Rays Attendance 2009 (Here We Go Again)

So, with the Phillies in town and the first 2 games of a 3-game series being attended to the tune of 19,000-20,000, the debate about Rays attendance is back on. We've written about this before (click here for our analysis of attendance back in 2008) and will probably write about it again (that's so unfortunate). But, let's also not lose sight of some of the facts that were nicely outlined in an article in today's St. Pete Times):

"Through 34 home games (not including Wednesday's game against the Phillies), attendance at Tropicana Field had increased 23.3 percent from the first 34 games of last season. The spike translates to an extra 4,284 people per game. Only the Kansas City Royals, who completed a $250 million stadium renovation, have seen a higher per-game increase.

At the same time, the rest of baseball is struggling.

Attendance has dropped nearly 5 percent across the sport in 2009. Excluding new smaller stadiums for the New York Mets and New York Yankees, baseball attendance has decreased 3.7 percent.

So while the rest of baseball is trending fewer sales, the Rays are selling more.

To summarize, after posting the largest increase in attendance in all of MLB in 2008, the Rays are near the top in % increase once again in 2009. Yet, management is complaining about the market and the fans.

The biggest issue, in my opinion, is expectations. For one thing, the Rays have only been a good product for 1 season. I am a believer in the new regime and see all of the very positive things they are doing for this team (which is why I am investing in this team as well as a full season tickerholder). I was a little ticked at Matt Silverman's comments the other night and took personal offense to them as a fan and long time member of the Tampa Bay community. But, he did seek to clarify his dumb comments a day later when he said, "I may have said things about the market but not our fans — we love the fans that come to the games." Frankly, I'm still a little offended that he is not backing down from his comments about the Tampa Bay area. As a native, I love this area and I know we have a passionate sports fan base. The fact that he only loves the folks that pay him money does not really cool my jets all that much (but, I digress)....

CONTINUE TO PUT A GOOD AND COMPETITIVE PRODUCT ON THE FIELD AND PEOPLE WILL SPEND THE MONEY TO SEE IT!!!

But, it takes time to build a fan base and dissing on the community is not a helpful tactic. I see lots of kids wearing Rays gear while their parents wear Yankees or Red Sox gear. These kids will drag their parents to some games, but they don't control the purse strings just yet. Rays management needs to be focused on the product and stop venting to the media about attendance and the market. It's obviously not productive to do this (note the DECLINE in attendance from Tuesday to Wednesday).

If the Tampa Bay Bucs can go from the least valuable franchise in the NFL to one of the most valuable franchises in this lovely place I call home, the Rays can climb the franchise value ladder also. But, it takes a bit of time and investment! Continue to invest in this team as you have been and you will see the rewards (including a possible new venue down the line). If you threaten, belittle and otherwise hate on this market, you are going to lose the support of your most loyal fans such as myself (caveat: winning cures a lot of these hard feelings).

Aki back in 6-8 Weeks? BJ Wins AL Player of the Week!

The Rays just finished a decent road trip having split the 6-game trip 3-3. They easily could have taken 4 or even 5 games with a couple of good breaks, but I will take 3-3 given we played the hottest team in baseball (Rockies have won 16 of last 17 games) and a solid Mets team on the road.

In other interesting news, it looks like Akinori Iwamura could be back by mid-August! Doctors originally thought he had a full tear to his ACL, but it turns out that it was only a partial tear AND he only needed to have his knee scoped. This is HUGE news as the Rays believed he was done for the year, yet he may only be out 6 to 8 weeks. Aki is a great player and could be a huge lift to the Rays come September (and hopefully October) if he can get back.

Secondly, BJ Upton has quietly (until today) started hitting the ball! He's hitting a very strong .329 BA with an OBP of .386 in the Month of June. Also in June, BJ has scored 13 runs, hit 6 doubles and 3 home runs, and stolen 11 bases (and that's only through June 21st). It's really nice to see BJ coming around and he is now getting the recognotion for it by taking home the AL Player of the Week for last week. Nice work, BJ!

The Rays are only 2.0 games back of a playoff spot and the team is just now getting Burrell and Bartlett back to full strength! Go Rays!

Welcome, Matt Joyce! (and 9=8.com is now on Twitter)

Welcome to the Bigs, Matt Joyce!!! After a brief stint with the team to begin the season, Matt Joyce has been tearing up AAA since returning to the farm. With the injuries to the Rays, Matt Joyce was called up and is making his case to stay in the Bigs with back-to-back strong performances (2-for-3 and 3-for-4 with a couple HRs and lots of RBIs). Wouldn't it be nice to have an everyday right fielder that brings some consistency to the lineup and the outfield? Maybe Zobrist can hold down the fort at 2nd base with Aki gone and Joyce in RF. That leaves Aybar at the super utility guy and gets some really good bats in the lineup everyday. Additionally, the Rays are playing better baseball. In spite of the Indians series (I'm choosing to ignore that as an outlier for now since so many things happened that week that were negative), the Rays have won 11 out of the last 16 games and seem to be rounding into shape. In fact, excluding the Indian's series, the Rays only lost 1 series in all of May (they split a couple of 2 game sets and 1 4-game set). It's important that the Rays win the KC series and have some positive momentum going into the upcoming series against the Yankees, which is a big one! GO RAYS!

Also, 9equals8.com is now on Twitter. Check us out and follow our tweets at https://twitter.com/9equals8_com

GO RAYS!

Tampa Bay Rays finding their MoJo?

