooze — not wonderful, not awful, just booooooring. I already miss the current design, which I think has been badly underrated (esp. the home set).

We are looking forward to the new design , but we have to agree with Mr. Lukas. We have always loved the Rays’ grey jerseys as well as the white uniforms. But we have never been able to stomach the green jerseys.

The new uniforms will be officially unveiled on November 11.

Consistently Inconsistent [Uniwatch]
Rays hoping pen upgrade trickles down [tampabay.com]

The Hangover: Joel Guzman Does Not Homer Or Strikeout. We Are Confused

Devil Rays 4, Indians 3 (12 innings).

PLAYING A LIL’ PEPPER WITH THE RAYS (random thoughts on yesterday’s game)…

Joel Guzman hits singles? When did that start happening?

How many people watched the game-winning hit and thought there was no way Jonny Gomes was going to score. We still aren’t sure how he managed to cross the plate after Guzman hit the ground ball up the middle and Gomes’ first move was to start running back to second base.

We have talked a lot recently about the horrible Rays defense. In the 10th inning we saw a perfect example of how bad the defense can be without committing an error. With a runner on first base and 1 out, Trot Nixon is facing Al Reyes with the score tied 2-2. Reyes is not a hard thrower, so a lefty is more likely to pull the ball through the hole on the right side, so Brendan Harris was cheating a little in the direction. Nixon hit a routine ground ball to Harris’ right. Harris basically took one step and then fell down in what we can only assume was an attempt to dive for the ball. It should have been a tailor-made double play. Rather, it was now first and third with 1 out. Harris not only showed perhaps the worst range ever for a second baseman, but he also showed a lack of natural baseball instincts. While he needs to cheat a little towards the hole with Reyes on the mound, he should have noticed that Dioner Navarro had set up about six inches off the plate, away, from the batter. Even at 87 mph, there is no way Nixon is pulling that ball. Harris should have been leaning up the middle before the pitch was even thrown.

We know this is unlikely, but it was hard not to watch the game yesterday and wonder what if Joel Guzman could hit well enough to be a major leaguer and play defense well enough to be a 6’6″ shortstop? It would settle a lot of issues with the Devil Rays lineup in 2008 and beyond. Evan Longoria at third, Goose at short, Iwamura at second, Upton in center. Rocco in another uniform after being flipped for a middle of the rotation starter, and Brendan Harris as the utility infielder. Not a bad lineup…Not bad at all.

It is fun watching BJ Upton in center field, and it looks like BJ Upton is having fun playing center field. He must be kicking himself for being so stubborn about switching positions the last two years. He is basically Alfonso Soriano with a better glove.

James Shields needs a nickname. The problem is he is almost boring on the mound. But that is a good thing. He is a professional. Yesterday, he walked the first batter of the game, and Shields actually showed a little emotion, that we don’t recall ever seeing from him before. He was right to be upset. That walk led to a run, but he settled down and did not walk another batter.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Ben Zobrist was placed on the DL with a strained oblique. Joel Guzman was called up from Durham to take Zobrist’s spot in the roster. [tampabay.com]
• Joel Guzman could see playing time at all four infield positions. [TBO]
• Some guy named Rocco Baldelli will begin a rehab assignment this week with the Vero Beach Devil Rays. We vaguely remember hearing about this kid. Supposed to be pretty good, but something happened to him…He will play four games this week, and will play a grand total of three innings in center field. The rest of the time will be served as a DH. [Devil Rays]
• Joe Henderson believes that bringing Joe Maddon is the right move. [TBO]
• Manny Stiles is back on the radar and he has set out to debunk 12 myths about the Devil Rays, including “Tropicana Field is horrible”, “Joe Maddon isn’t a good manager” and “The Devil Rays are the worst team in baseball.” We agree with most of Manny’s points, but know that the argument will fall on deaf ears to most. [Armchair GM]
• We are big fans of Paul Lukas of ESPN and UniWatchBlog. In his most recent ESPN column, Lukas tackles uniform prototypes for professional teams that never made it onto the field or the court. Two of the local teams were mentioned in the article. First, we are all familiar with and likely scarred by the Devil Rays Rainbow Warriors uniforms. And most probably remember the hideous patch that adorned the sleeves in the inaugural season as seen HERE. Apparently that trumped a patch that as produced, but never used, which would have been easier on the eyes, as seen HERE. Lukas also points us to some prototype helmets that the Buccaneers toyed with before settling on their current design. This reminds us too much of the Tampa Bay Bandits…The Black design is hideous…But we kinda like the white, that reminds us of the South Carolina Gamecocks helmets. And apparently distance does make the heart grow fonder, because sometimes we do miss Bucco Bruce. [ESPN]

