Bye Bye Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Hello Tampa Bay Rays!!!'

Will new threads for the Tampa Bay Rays=Better on Field Success? We will see in '08!!!!

New name & uniforms, but I still fear the Tampa Bay Rays will stil be crappy !!!!!

I mean, they have been bad in their first 10 years as the Seattle Mariners were in their first decade. They both had bad original owners** (though the Rays switched principal owners 2 years ago) and the play in crappy ballparks (thought Tropicana Field might be a tad better than the old Kingdome, but barely). Will the Rays ever become competitive ? ? ? ?


**-I think entertainer Danny Kaye was an original minority owner of the M's back in the day . . . No wonder why they got off to a bad start!!!!!!!!


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D-Rays drop Devil from name, now just Rays

Associated Press

Updated: November 8, 2007, 9:27 PM ET

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are gone.

Trying to reinvent itself, the perennial last-place team officially shortened its nickname to simply "Rays" during a celebration that brought a crowd of about 7,000 to a downtown park Thursday night.

New team colors and uniforms were also unveiled during a fashion show featuring current players, as well as manager Joe Maddon, senior advisor Don Zimmer and former Tampa Bay stars Wade Boggs and Fred McGriff as models.

Navy blue and light blue have replaced green and black as the primary colors. The club's new logo, as well as the home and road uniforms for next season, feature the word "Rays" in navy blue lettering with a light blue shadow.

Team officials and local fans have routinely referred to the club as "Rays" for much of the expansion team's existence, but it wasn't until Stuart Sternberg took over as principal owner two years ago that consideration as given an actual name change.

"I think this gives us as an organization an identity," Sternberg said, noting that many of the team's employees have joined the club since he took control from former managing general partner Vince Naimoli.

"We were tied to the past, and the past wasn't necessarily something we wanted to be known for. Nobody's running from it or hiding from it, and we're proud of certain aspects of it, but this is something the organization was able to really put their arms around. I hope and expect the fans who come out will see it as a new beginning," he said.

Sternberg said the team began with more than 1,000 suggestions for a new name and whittled the list down to about 80.

"Rays" was the owner's first choice, but the organization considered others like Cannons, Stars, Wave and Dukes before settling on Rays and developing a logo featuring a bright yellow sunburst.

"We strayed a little bit. But after looking at everything, it was pretty clear that this was the one," Sternberg said.

Carl Crawford, Scott Kazmir, Rocco Baldelli, B.J. Upton, Delmon Young, Edwin Jackson and Al Reyes were among the players modeling the uniforms. The evening was capped by a concert featuring the actor Kevin Costner and his band, Modern West.

Sternberg said he actually had hoped to have the new nickname, team colors and uniforms ready for last season. He's happy he didn't rush and wind up with a final product he didn't like.

"I think it worked out well this way because I feel really confident that the team's performance on the field next year is going to take a very giant step forward," the owner said.

The team didn't abandon every aspect of the uniforms worn for the franchise's first 10 seasons.

An updated Devil Rays patch is on the left sleeve of the new jerseys. The club will also continue to operate a popular touch tank filled with cownose rays during games at Tropicana Field.

"I'm still a nostalgic sort of guy," Sternberg said. "And while I don't want to look back to the past, I think the region should be proud of having a major league baseball team and shouldn't forget all that was involved in bringing it here."

 

The new unis can't hurt but they still are gonna be putting the same players in them, in a dump of a ballpark, and in a division with the Red Sox and the Yankees. Move the team to Vegas, the Bay area won't even miss them.

 

Actually the Devil ... uhm ... Rays are a sleeping giant. Once Longoria is ready to come up, Iwamura will presumably move to second base. Then we'll see if Brignac pans out at short. If he does, this might be their 2009 lineup:

C: Needs an upgrade
1B: Carlos Pena
2B: Iwamura
3B: Longoria
SS: Brignac
LF: Crawford
CF: Upton
RF: Delmon Young
DH: Dukes/Gomes/Baldelli

As for pitching, they already have Kazmir and Shields as a great 1-2 punch. David Price will be up soon as well, while they also have Niemann, McGee, and Davis on the way. If they get their bullpen sorted out and resist the urge to dump talent as their salaries increase, I think Tampa Bay will end up being Boston's main challenger in the A.L. East by 2009 or 2010. They look a lot like what Detroit did in going from worst to a powerhouse the last couple of years.

 

so theres an expansion team in Tampa Bay called the rays now? Who would've thunk it....a major league team in tampa bay

 

except they'll trade away guys for more minor leaguers like they always do. The rays will suck no matter what they're called or wearing. They could have traded at least one of their outfielders for some quality bullpen help, but didn't do it. I guess they're afraid of paying people.

 

Who have they traded previously? And it's odd that you'd suggest that they'll make a mistake in trading players, then criticize them for not trading players. I don't think they needed to spend a lot on the bullpen this year because they know they're not ready to compete yet. I hope they do make that investment in the coming years, however.

 

Bottom line they are still in the east along with the Yanks, Bo-Sox and the Blue Jays. They will never sniff the playoffs

 

First A new team name, then uniforms, now a new ballpark ? ? /

It seems the Rays are going full blast with their new image by asking for the big prize . . A bayside 35,000 seat retractable roof stadium that would only cost $450 million !!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope they told city leaders 'please' !!!!