OK – so I was a game early with my last piece, but I can honestly say I saw the Rays making some good progress towards RaysBall. I'm even seeing some serious energy and excitment in the dugout for the first time in a while. Lots of creative handshake/fist/body bumps, etc. That's the sign that this team is starting to get into it a bit. There is no substitution for good MoJo.

I like what I am seeing from the Rays:

Rays batters are really grinding down the opposing pitchers. In the last 5 games, the Rays have forced the opposing team to through 153, 140, 146, 198, and 142. That’s over 17 pitches per average inning. The Rays are really working the count well and are grinding out at-bats. While this may not always lead to runs, this type of play is the hallmark of a good team. The hits will come if the Rays keep grinding out at-bats like they have been.

Starters are getting it done (even on off nights). Even after Kazmir’s tough night (he was off, but he also got some really tough breaks), the Rays starters are looking better by the game. Garza’s performance goes without saying…a TRUE GEM. Sonny didn’t want to come out and look silly after what Garza did the night before. So, he took the mound and put in a gutty performance. Yeah, he got into some trouble, but never big trouble (didn’t give up the long ball with guys on base). Most innings seemed to go out-hit/walk-out-hit/walk-out. And, that’s OK if you don’t give up extra bases, which he did not. Sonny wasn’t sharp, but the sign of a good pitcher is being able to win when you are having an off night. Sonny did just that (with the help of some stellar defense as well) and let’s hope this builds his confidence and gets him going.

Bullpen is rounding into form. After starting the first 10 games of 2008 as one of the worst bullpens in the AL by ERA, they are now one of the best for the entire season (slow start included; as measured by ERA). In my last post, I wrote about the bullpen’s 3 earned runs over the last 17 innings. Well, they’ve added to that inning total by throwing another 4 2/3 innings with no earned runs. So, over the last 22 innings or so, the Rays bullpen has given up a measly 3 earned runs. That’s an ERA of 1.22 or so. Additionally, they look very sharp. [Side Bar: on paper, these guys are better than 2008. Now, they are starting to prove that to be the case].

BJ seems to be finding his swing. He’s 3-for-8 with 3 walks against the Red Sox in this series. So, his OBP is .500, he’s stealing bases and scoring some runs… and the Rays have won both games. He also looks much beter at the plate. BJ is a key part of the Rays offense because he is so disruptive to pitchers and he has a knack for scoring runs when he’s on base (note Masterson and Beckett in the last 2 games when BJ is on base). It’s no coincidence that BJ was on base against Beckett when Carl drew the walk to load the bases (before Longo broke the game open with a bases clearing double in Game 1). When BJ is hitting, he makes the bottom of the lineup better (Bartlett and Aki) as well as the guys that follow him. His average is rising as is his OBP (which is still a staggering .150 or so above his batting average). I still contend that if BJ gets it going (and things are looking promising of late), the Rays are going to win a lot of games.

The Rays building momentum now rests with Jeff Niemann. Let’s hope that Rays can string a few together on this run through the AL East.

Getting back to "Raysball"?

Last night was the first night all season where I recognized the team I’ve come to love. No there wasn’t an explosion of home runs (at least HRs that mattered, sorry Carlos and JB) and there wasn’t anything fancy about the way the Rays chipped away at the Twins on offense with regular old timely base hits. The win was a combination of great starting pitching (hey, this Niemann guy sure has quieted down the “where is David Price” crowd with his stellar pitching after the first inning of his first outing), solid defense (no real blunders except the ball that Aki misplayed a bit) and a shut-down bullpen (no runs allowed). Were it not for the icing on the cake homeruns from Carlos and JB, this game, at 4-1, looked a lot like the Rays from 2008 (and that makes me very happy).

I’ve also noticed a couple of very positive trends:

1) the bullpen is really starting to come around - after a rough start, the Tampa Bay Rays bullpen has given up only 3 earned runs in the last 6 games over a total of 17 innings pitched (that’d be an ERA of 1.59 for those of you that are math challenged)

2) The starting pitchers are showing signs of progress. After a slow ramp up to full speed, intentionally done by Joe Maddon given the post-season run of 2008 (oh, the good old days), the Rays starting pitchers have not quite been themselves over their first few starts (you might equate these to what would normally be their last few starts of a normal spring training period).

• Shields looked a little rough in his first start against the Red Sox, came out smoking in his second start giving up only 3 hits in 7 innings, and then gave up 5 runs in his third start. Shields was anything if consistent in 2008. In his 4th start, Shields appeared to have very good control of his pitches, seems to have his velocity back up into the 92 MPH range and was mowing hitters down on his way to a 0-1 loss to Seattle.
  
• Kazmir has actually been pretty good with a few rough innings here and there (remember the 10 straight balls to begin the White Sox on 4/18…ugh). Well, he bounced back with 6 shutout innings against the A’s.
  
• Garza took a little while to get going last year, but his stuff is just plain nasty. I’ve not really seen Garza come around, but I am confident he will.
  
• Sonny has been roughed up pretty good in his first 4 starts. He’s simply not locating his pitches. But, Sonny is a feel pitcher and I’m hopeful that he’ll get the touch back soon.
  
• And, what can we say about Niemann? He has been more than we ever could have hoped for. Despite his record of 2-2, he’s kept the Rays in the game. With the exception of his first, very shaky inning, Niemann has been one of the Rays most consistent starters so far. If he can keep this up, I suspect you will see him in this rotation for a while in 2009.

