St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman met with the press outside of Tropicana Field Thursday afternoon. (Photo Credit: Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times)
On Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rays rejected an offer from the city of St. Petersburg that would have allowed the team to search for a new stadium site regionally in exchange for an exit fee.
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman met with Rays officials, including president Brian Auld, for an hourlong meeting at Tropicana Field, where he discussed the deal which passed city council approval a week ago.
Drafted by council member Jim Kennedy, the plan would require the team to pay around $33 million if it left in 2020, however, that price tag would drop by half if the Rays stayed in Pinellas County. The team wouldn’t be on the hook for anything if they came to an agreement on a new stadium location in St. Petersburg.
Kriseman’s spokesman, Ben Kirby released a statement following the meeting:
Mayor Kriseman is disappointed but not surprised that the Tampa Bay Rays are not in agreement with City Council’s proposal. The mayor will continue to work with the leadership of the Tampa Bay Rays and our City Council to find common ground and resolve this issue. Mayor Kriseman is dedicated to keeping the Tampa Bay Rays in the city of St. Petersburg in the long term.
Moments later, Auld issued a statement on the Rays behalf:
Although we appreciate the time and attention that Mayor Kriseman and the City Council have dedicated to this issue, we do not agree to this proposal. We remain open to pursuing a cooperative path forward.
While Thursday’s outcome is disappointing to some, that the team rejected the offer is not shocking in the least. Council member Charlie Gerdes, who also drafted a counter-offer, said he wasn’t surprised by the end result, however, it was good news that the two sides were talking again. Noah Pransky (Shadow of the Stadium) also pointed out that Auld’s statement was rather quick, and questioned if it may have been pre-planned.
So now, we’ll all wait until Tuesday’s city election to see which candidates are elected to council. If the Rays’ preferred choice, Lisa Wheeler-Brown, doesn’t beat Will Newton, the team may be forced to negotiate with less leverage than it’s ever had before.
If Wheeler-Brown wins, St. Pete council will get yet another “last chance” to save the ballclub that’s locked into a stadium contract for 12 more years.
Jim Hickey (pictured) agreed to a contract extension through 2018 on Tuesday.
Tampa Bay Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey has agreed to a new three-year deal that will keep him with the organization through 2018.
Hickey, considered one of the top pitching coaches in the majors, has been with the Rays since 2007. During his tenure under Joe Maddon and now Kevin Cash, the Rays’ pitching staff has ranked among the league’s best. Pitchers ― both past and present, staff, team executives and competitors throughout the game have heaped praise upon Hickey, who has been credited with reviving the careers of hurlers like Joaquin Benoit and Rafael Soriano. He’s also helped “fix” pitchers like Drew Smyly and Erasmo Ramirez.
Hickey was signed through 2016, however, this new contract will replace that deal. Although the terms of the deal are not available, one could assume he received a well deserved raise.
Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), who broke the story, speculated that Hickey would have been a hot commodity among other teams if the Rays let him get to the end of his contract. With foresight being 20/20, President for Baseball Operations Matt Silverman stepped in before that could happen.
The Kansas City Royals celebrate the 4-3 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays in game six of the 2015 MLB American League Championship Series at Kauffman Stadium on October 23, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo Credit: Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
At long last, all of the hard work ― beginning in Spring Training and leading up to now ― comes down to this, the final series of the season. Behold the World Series: the best of seven battle that will be fought between a pair of division champions, the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets.
The New York Mets are led by four young, flame-throwing starters whose names are already starting to become local lore: Harvey, DeGrom, Syndergaard, Matz. Each tops 95 miles per hour on the radar gun with little effort and had his National League playoff opponent on the Chicago Cubs swinging at the ghosts of baseballs passed. But the free-swinging Cubs are not the Royals. The Royals are a squad that by a significant margin strikes out less than any team in the Majors. Every at-bat will be part chess match, part blind gamble, where the Royals will dare the young Mets pitchers to throw strikes and the Mets Four Horsemen will throw fat fastballs around the plate and dare the Royals to swing.
Yet there is more to both teams than can be summed up in just one paragraph. For one thing, both squads are rather different from one another. Name any facet of the game, and the Mets and the Royals are on opposite sides of the leaderboard.
On the offensive end of things, the Mets work at-bats and take walks. And though they often slug their way to victory, New York is a pitchable team that tends to strike out at a fair clip. On the other hand, the Royals don’t really do any of that. The emphasis, for Kansas City, is on putting the ball in play ― something that may bode well against the Mets’ high velocity hurlers.