BOTTOM LINE: First Miami replaces Miami Arena with AA Arena, then Dallas replaced Reunion Arena with the AA Center. Then came Charlotte with Bobcats Arena to replace the Hive, and now St. Petersburg wants to tear down Tropicana Field for the new Bayside Park (or whatever they will call it). Arenas can't even last 20 years now . . What's up with that? ? ? ? I know that St. Pete built the then SunCoast Dome to lure MLB to town in the late 80's. Too bad it sat dormant for about 10 years before the Devil Rays moved in (yeah, yeah I know that the NHL Lightning played there for a couple of years until the Ice Palace opened). But just like the old Hive was built at the end of the 'build it in the 'burbs' era of stadium/arena/ballpark building, St. Pete built there dome before the retractable roof ballpark craze broke out (starting with Skydome in Toronto).


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Stadium Cost Looms As Curveball

By MARC LANCASTER The Tampa Tribune

Published: Nov 13, 2007

TBO.com Site Search | Tribune archive from 1990

ST. PETERSBURG - City Council members who were briefed on the Tampa Bay Rays' proposed waterfront ballpark Monday liked what they saw, for the most part.

However, the main question emerging from the meetings at Tropicana Field is one whose answer likely will determine the fate of the project: Exactly how much is the $450 million stadium going to cost taxpayers?

"That's what's going to make or break this entire deal," council chairman James Bennett said Monday. "If the money part doesn't add up, [voters are] just going to throw their hands up. In this climate right now, people are watching very closely."

After a morning meeting with Rays officials at Tropicana Field, Bennett said he expects the team to take its case to the public within the next two weeks by unveiling the renderings that helped sway his personal impressions of the project.

He also predicted that a referendum to approve the use of the downtown plot of land centered on the current Al Lang Field site for a new Rays stadium would appear on the ballot next November.

As the plan stands, the team would not ask the city for any additional funding; the referendum would cover only the use of the land.

The city charter requires voter approval to use waterfront property for anything other than parkland, and Bennett said he thinks getting the plans in front of the public will only help the Rays' case.

The team envisions an open-air stadium seating about 35,000 with a retractable awning to protect fans against sun and rain.

The right-field fence would be parallel to the water, and long home runs would have a chance to get wet.

Waterfront ballparks in San Francisco, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have a similar feature, though it sounds as if the Rays' designs are modeled most closely on the Giants' AT&T Park.

Bennett described the ballpark design as "nautical-themed," saying team officials pitched the idea that the stadium's architecture and overall feel would fit the city in a way Tropicana Field does not.

"They're looking at [the new ballpark] as a St. Pete landmark," Bennett said.

"They've obviously spent a lot of time on it: That was one thing you saw," he added. "They did a lot of work on this, trying to get something that people would like. That's pretty important to me. At the onset, there doesn't appear to be any major flaw" in the design.

Newly elected council member Wengay Newton also was supportive of that aspect of the plans he saw Monday - "It looks good on paper," he said - but was wary of how the stadium would be funded.

"I cannot support taxing these people one more penny," Newton said. "They're hurting enough as it is."

One part of the proposal that appeals to Newton is the redevelopment of the current Tropicana Field site once the Rays are gone.

The team does not pay property taxes on the approximately 85 acres of land it occupies, including all of the surrounding parking lots.

The Rays hope to sell the site to developers who would fill it with a combination of retail and housing.

The team would roll whatever profit it realizes from the sale of the land into paying for construction on the new ballpark, and the city would see new jobs created and gain a revenue stream from property taxes as tenants move in.

"We could put all that back on the tax rolls," Newton said.

Newton joined Bennett in urging the Rays to keep the public informed of its plans as the process unfolds.

Team officials declined to comment Monday but will continue to brief select elected officials in the coming days. Council members Jim Kennedy and Leslie Curran said Monday night they expect to meet with team officials today. The sales job will expand as the Rays try to make the stadium a reality.

The state Legislature must approve sales-tax rebates that could account for as much as $60 million of the funding and the public ultimately must be sold on the idea.

"If the people don't back it, then what we're talking about is a moot point," Newton said.

Public support is just one of numerous "ifs" that must be resolved for the stadium to meet its targeted 2012 opening, but Bennett said he thinks the project is on the right track.

"Tropicana Field was our deal to get a foothold with the major leagues, and I think this city kind of likes having a major league team," Bennett said. "When push comes to shove, I think we'd kind of like them to stay. If the financial factors all add up, I think people might say, 'You know, that's not such a bad idea.'"

 

Toronto isn't great, and the Yankees look to be on the verge of a substantial decline, although that's less of a risk after signing A-Rod. I can definitely seeing Tampa being better than both two or three years from now if they don't screw it up by refusing to spend money.

 

they've made plenty of trades for younger guys. They traded wynn, huff, hall, lugo, etc. They got better, cheaper, younger, but also could have gone on and traded for some bullpen help. Kazmir and Shields are good now, why wait to bring in some bullpen help?

I was criticizing them less for making moves to stockpile young talent, but more for not going that one extra step and bringing in some help where it matters. Plus, I figure they'll be one of the teams to trade away guys as they become more costly.