3) Burrell is starting to hit and he is clearly seeing the ball better. Burrell was brought in to improve the Rays chances against lefties (especially the likes of Jon Lester, CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitt). But, he’s also served as very valuable protection for Carlos Pena, who is currently leading the AL in home runs and RBIs. That’s no coincidence. When pitchers had the luxury of working the black on Carlos, he was not as potent. But, if they have to throw strikes to him, he’s going to make them pay. You could make the same argument for Longoria, who is also off to a very hot start. He's got Carl Crawform on one side and Carlos Pena on the other. Well, despite his .238 average, Burrell has an OBP of .364 for the 2009 season, AND, he’s hitting .272 over his last 10 games with an OBP of .429. Those aren’t eye-popping, but they are up significantly from the .100-something he was hitting in the first 10 games (it was so bad, I don't even want to calculate it). In addition, he’s drawn 9 walks in the last 10 games. When hitters are walking, they are hitting. Burrell is starting to come around and is likely about to break out for the Rays (that’s my prediction).

So, what am I worried about? Well, other than being in last place 12.3% into the season, I am most worried about BJ Upton. He’s been in a severe slump and it makes me wonder if his shoulder is just not quite right, yet. Maybe it would serve him well to hit #7, #8 or #9 for a couple of weeks to take some pressure off. After all, Aki and JB have been very strong in April and have both proven they are able to handle the leadoff spot. BJ is the future leadoff guy for this team and he has the potential to be a Ricky Henderson type leadoff guy (unique combination of power and speed). But, he can’t do it until he gets his head right. If BJ is not hitting, that hurts in a big way. In a lot of ways, the leadoff guy sets the tone for each game. Let’s recall BJ’s first game back against the Yankees on 4/13. He walked on 6 pitches to start the game. He then stole second AND third base! He then scored on a hit by Carlos Pena. That set the tone for a game that ended with the Rays a big winner 15-5 (BJ finished 1-3 with 3 walks, 2 SBs and 2 runs scored). BJ ate up 30 pitches in that game! For comparison’s sake, Game 2 of the Yankees series was a different story. BJ struck out swinging in his first at bat and was on his way to an 0-4 game with a hat trick (3 Ks and he only saw 16 pitches in that game). The Rays lost the game 7-2, collected a meager 3 hits and didn’t score until the 7th inning. Now, I am not blaming that loss on BJ since the bullpen was the real culprit that time, but I make the point that an impactful leadoff guy can get a team going early. BJ has the potential to shape each and every game right out of the gate.

Let’s all hope that BJ gets back into the swing of things soon (or just finds ways to get on base). We should all keep an eye on his progress. With some of the other pieces starting to come together, I strongly believe that BJ is the lynch pin that could ignite a nice run by the Rays in 2009.

Rays Look Impressive in Opening Series Against the Boston Red Sox

After dropping their Opening Day game 5-3 to the Red Sox (and a dominant Josh Beckett), the Rays answered with strong pitching performances by Scott Kazmir and Matt Garza, both of whom picked up a win at Fenway. Lest we forget that it took until mid-September in 2008 for the Rays to pick up a single win on the road against the Red Sox, this was an impressive couple of wins for the Rays and a great way to kick off the 2009 season.

Key take-aways from the opening series:
1) Rays first 3 starters looked very strong. Shields was roughed up a little bit, but he never lost control of the game even though he gave up a few more than we would have liked. The Rays were still very much in Game 1 and could have tied/won the game with one or two timely hits late in the game. Kazmir's fastball was alive and well. He had some crazy movement on his consistent 92+ MPH fastball and was very much on with his change-up. We saw a few good sliders, but I hope to see more of them this year. Garza looked like he hasn't missed a beat since the ALCS. He is really tarting to come into his own. His stuff is just nasty!

2) Rays bats were alive and well after a quiet, 3-hit showing against Beckett. In total, the Rays put up 26 hits (including 13 for extra bases) and scored 14 runs. Notables include Longoria who was 6 for 14 with 2 doubles, 2 homeruns and 5 RBIs; Iwamura who was 5 for 10 with 2 doubles and 3 walks (on-base of .615). Carlos Pena had a rough start to the season going 0 for 5 with 5 Ks, but he contributed a 2-run homerun in Game 2 as well as a single and 3 BBs. His on-base is still nearly .400 even with his very weak start. Finally, Matt Joyce collected his first hit and his first homerun as a Ray in Game 3 when he launched one over the right field fence at Fenway. I like the way this kid looks a lot. As a side note, Edwin Jackson (whom the Rays traded for Matt Joyce) pitched lights out in his Detroit debut (April 7th - pitching as Detroits #2 starter) in what was probably his career best performance. He pitched 7 1/3 innings allowing only 2 hits and only 1 earned run. I hope we didn't let one get away....

3) Rays defense was a little shaky in the outfield, but got the job done. Both Kapler and Joyce had a little bit of trouble in CF. CF at Fenway is no easy task, to be fair, but the Rays will be vastly improved when BJ Upton returns to his post in CF and Joyce and Kapler can spend more time in RF.

Up next for the Rays are the very potent Baltimore Orioles offense (just ask CC Sabathia and Chien-Ming Wang). The Rays should not take these guys lightly as they clearly have the ability to put some runs on the board quickly. I will be keen to see how Sonnanstine's new Changeup performs as well as how the back end of the Baltimore rotation holds up. While the Orioles have plenty of offensive fire power, their purported weakness is the starting rotation. Game time is 7:05PM tonight, 7:05PM tomorrow and 1:35PM on Sunday. Happy Easter!

No $$$ for 2009 Rays Season Tickets? No Problem - Use Ours!