Kansas City feasts on fastballs, and their weighted on base average (wOBA; against the fastball) was 29 points better than the league’s. Against 94-96 mph fastball, that gap grew to 51points. Even at 96 mph and above, the Royals were still significantly better than they were against all pitches. The Mets, however, posted only a .272 wOBA on fastballs, and unfortunately for them, Kansas City’s staff ― led by Yordano Ventura ― throws almost as hard as New York’s staff.
Their ability to hit the fastball poses a problem for the Mets, a team that relies more heavily on the heater than any other 2015 playoff team.
Although to be fair, New York hasn’t slouched in the offseason, plating 43 runs in its nine games for an average of just under five runs per game. Daniel Murphy, who has powered the Mets’ offense, has homered in six consecutive playoff games (postseason record), and enters the World Series slashing .421/.436/1.026 with 11 runs scored and 11 RBI. Overall, New York has scored in the first inning in each of their last five games. The Mets haven’t trailed since Game 5 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Defensively speaking, the Royals are far superior. Kansas City boasts a roster composed of rangy athletes, while New York is average at best. As it relates to defensive value for the season (as measured by FanGraphs), the Royals are number one and the Mets are 17th. On top of that, the Royals are second only to the Arizona Diamondbacks with 56 defensive runs saved. The Mets? They rank 21st with a -7 DRS.
Eno Sarris (FanGraphs) also noted another stark difference between each club:
…once you separate plays into easy and hard bins. Easy plays, sure, the Mets can get the ball to the base or squeeze the glove like the rest of them. They’re 16th on plays that are made 60-100% of the time by Inside Edge, and the Royals are 12th. If you hit it right at them, there’s not that much of a difference here.
If you hit it a little further away, though, the Royals’ defense really separates itself. They can pick it. Now the Royals are second and the Mets are 25th.
Another narrative will surely dominate the series: The Mets’ starting rotation vs. the Royals’ bullpen. The skinny, New York’s foursome of twenty-somethings has led a staff that’s collected a 2.81 ERA in the postseason, with 91 strikeouts and just 22 walks in nine games. The Royals ‘pen is composed of hurlers strong enough to help prop up the rest of the team, especially when the starters don’t go deep.
Terry Collins will throw Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard in the front three games of the series. Ned Yost will counter with Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto, and Yordano Ventura. The announcement of who will pitch and when from game four on is expected shortly.
Royals and Mets series starters overall in 2015.Royals and Mets overall offensive production in 2015.Royals and Mets championship series numbers.
Edinson Volquez (1-2, 4.32 ERA in the postseason) tossed six innings of two-hit, shutout ball en route to grabbing the win in the opening game of the ALCS. Volquez didn’t fare as well in his Game 5 start, however, allowing five runs over five innings. Key matchups: Yoenis Cespedes (1-3), Michael Cuddyer (4-11, 2 RBI, 3 BB), Lucas Duda (2-8, 2B, 3 BB), Wilmer Flores (1-3, 2B), Kelly Johnson (4-14, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 BB), Daniel Murphy (6-15, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 BB)
Matt Harvey (2-0, 2.84 ERA in the postseason) will take the mound in game on. He may also take the hill in Game 5 and could be available out of the bullpen for a deciding Game 7. In two starts (both wins) this postseason, he’s allowed five runs (four earned) on 11 hits and four walks while striking out 16 in 12-2/3 innings. Key matchup: Alex Rios (1-3)
Johnny Cueto (1-1, 7.88 ERA in the postseason) has proved to be inconsistent in the postseason. He followed up his great Game 5 performance in the ALDS by allowing eight runs over just two innings in his lone start against the Blue Jays. Key matchups: Travis d’Arnaud (3-5, 2 2B, BB), Curtis Granderson (2 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB), Juan Uribe (2-6, 2B, 2 RBI)
Jacob deGrom (3-0, 1.80 ERA in the postseason) has given up four runs on 15 hits and five walks while punching out 27 in 20 postseason innings. He is also expected to take the mound in Game 6.
Yordano Ventura (0-1, 5.09 ERA in the postseason) was given the start in the ALCS-clinching Game 6, going 5-1/3 innings while allowing just one run. The righty went through some rough patches in the regular season, but he’s been able to hold opponents to three or fewer runs in all four postseason starts.