[THE HANGOVER] Jae Seo Reaffirms His Position As Worst Pitcher In Baseball

Orioles 8, Devil Rays 3.
The headline at DevilRays.com reads “Seo shaky in loss”. Shaky? 6 innings with 9 hits and 3 runs is shaky. Seo was awful. The headline in the Tampa Tribune reads “Seo Takes Step Back“. A step back? From what? From his last start, when he only gave up 2 runs in 6 innings? This was not a step back. Last night was the true Jae Seo. The last start was the aberration, not this one. He has now given up at least 5 runs in 5 of his 7 starts. Yesterday Gary Shelton of the St. Pete Times told us we need to be patient. He pointed to Seo’s last start as an indication that he is getting things together and that he will be fine. HE’S NOT FINE! AND QUITE FRANKLY WE ARE GETTING SICK OF IT. HE STINKS. Why is he is still in the rotation? For what purpose? Somebody please answer us that. We are begging to know. There must be something that Joe Maddon and Andrew Friedman see.

How bad has Jae Seo been? Just so you don’t think we are ranting about a couple of starts, let’s take a look at his numbers. There are 145 pitchers in baseball that have thrown at least 20 innings this season, let’s see where Seo ranks in some very telling statistical categories…

Statistic	Jae Seo	Rank (out of 145)
ERA	8.82	144
Hits	56	T144
H/9	15.17	145
Runs	37	145
K/9inn	4.41	122
HR	7	128
HR/9	1.32	131
WHIP	2.02	140
BAA	.384	145
OBPA	.430	144
SLGA	.596	145
VORP	-13.2	T144

How bad has Jae Seo been? THE WORST PITCHER IN BASEBALL. GET HIM OUT OF HERE. SEND HIM TO THE BULLPEN. SEND HIM TO THE MINORS. SEND HIM TO THE GOD DAMNED ALASKAN PIG FARMERS LEAGUE. We don’t care where, but get him out of the rotation. The 2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays could be a decent team, but they have zero chance of winning on nights Seo pitches, and we have had it. He is an automatic L.

Are Maddon and Friedman trying to give the guys at AAA more seasoning? JASON HAMMEL ALREADY HAS MAJOR LEAGUE EXPERIENCE. And he is dominating IL hitters. He couldn’t be any worse than Seo but at least their is hope and promise in his arm. GET HIM UP HERE. We know, we know. The most popular player on the team is always the backup quarterback. But this is not one start we are talking about. Maddon loves to talk about how well Seo pitched last year despite going 1-8 with the Rays. Maddon points to the lack of run support. LACK OF RUN SUPPORT? What does that matter if a pitcher’s ERA is 5.00? We are now two years removed since Seo was a decent pitcher. Believe us, we have no idea how Seo went 8-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 14 starts in 2005. BUT IT WAS 2005!

This is not only hard on the fanbase, but it must be hard on the rest of the team as well. How demoralizing must it be for a young player to know that the team is basically down 5-0 when the game starts. Maddon is trying to preach a team concept to the young players. Watch how quickly that goes out the window when players think there is ZERO CHANCE TO WIN.

Jae Seo….Jae Seo…Jae Seo…Where did that bottle of Jameson go?

[UPDATE: DevilRays.com has changed their title to “Seo struggles against Orioles”. That is the second time they have changed a title after we commented on it…hmmmm?]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• It must be hard when you find out one of your favorite players is busted for using steroids. We can only imagine how devastating it would have been if George Bell was caught after his 1987 MVP season. We would probably still be sitting in a corner rocking back and forth and mumbling “Why George? Why?”
• We knew that $28 million figure that the Yankees are paying Roger Clemens sounded familiar.
• We linked yesterday to the New York Times article on the Devil Rays. We read Stuart Sternberg’s quotes about the life expectancy of Tropicana Field and were not nearly as floored as many other people appear to be. So much fuss has been made that Sternberg needed to clarify his statements as some felt that he might be hinting at moving the franchise away from the Tampa-St. Pete area. In short, Sternberg said that the team will not be able to remain at the Trop through the conclusion of their current lease and that a new stadium will be needed and state and local funding is a must. However, he indicated that it is not a priority issue.

We’ll focus on it more as time goes by…Something of this magnitude, it really isn’t anything I’ve spent a lot of time on. I have thought about it. Nothing can be done overnight. It’s in the background. We know it’s there. We chat about it – how and what. — Stuart Sternberg

• Several of the Devil Rays reacted to the news of Juan Salas’ suspension. Basically, it is a lot of politically correct answers, but we have to wonder how many of the players are angry and if Salas will be welcome back in the clubhouse.
• Rocco Baldelli is 0 for his last 17.
• The pink bats are coming! Somebody queue Paul Lukas.
• Greg Norton missed his second straight rehab game with soreness in his knee.