As some of you know, 9=8.com has Rays season tickets (2 seats) right behind the Rays Dugout (check out the seats here - they are Lower Box on the First Base side just about center of the Rays dugout and 9 rows up). While it'd be great if we could make all of the games, that's just not feasible. So, we wanted to offer some of our OUTSTANDING seats to our visitors at face value (no giant StubHub mark-up here - although sometimes you can get tickets on StubHub for less than face value, so you might want to look there as well). Just don't forget your glove as lots of foul balls make their way into this area.

From time to time this year, I will post available seats for you to purchase at face value (no convenience fees or anything like that). This is the same price you'd pay at the Rays Box office, but you get MUCH BETTER SEATS! These tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Delivery will be arranged either in person or via email (Rays season tickerholders can send e-Tickets thru TicketMaster for an extra $2).

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE 9=8.com TICKETS (May 2009):
(check RaysBaseball.com for updated game times - subject to change)


Monday, May 4th - Rays vs. Baltimore (7:08PM) - 2 tickets @ $44 each

Tuesday, May 5th - Rays vs. Baltimore (4:08PM) - 2 tickets @ $44 each

Thursday, May 14th - Rays vs. Cleveland (7:08PM) - 2 tickets @ $44 each

Friday, May 15th - Rays vs. Cleveland (7:38PM) - 2 tickets @ $44 each

Saturday, May 16th - Rays vs. Cleveland (4:10PM) - 2 tickets @ $52 each

Sunday, May 17th - Rays vs. Cleveland (1:38PM) - 2 tickets @ $44 each

Monday, May 18th - Rays vs. Oakland (7:08PM) - 2 tickets @ $44 each

Tuesday, May 19th - Rays vs. Oakland (7:08PM) - 2 tickets @ $44 each

Wednesday, May 20th - Rays vs. Oakland (7:08PM) - 2 tickets @ $44 each

Thursday, May 21st - Rays vs. Oakland (4:08PM) - 2 tickets @ $44 each


If you are interested in any of these games or if you have any questions, email us at 9equals8@gmail.com. Please give me a couple of days to respond to your emails.

Check back for regular updates.

What are they saying now? Tampa Bay Rays in the News

I often spend time on teh weekends surfing around other AL East newspapers to see what the competition is saying about the Tampa Bay Rays. So, I thought I might share some of what is out there on our team. The articles below are all within the last few weeks and give you an interesting look into how other sports writers view our team and its prospects for 2009. If you come upon any other interesting original articles from major newspapers about our boys, don't hesitate to email it to me. Enjoy!

Finally a winner, Rays work to fill more seats – Associated Press 3/12/2009
“Clearly, we are being throttled somewhat by the economy,” Stuart “Stu” Sternberg said. “We're still going to be next-to-last in season-ticket sales. I'm pleased with the growth, but we have a ways to go yet.”

Without providing specifics, Sternberg says ticket sales are up over last year. "We're right at expectations," is how he puts it.

Tampa Bay Rays encore: they believe in the best is yet to come – Sun Sentinel 3/11/2009
"They are no longer the "upstart Rays" or the "Amazing Rays."

Rays are Big Fish Now – Boston Globe 2/28/2009
"The Yankees have the money and the new stadium. The Red Sox have the MVP, the Nation, and newfound stability. But going into 2009, the Tampa Bay Rays are the defending league champs and the team to beat in the American League East."

Tampa Bay aims to improve amazing turnaround of 2008 – Seattle Times 2/22/2009
"Every downtrodden team in baseball harbors secret — or not-so-secret — hopes of being the Tampa Bay Rays of 2009."

It’s the No-Longer-Surprising Rays – New York Times 2/13/2009
"Mostly, though, Maddon believes that the Rays, who rocketed from a decade of oblivion into the World Series last October, can be even better."

Confident Joba: We’re Top Dogs in East – New York Post 2/12/2009
"We're always the team to beat, and we have that in our minds from the get-go, "Chamberlain said yesterday. "With the year the Rays had, people are going to look at it that they're the team to beat. But . . . we're always going to be the hunted just because of who we are and . . . we always go with the mindset that we are the best and that's the way you have to play."

2009 AL East Preview – RBI Magazine 2/21/2009
"The American League East landscape changed dramatically last season as the Tampa Bay Rays finally wrestled the AL East Crown out of the hands of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees."

Tampa Bay Rays Regular Season Home Opener Now Sold Out!

It's great to see so much excitement around the Rays 2009 season. In fact, I was looking into some extra tickets to the home opener today (using my season ticket password) and it is [UPDATED] sold out before tickets go on sale to the general public tomorrow! It'll be a great way to start 2009 for the Rays (with a sellout). Does it really get much better than hoisting the American League Champion banner in front of the half-billion dollar Yankees? Of course, you can still get tickets to the home opener by purchasing a season ticket packages. For example, half season (weekend plan) Lower Box seats are available in Section 121 and 122. Or, if you are feeling adventurous, Full Season Tickets are available in 103, Row J (Home Plate Club) or Lower Box seats in Sections 107-Wheel Chair, 118-Row EE, 120-X or 122-L. Those are some pretty good seats still available!!!

StubHub now has 1500+ tickets available (so it appears as though there are some entrepreneurs in the Tampa Bay area) from $27 (upper deck) to $1,500+ (home plate club). I'm not sure why anyone would pay $1,500 when that would buy you half of the season in the Lower Box.

Some great seats are still available for the Tuesday and Wednesday Yankee games, but the good seats are likely to sell pretty quickly once the sale is opened to the public. Wouldn't it be great to start the season off with 3 sellouts? Come on, Rays Fans, let's pack the Trop!!!