Noah Syndergaard (1-1, 2.77 ERA in the postseason) will be the third starter in the Mets’ four-man rotation. As a result, Syndergaard may take the hill in Game 7, if needed. In three appearances (two starts) this postseason, he’s posted a 1-1 record, while surrendering just four runs on eight hits and six walks while fanning 20 in 13 innings.
Noteworthiness
― This being a living/breathing document, expect some edits and additions over the course of the series. That is, keep checking back!
Some 11-1/2 months after St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Krisemen announced a pending stadium deal with the Tampa Bay Rays — a deal that was ultimately voted down by the city council — council member Jim Kennedy offered a counter-offer that passed with a 5-3 vote Thursday afternoon.
Under the compromise, the Rays would compensate the city of St. Petersburg $4M a year for every season the team plays in Hillsborough County until 2027. Kennedy offered a discount for every season they play outside of St. Petersburg, but within Pinellas County (Toytown, Carillon, Derby Lane, etc); a sum total of $2.5 million a year.
Additionally, under the counter-offer, the Rays would pay a one-time redevelopment fee to cover the cost of site preparation and demolition of the Trop. If they move to Hillsborough County, that fee would be $5M. However, that fee drops to $2.5M if they leave St. Petersburg but stays in Pinellas County.
The team would not be on the hook for anything if they come to an agreement on a new St. Peterasburg stadium, although all offers would be off the table if Pinellas Commissioners dedicated their available bed taxes elsewhere.
Under Kennedy’s plan, the estimated payout to the city would be $41M — $21M more than the original Kriseman plan, agreed upon by the Rays. This new deal is similar to that of the one previously offered by former Mayor Bill Foster, who wanted $5M from the Rays per season to vacate Tropicana Field.
$41M is significantly higher than the compromise offered by council member Charlie Gerdes, who earlier proposed a deal worth $25.5M. Gerdes was one of three dissenting votes against the new proposal, along with council members Amy Foster and Darden Rice.
Mayor Krisemen will bring the counteroffer to the Rays to strike a compromise, although he is concerned that “as time passes, deals don’t get better.”
Derby Lane, one of the ballyhooed sites in the Tampa Bay Rays’ search for a new home. (Photo Credit: TBO.com)
The St. Petersburg City Council is slated to discuss a pair of new stadium proposals up for consideration. Both proposals ― which have lovingly been referred to as the Gerdes plan and the Kennedy plan by Noah Pransky (Shadow of the Stadium) ― would allow the Rays to explore new stadium sites regionally, both in Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties.
Starting with the Gerdes plan (which can be read here), the Rays would be required to pay a fee of $1.4M per year from the time they decide to build a new stadium outside St. Petersburg. That fee increases to $2.5M per year once Tropicana Field has been vacated through the end of the lease. If they chose to stay within city limits, no fees would be levied.
Council member Gerdes is also proposing the team to forgo all development rights to the Tropicana Field site unless they build their next stadium in St. Pete.
The increase in cost for the Rays would be approximately $5M, with an estimated payout to the city rising to $25.5M ― $5.5M more than the original Kriseman plan, agreed upon by the Rays.
Charlie Frago (Tampa Bay Times) reported that Gerdes’ proposal likely has the support of two previous “no” votes, which could give the Rays the 5-3 margin they would need; assuming the other three maintain their steadfast support.
Councilman Jim Kennedy proposed his own plan for the Rays to compensate the city of St. Pete: $4 million a year for every season the team plays in Hillsborough County until 2027. Kennedy offered a discount for every season they play outside of St. Petersburg, but within Pinellas County (Toytown, Carillon, Derby Lane, etc); a sum total of $2.5 million a year.
Additionally, Kennedy proposed the Rays pay a one-time redevelopment fee for the Trop: $5 million if they move to Hillsborough, and $2.5 million if they leave St. Pete but stay in Pinellas County.
The team would not be on the hook for anything if they come to an agreement on a new St. Pete stadium, although as Christopher O’Donnell (TBO.com) reported, all offers would be off the table if Pinellas Commissioners dedicated their available bed taxes elsewhere. The specifics on that weren’t terribly clear, writes Pransky.
Under Kennedy’s plan, the estimated payout to the city would be $41M. It also bears mentioning:
Though Mayor Kriseman and the Rays both say the team wouldn’t go any higher than the original offer, there has been an indication that some council members might be intrigued by Kennedy’s plan ― which could sound the death knell on Gerdes’ less lucrative plan.
We will see where the council members stand on the issue this Thursday.