The Hangover: Seth McClung No Lock To Be Closer

• Let’s just pretend that last night, and for that matter, the first week of Spring Training never happened.
• 101 Reasons the Rays could win the World Series this year. Also known as, 101 reasons that Man-Ray’s elevator is not reaching the top floor. We are particularly fond of #60. Yo Man-Ram. You are not the first to predict the Rays will win Series. Aaron Goldstein did it last year, and he was actually serious.
• Seth McClung was the Rays #2 starter last year at this time. This year he is the leading candidate to be closer, but Andrew Friedman says that is not guaranteed.
• Uniform expert Paul Lukas of Uniwatch likes the new jersey patch the Rays will be wearing this season in honor of ten seasons of…well we are not sure what exactly they honoring. Maybe it is a memorial patch?
• We have pretty much given up on ever seeing Josh Hamilton in a Rays uniform again, but until we see Josh on the Reds 25-man roster for game 162, we will hold out hope. Of all the potential twists to this story, our biggest fear is starting to happen. It is one thing for the Reds management to want Josh to make the team. At least then their decision is based on what they see. But now Josh is turning into the “feel-good story of the Spring“. Now the Reds fans and even baseball fans in general are rooting for him to make the team. That type of public pressure will almost assure Hamilton makes the Reds roster.
• Apparently the local media have all latched on to Shawn Riggans as the Rays 2007 version of the “feel good, rookie fighting for a spot” guy.
• Dioner Navarro will be out a week to 10 days. More time for the media to write feel-good stories about Shawn Riggans.
• Of course there is another point of view as presented by Steve Phillips, that the Josh Hamilton story send the wrong message to the Reds other prospects.
• Rays prospect Elliot Johnson once homered in four consecutive innings.
• Would a Rays basketball team win more games than the baseball team? With Seth McClung banging bodies in the low post, what could possibly go wrong?
• You get a ring if you win a Minor League Championship? Apparently the Montgomery Biscuits will.

More Evidence That The St. Pete Times Is The Rays Unofficial PR Firm

Yesterday we ran a post that questioned the integrity of the St. Pete Times (and to a lesser extent, the Tampa Tribune) when it comes to reporting on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. We are concerned about the new relationship with the Times being named “The Official Newspaper” of the Rays and the official presenter of the team’s website. One consequence that we foresaw was that the team would provide the Times with information that is unavailable to other media outlets.

You may have noticed a week or two ago that the St. Pete Times ran a story about the Rays changing their name following the 2007 season. The change is likely to also be accompanied by a change in the team colors. President Matt Silverman stated that the team would have a slight modification of the name, and the “speculation” was that the Devil Rays would just drop the “Devil” portion of the name and officially become the Tampa Bay Rays. We are not really sure why this all of the sudden garnered a lot of attention. Nothing official was presented in the article and proposed change is old news amongst anybody that even remotely follows the team. While the story may have been newsworthy in New York or Boston or nationally, it was a waste of space in the St. Pete Times. For all intents and purposes, the team has been the Tampa Bay Rays for a while. It say “Rays” across the front of the home uniform and despite the name of the team’s website, you will not see the word “Devil” anywhere.

Another move that was made at about the same time as the St. Pete Times article was the recent face-lift given to the team’s official website. The team’s trademark green color now has a minimal presence with two shades of blue becoming the dominant colors of the site. While blue is currently an official accent color of the team, the move was taken by many to mean the team will be switching to blue as the dominant color in 2008. Silverman has stated that the team is still deciding from among several new color schemes and that the changes to the website are not an indication that any official decision has been made.

Did the Times see the sites new colors and decide to run an article speculating on the new team name or was the timing purely coincidental? Considering the new relationship between the Rays and the St. Pete Times, it is hard to believe that the concurrence of the two events was a coincidence. More likely, the article and color changes occurred at the same time as part of a campaign to introduce the 2008 changes without making any official announcements, in case there was a backlash from the fans. The team may not have officially decided on a new name or a new set of colors, but the team will most likely drop “Devil” from the name and the new blue hues are most likely the Rays new colors (we have heard that yellow would be the accent color). The team is using the website much the same way they are using the St. Pete Times, as a way of gauging fan interest.

While these specific events may not have a negative effect on Rays fans, it does hint at behind-the-scenes manipulation of the media by the Rays front office. In the long run this type of relationship will not be good for the fans. We should be able to count on our local media to provide us with the news, whether it is good, bad or indifferent, and without influence or bias.

As for us? We have always liked the team’s (recent) uniforms (we like to pretend that the Rainbow Warriors uniforms never existed). But, the blue looks a lot better on everything else, like t-shirts, websites, tattoos, lingerie, etc. But in the end, it is not our opinion that matters, nor that of the St. Pete Times, or the fans in general. The only opinion that truly matters is that of Paul Lukas.