Let's pack the TROP and show the Yankees we aren't messing around this year!!!

9=8 (yes, 9 does still equal 8 for the Rays) - Joe Maddon announces 2009 slogan "9 > 8"

As all readers of this blog know, Joe Maddon launched 2008 with the seemingly strange motto of 9=8. That is to say (just as a reminder) 9 players, playing hard as a team for 9 innings equals 1 of the 8 spots in the postseason. That great slogan was the genesis of this Rays blog.

So, how would Joe Maddon inspire his team this year? Last week the skipper announced that the slogan for 2009 is "'09 > '08" (or, 2009 is greater than 2008). Maddon specifically said he preferred not to use the word "greater" but that there is no symbol for "better," so he went with greater and the associated symbol ">".

Joe Maddon did go on to say, "Of course I wanted to re-emphasize that 9 will always equal 8 in our math, but furthermore, this year, '09 is going the be greater than '08." Yeah, we here at 9=8.com do believe this is the core of the franchise's philosophy, so we're glad to hear Joe reiterate this point. Below are some additional comments on the new slogan from Maddon (per the St. Pete Times' Heater Blog).

"Of course I wanted to re-emphasize that 9 will always equal 8 in our math, but furthermore, this year, '09 is going the be greater than '08,'' he said. "And we want it to be hopefully better by at least three games, which we missed last year. Of course we did wonderfully last year and of course it was all good, but I keep talking about building this new road and you just can't rely on 9 = 8 all the time. You have to better than we were in some areas last year.

"I'm not talking about being great. Although that phrase is greater than, and you look at the greater than sign, I'd prefer it equalled "better than" as opposed to "greater than." ... I just want us to understand that in order to build this new road we have to be better than we were last year. I did say “greater than,” but then I reduced it to “better than, and eventually I would just like to get that (the > symbol) working for us, just the symbol, "better than." There’s no “better than” symbol. I was thinking of creating my own symbol with the “greater than” sign maybe with a circle around it, equaling better than. Just a new Rays culture kind of symbol , but I didn’t want to get too nuts, so I just chose to go this way.’’

Rays #2, Yankees #1, AL East Tops in USA Today's MLB 2009 Power Rankings

HEADLINE: Tampa Bay Rays finally get some respect!!

After opening 2008 as the odds on favorite to finish in last place (per Vegas odds of the Rays winning the World Series of something like 150:1), the Rays are getting some much-deserved respect (the new Vegas Odds are out and the Rays are a 14:1 bet to win the World Series in 2009).

According to the newly released (2 days ago) USA Today MLB 2009 Power Rankings, the Tampa Bay Rays are #2. As anyone would guess, $500 million in off-season expenditures did buy the Yankees the #1 position (but just barely). The Boston Red Sox follow the Rays at #3. So, once again, the American League East should be a ridiculously hard division from which to make the playoffs. It's a good thing the Rays didn't sit on their hands in the offseason.

So, here are the 2009 Power Rankings from USA Today - enjoy!

1 NEW YORK YANKEES
All eyes on how A-Rod reacts to his latest and biggest crisis. (Three first-place votes)
Points: 339
Final 2008: 9

2 TAMPA BAY RAYS
Pat Burrell's bat is a big boost for the AL's ninth-best offense in '08. (Two first-place votes)
Points: 331
Final 2008: 2

3 BOSTON RED SOX
Much the same team; as long as they're not the same old team. (One first-place vote)
Points: 326
Final 2008: 3

4 PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Having Chase Utley (hip) from the start could decide the NL East. (Four first-place votes)
Points: 325
Final 2008: 1

5 CHICAGO CUBS
Keeping Rich Harden, Milton Bradley healthy makes them formidable. (One first-place vote)
Points: 316
Final 2008: 5

6 NEW YORK METS
Does the bullpen overhaul make them collapse-proof?
Points: 302
Final 2008: 11

7 LOS ANGELES ANGELS
John Lackey-Ervin Santana combo must carry the smaller-ball team.
Points: 292
Final 2008: 4

8 CLEVELAND INDIANS
Kerry Wood helps plenty, but the return of Travis Hafner imperative.
Points: 257
Final 2008: 15

9 LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Best of the NL West even without Manny.
Points: 244
Final 2008: 6

10 CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Ozzie Guillen wants return to 2005's run-and-gun style.
Points: 228
Final 2008: 7

11 MINNESOTA TWINS
Offseason with no moves might not be a bad thing.
Points: 224
Final 2008: 10

12 ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Need to find a closer and a healthy Chris Carpenter. (One first-place vote)
Points: 217
Final 2008: 14

13 ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Gifted young players have to curb growing strikeout totals.
Points: 205
Final 2008: 17

14 MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Plenty to replenish especially pitching after the playoff run.
Points: 184
Final 2008: 8

15 HOUSTON ASTROS
Filling out the rotation could be a season-long challenge.
Points: 174
Final 2008: 13

16 ATLANTA BRAVES
Rebuilt the rotation, but new wave on offense is just getting started.
Points: 173
Final 2008: 24

17 TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Injuries punch holes in the rotation they relied on.
Points: 172
Final 2008: 12

18 DETROIT TIGERS
Need bounce-back seasons too many bounce-back seasons.
Points: 163
Final 2008: 21

19 SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
A little more offense could make them an NL West threat.
Points: 157
Final 2008: 25

20 OAKLAND ATHLETICS
The closest they've come to a total rebuild in the Billy Beane era.
Points: 147
Final 2008: 20

21 FLORIDA MARLINS
Hanley Ramirez is the cornerstone, but will the ballpark get built?
Points: 133
Final 2008: 16

22 TEXAS RANGERS
They hit, but Nolan Ryan is the guy running the team now.
Points: 129
Final 2008: 18

23 KANSAS CITY ROYALS
A work in progress, but at least some pieces are in place.
Points: 114
Final 2008: 19

24 CINCINNATI REDS
Quietly building a strong collection of young talent.
Points: 110
Final 2008: 22

25 BALTIMORE ORIOLES
It took being possibly the AL's most improved team to get this high.
Points: 86
Final 2008: 26

26 COLORADO ROCKIES
That World Series was a mile higher than where they are now.
Points: 82
Final 2008: 23

27 PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Somebody needs to figure out their young starting pitchers.
Points: 49
Final 2008: 27

28 SAN DIEGO PADRES
The owner can sell this team, but can the marketing department?
Points: 42
Final 2008: 28

29 SEATTLE MARINERS
More unclaimed jobs than any other team in the majors.
Points: 37
Final 2008: 29

30 WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Can Ryan Zimmerman ask for another hitter in arbitration?
Points: 22
Final 2008: 30

Getting Ready for 2009 Tampa Bay Rays Baseball: Offseason Recap

After reading through an endless number of articles on Tampa Bay Rays rumors and moves, I thought it might be a helpful primer for Rays fans to have a summary of the most important offseason happenings. So, here goes.

The Rays were very busy this offseason. After an historic run to the World Series in 2008, the Rays set their sites on fielding an even better team in 2009. Going into the offseason, the Rays clearly outlined their primary goals in this article: right field and the bullpen. Additionally, the Rays noted that they had a glut of great pitching, some of which would like need to be moved to make room for other up and comers (especially those like Niemann and Hammels who are out of minor leagues options). With the recent announcement that Chad Bradford needed elbow surgery and will be out 3-4 months as a stark reminder of the realities of MLB, pitching depth is a great asset for the Rays.

So, jumping right in to the offseason summary. First, the Rays allowed several of their 2008 players (allowed because they chose not to resign them) to become free agents including Rocco Baldelli (signed by the Red Sox), Cliff Floyd (signed by the Padres), Eric Hinske (signed by the Pirates), Trevor Miller (signed by the Cardinals) and Johnny Gomes (signed a minor league contract with the Reds). All of these players contributed to the team’s success in 2008, so they will be missed. But, all things considered, the Rays did not lose a single full-time starter in the offseason to free agency! The good news is that all of the above mentioned players were role / platoon players; the bad news is that the Rays were successful last year in large part due to the contributions of its role players. But, I digress.

The biggest news for the Rays came in the signing of Pat Burrell to a 2-year $16 million contract. Burrell, one of the big guns available to the Rays (others included Manny Ramirez, Adam Dunn, Milton Bradley, Ken Griffey, Bobby Abreu, and Jason Giambi, to name a few). Burrell will be the Rays full-time DH and might be able to fill-in in RF from time to time (such as when the Rays play inter-league play or when they return to the World Series…!). Burrell has been a consistent source of power for the Phillies having hit an average of about 30 home runs in each of the last 7 seasons. While I really liked Cliff Floyd, Burrell represents a significant upgrade to the Rays DH position and he is right handed (the Rays lineup is a bit left-lopsided).

There were persistent rumors that the Rays were actively shopping some of their plethora of starting pitching. This manifested itself in the dealing of Edwin Jackson to the Tigers in exchange for hot prospect, Matt Joyce. Joyce is an up and coming left-handed batting right fielder who is now under the Rays’ control for 6 years. Jackson, a 14-game winner in 2008, will be sorely missed. But, the reality of his situation is that he will make $2.2 million in 2009 (he signed a 1-year deal with the Tigers for this amount) and he was likely to be on the outside looking in for the Rays starting rotation (with David Price eventually taking over the #5 slot).

Another great, but less talked about move, was the acquisition of Joe Nelson via free agency. Nelson is a top-shelf relief pitcher who pitched 54 innings for the Marlins in 2008 posting a stellar 2.00 ERA. He is a 34-year old veteran that the Rays agreed to pay $1.3 million in a one-year deal. The interesting tidbit of news on Nelson is that he received interest from 19 MLB teams (19!!!) and he CHOSE to join the Rays. When is the last time you heard of a player choosing to join the Tampa Bay Rays when he had multiple options? It truly IS a NEW DAY IN TAMPA BAY!!

Adding to Burrell, Nelson and Joyce, the Rays also signed veteran right-fielder (and body builder extraordinaire...well, not really) Gabe Kapler to a one-year $1 million deal. Kapler hit .354 with 22 RBIs against left handed pitching in 2008. One of the biggest problems for the Rays last year was hitting left handed pitching (the World Series made this very clear). Shoring up their right handed line-up seems like a pretty good idea since the AL East now includes the likes of C.C. Sabathia, Andy Petite, Jon Lester, etc. With Burrell at DH and Kapler as a platoon option in RF against lefties, I think the Rays did just that. This also gives the Rays another option in center field if BJ Upton needs more time to get ready; Kapler started 25 games in CF last year for the Brewers.

The Rays had a few other items to address and did so over the course of early 2009. Firstly, they lost their lefty specialist (Trevor Miller). Miller was a great asset to the Rays, but it appears as though he may have some injury issues to work through in 2009 and he was expensive. So, the Rays signed side-armed lefty 40-year old veteran Brian Shouse to a two-year deal (have you noticed a trend in the bullpen – veterans?). Shouse was a strong 5-1 with a 2.81 ERA in 69 games for the Brewers in 2008. Lefties only hit .180 off him, with an on-base percentage of .192. He is the prototypical specialist pitcher. The Rays also signed RHP Lance Cormier to a $675,000 deal to shore things up further. Lance has something to prove as his raw stats are not among the best of the Rays pen, but he's clearly a talented pitcher with good stuff...and the price was right. Between Shouse, Nelson, Bradford (once he gets healthy), Cormier, Howell, Balfour and Wheeler (not to mention Hammels and Niemann), hitters are going to get all kinds of different looks from the Rays bullpen this year.

In another interesting part of the baseball prospect/farm system process, the Rays lost promising pitching prospect, Eddie Morlan, to the Rule 5 draft. Eddie was a solid prospect with some pretty good numbers in the Rays' farm system. The good news is that the Rays were able to pick up a pretty interesting prospect in Derek Rodriguez. Rodriguez, a right-handed relief pitcher, is 25 years old. He posted some very good numbers in 2008, when he was 5-2 with a 3.29 ERA in 49 appearances in double-A and triple-A. He struck out 10 batters per 9 IP and a 2.7 strikeouts-to-walk ratio. He also held opponents to a .191 batting average. The catch is that the Rays must give him back and pay $50,000 if he does not make the 25-man roster in 2009. But, we've seen some pretty good fortune from guys like this (e.g. Balfour), so it's a small price to pay for a very interesting prospect.

Tying up all the other loose ends, the Rays were also busy with a number of their players that were already under Rays control, but needed new contracts. The Rays avoided arbitration by signing Jason Bartlett to a 1-year deal worth about $2 million; signing Gabe Gross to a 1-year deal worth about $1.3 million; and signing Grant Balfour to a 1-year deal worth about $1.4 million (avoiding arbitration). The Rays have also been busily negotiating with Dioner Navarro and Willy Aybar, both of whom are arbitration eligible. The Rays would like to sign Navi to a long-term deal, but that did not happen. The St. Pete Times reported earlier today that the Rays were successful in their arbitration case against Navi. Navi will earn $2.1 million in 2009. Let's hope there are no hard feelings. It is possible that the Rays come to terms with Aybar prior to his arbitration case, but that looks less likely by the day. The Rays victory against Dioner might help things along here.

Well, that's a pretty complete overview of the offseason (except for a few minor league signings). If there is anything that I missed, don't hesitate to comment. Go Rays!

FAN FEST 2009 - Special 9=8.com Ticket Package!

So, the Rays announced the details of Fan Fest 2009 over the weekend and I wanted to share the details with you here. I also think it's cool that the Rays decided to launch a special 9=8.com (ok, so it's just 9=8) ticket package! Buy 9 tickets for the price of 8! I'll just pretend they launched this deal because of the success of this blog.

Anyway, the highlights are as follow: Free Parking; 10AM to 5PM (unless you are a season ticketholder - then it's earlier (9AM for season tickerholders); Autographs (from Noon to 5PM - UPDATED list below); ALCS Trophy, Food, Games and more. The official Tampa Bay Rays press release is below. Don't miss out!

Here is the schedule released by the team as of Tuesday afternoon, and subject to change:

Noon-1 p.m.
Table 1 John Jaso, Gabe Kapler
Table 2- Juan Salas, Ray Olmedo
Table 3- Pat Burrell, Randy Choate
Table 4- Tim Beckham, Reid Brignac
Table 5- Carl Crawford
(Season Ticket Holders Line- Photo Only) –James Shields, Fernando Perez

1-2 p.m.
Table 1- Joe Nelson, Chad Bradford
Table 2- B.J. Upton , Willy Aybar
Table 3- Chad Orvella, Michel Hernandez, Derek Rodriguez
Table 4- Julio DePaula , Jacob McGee
Table 5- Jon Weber, Jason Cromer, Calvin Medlock
(Season Ticket Holders Line- Photo Only) Evan Longoria, Matt Garza

2-3 p.m.
Table 1- Matt Joyce, Grant Balfour
Table 2- Carlos Pena, Jason Hammel
Table 3- Craig Albernaz, Ray Sadler
Table 4- Jeremy Cummings, Elliot Johnson
Table 5- Neil Frontz, Chris Nowak, Dan Wheeler
(Season Ticket Holders Line- Photo Only) Dioner Navarro, Andy Sonnanstine

3-4 p.m.
Table 1- Steve Henderson, Joe Maddon
Table 2- Wade Davis, David Price
Table 3- Dave Martinez, George Hendrick
Table 4- Lance Cormier, Brian Shouse
Table 5- Chris Richard, Jason Childers, Dewon Day
(Season Ticket Holders Line- Photo Only)- Jason Bartlett, J.P. Howell

4-5 p.m.
Table 1-Bobby Ramos, Jim Hickey
Table 2- James Houser, Mitch Talbot
Table 3- Shawn Riggans, Justin Ruggiano
Table 4- Scott Kazmir, Carlos Hernandez
Table 5- Brian Anderson, Tom Foley, Todd Greene
(Season Ticket Holders Line- Photo Only) Troy Percival, Jeff Niemann

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- The Tampa Bay Rays 2009 Fan Fest, presented by MetroPCS, will be held Saturday, February 14 at Tropicana Field. The event is also sponsored by Southern Chevy Dealers,Sweetbay Supermarket and Bright House Sports Network.

Fan Fest hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the general public. Admission and parking are free to this fun-filled event.

A $10 donation to the Rays Baseball Foundation will allow fans the opportunity to get autographs from Rays players and coaches throughout the day. Autographs for kids 14 and under and season ticketholders are free with a wristband. Season ticket holders will also have the opportunity to have their photograph taken with a Rays player.

More than 20 former major leaguers will be signing autographs during the event as well.
While individual tickets will go on sale the week of February 23, fans can purchase season ticket plans and select their seats at Fan Fest. The Rays will also introduce a special 9=8 Ticket Package, which includes tickets to 9 games for the price of 8. Prices for the 9=8 package start as low as $95 and are available in the Baseline Box and Upper Deck. The package also includes a wristband for access to the autograph areas.

All fans will have an opportunity to have their photo taken with the American League Championship Trophy, courtesy of Visual Touch Photography. In addition, fans can visit the Bright House Sports Network Kids Interactive Zone and take a swing in a big league batting cage, test their fastball in the speed pitch booth and hit a home run in the Wiffle Ball Home Run Derby. Kids will also have the chance to run the bases and all fans can tour the Rays clubhouse.
Select Rays postseason merchandise will be available at 50% off.

Rays broadcasters Andy Freed, Dave Wills, Dewayne Staats and Todd Kalas will be on hand as will former major league catcher and manager and current broadcaster Buck Martinez, who will conduct a special question-and-answer session for all fans in the Centerfield Street Brew House at 1 p.m.

Martinez is currently host of Baseball This Morning on XM Radio and is a broadcaster for TBS and the Baltimore Orioles TV network.

The Rays will also welcome a special guest. Joey Chestnut, the winner of the 2007 and 2008 Annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, will greet fans and sign autographs. Chestnut, who unseated Kobayashi as the world champion, is ranked as the number one professional eater in the world.

Fans are encouraged to stop by the MetroPCS Call-A-Friend Stage from 1:00-3:00 p.m. to have the opportunity for a Rays player to call a friend or family member and receive the most up-to-date information on MetroPCS products.

Artifacts from the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame will be showcased as well as artifacts from the world's largest autographed baseball collection, including balls signed by Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb and many others. There will also be a baseball card show. The team will honor their most loyal and diehard fans by inducting six new members into the Rays/Pepsi Fan Wall of Fame during a ceremony at noon on the field. Those being honored are Corinne Bulla, St. Petersburg; Annie Miller, St. Petersburg; Pieter Wiemkin, St. Petersburg; Father Tom Anastasia, Plant City; David Brougham, New Port Richey; and Charlie Troeger, Auburndale.

The Rays Touch Tank presented by Visit St. Petersburg Clearwater will be open for fans to pet and feed live cownose rays. A silent auction will take place with proceeds benefiting the Rays Baseball Foundation.

The team will also be holding National Anthem auditions at Fan Fest. The first 50 fans to register will audition live for a chance to sing the anthem before a game at Tropicana Field this season. Audition sign-ups will be from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. at Gate 1. Auditions will begin at 10 a.m. and close at 4 p.m.

Groups and musical instruments (acoustic only) are welcome. For more information on Rays National Anthem auditions please call (727) 825-3151.

Fans may call 888-FAN-RAYS or log on to http://www.raysbaseball.com/ for more information on the Rays 2009 Fan Fest.

Tampa Bay Rays Sign Pat Burrell to 2-Year, $16 Million Deal

Just after 4:00PM today, the Tampa Bay Rays announced the signing of Pat Burrell to a 2-year, $16 million contract. Burrell will bring badly needed right handed power to the Rays line-up. While he will likely play DH most, if not all of the time, he brings consistent power to the Rays line-up. He's hit 30+ home runs in 5 of the last 8 seasons (251 career HRs) and he has proven to be very durable since joining MLB in 2001 (he's played about 150 games each year).

While he won't steal many (or any - he's was probably the slowest dude in the World Series) bases and he does strike out a lot (you can check out his stats here), he was a reasonably priced guy that filled a key need of the Rays. He may not be Mark Teixiera and 9=8.com would have preferred Milton Bradley (he looks poised to sign a 3-year, $30 million deal with the Cubs - see our earlier piece on him), but we'll take him.

The Rays have made a couple of great moves this off-season even if we didn't sign CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett or any other 2-initial players. I really like the addition of Nelson to the bullpen, the trade for Matt Joyce (this is a bit more risky for the Rays if they are stricken with starting pitching injuries, but they had to make the move for financial reasons) as well as the signing of Pat Burrell. The Rays still have time to make a few other moves, which I expect they will do over the coming weeks. I'm hopeful that they will find a way to sign Rocco

Based on my early analysis of these moves, I have to give props to Andrew, Matt and the rest of Rays management for making the moves they've made. While they may not work out as we all hope, they're clearly sticking to their strategy and executing on it pretty methodically.

Go Rays!

Tampa Bay Rays Identify 7 Potential Stadium Sites

The Tampa Tribune just broke a story that Rays fans will find particularly interesting; the Rays have identified 7 potential sites for the new stadium (all in Pinellas County). The listing of the sites is below as well as a link to the TBO.com article. The St. Pete Times also reported on these sites stating the the Carillon site was particularly interesting (read the article here).

The 10-member panel is charged with recommending a site for a stadium to county officials. All seven sites are in Pinellas County:

• Derby Lane

• Toytown Landfill

• Carillon Town Center

• Al Lang Field / Progress Energy Park

• St. Petersburg Clearwater Airport/Airco Golf Course

• Sod Farm (near ValPak Offices)

• Tropicana Field

Below is a Google Map that shows you where all of these locations are. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the Rays are thinking a lot about bringing this team closer to the center of all that is Tampa Bay. That's a smart move, in my opinion.


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