X-Rays Spex – Page 519 – A Below fWAR Rays Fan Site

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Well, You Can’t Win Them All

Matt Moore watches Alfonso Soriano round the bases following a inning two run homer. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images) — Matt Moore watches Alfonso Soriano round the bases following a third inning two-run homer. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

Update: Per Topkin, The Rays have acquired Crain from White Sox. According to Topkin, the Rays would not give up player on big league roster. I’m unsure how they would be able to put him on the 25-man roster without giving up a player on the big league roster. I’m sure we’ll know more soon.

I think Marc Topkin summed up yesterday’s game well,

“During the sizzling past month in which they have won almost every day, the Rays have had so many things seem to go their way. But in Sunday’s 6-5 walkoff loss to the Yankees, they had all kinds of things that did not:

Simple ground balls bouncing the wrong way, including the game-ending single by Alfonso Soriano. A fly ball ticking off the glove of Wil Myers — who hit two home runs of his own — for a lead-changing homer.”

The Rays couldn’t close the door on the woeful Yankees Sunday, thanks to a ninth inning Alfonso Soriano walk-off RBI ground-ball up the middle, off Jake McGee. Tampa Bay starts the day a half game back of the Boston Red Sox, with another battle for first looming tonight in the makeup game of the rainout in the previous series.

To be fair, losses are disappointing, though they are inevitable. You’re nothing short of naive if you expected the Rays to put together a history making post All-Star Break run — one in which they’d win every game between then and September 29th. Losses bring teams back down to earth and give them pause, allowing them to reflect why they lost in the first place. Ideally speaking, Tampa Bay figured out what happened, David Price will go out there and post seven plus innings of quality baseball tonight, and the Rays will again reclaim sole possession of first.

I’m not going to summarize the game per se. I will, however, touch on a few situations/things that may effected the outcome of yesterday’s game.

The First Inning

The Yankees did the brunt of their scoring in the first inning, thanks to a solo shot by Derek Jeter, a sac-fly by Vernon Wells, and an RBI base-hit by Ichiro Suzuki. Matt Moore looked sloppy and struggled to find the zone, while the Yankees tagged him for four hits and took advantage of a wild pitch that advanced Soriano to second. True, moral victories count for nothing in the win column. But for what it’s worth: Hadn’t Moore made a bad pitch to Jeter, if Cano’s infield hit to Escobar was fielded properly, and if Moore could take back the wild pitch, we’d be talking about a Rays win right now.

The Second Inning

Tampa Bay put five men on base (two singles, a Kelly Johnson RBI double, a fielder’s choice, and a walk) in the second inning, and walked away with only one run. Phil Hughes didn’t have his stuff yesterday, yet the Rays couldn’t pounce on a one out wRISP situation.

The Third Inning

Wil Myers came within inches of robbing Alfonso Soriano of a 338 foot cheap-shot:

It's pretty crazy to think that the Rays were literally within inches of winning the game. — It’s pretty crazy to think that the Rays were literally within inches of winning the game.

John Hirschbeck, Your Strike-zone Left A Lot to be Desired

Home plate umpire John Hirschbeck gave a fair number of gifts to Phil Hughes against left handed hitters, on the outer portion of the strike-zone. Hughes, most notably, struck out Jose Lobaton twice — both looking — on pitches that were well outside of the zone. Through three innings of play, Hughes had nine strikes and no balls called outside or away to left handed hitters, while Moore had no strikes and three balls called.

BQR9sSlCcAArlT0 — John Hirschbeck’s strike-zone plot against left handed hitters. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)

The New What Next

The Rays will attempt to reclaim sole possession of first first place tonight in Boston, in a one-game series against the Red Sox at Fenway. In a scene straight out of Back to the Future, David Price will again toe the mound against Felix Doubront. You may recall that Price tossed a five hit, one run, complete game against Doubront and the Red Sox, in a Rays 5-1 win last Wednesday. In the spirit of lazy journalism, you can read last weeks series preview for a sneak peek of tonight’s pitching match-up. We’ll post the starting lineup when it becomes available.

Rays 7/29/13 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Longoria 3B
Zobrist 2B
Myers RF
Scott DH
Escobar SS
Loney 1B
Molina C
Rodriguez LF
Price LHP

Noteworthiness

Per Marc Topkin, the Rays do have interest in Crain, though reports that a deal is close to being done appear premature. Topkin went on to say that, “ESPN Chicago reported earlier today that the Sox “are close to trading All-Star reliever Jesse Crain in a “complicated” deal involving two teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.’” Crain, 32, was having an outstanding season prior to his injury, posting a 0.74 ERA, with 19 holds over 38 appearances. Hmm, I wonder who may be on the chopping block. Kyle Farnsworth? Luke Scott? Roberto Hernandez? All three? We’ll post more as the news develops.
Myers now leads all rookies with seven home runs and 26 RBI. Cough, in a shorter span of time than Puig.
Furthermore, Myers is the first opposing rookie to homer twice in Yankee Stadium since Reid Brignac in 2010 (sorry, bad example). Other players to do so include Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr., and Manny Ramirez.
Dear Bob Ryan,

Like you, I’m none too happy with the state of the attendance at the Trop. However unlike you, I’m not some dickhole that’s willing to go out of my way to call Rays fans less than appreciative. To that end, I have to question your motivation and angle. Ultimately, the attendance issue is something that the Rays organization, leaders in the Bay Area, and Rays fans have to sort out and correct, not you — some marginally relevant baseball analyst from Boston. If I may borrow a line from Beavis and Butthead, “Beavis: Butt-head. It’s like uhhh…’We pee in your pool, so please take a dump in our toilet’.
Butt-head: No, butthole. That’s not it. It’s ‘We don’t pee in your toilet, so please don’t swim in our pool’.”

Click the photo to be redirected to good ole Bob's rant against Rays fans. — Click the photo to be redirected to good ole Bob Ryan’s rant against Rays fans.

Better yet, in a letter to the editor of the Tampa Tribune last Thursday, Al Dawson from Port Richey suggested that the Rays lower the price of parking and beer at the Trop. Al, I think you may be on to something here. See, I can’t see the fairness in only attacking one entity and its impact on the Stadium Saga. Yes, Foster and his cronies have dropped the ball. However it’s rather inane to assume that Sternberg and his cronies aren’t somehow complicit in the situation as well. Al, we hear you… Even if the powers that be do not.

“We are Rays fans and season-ticket holders and travel 45 miles each way to the games. We pay about $50 for each seat per game, and parking is at least $15.

Food costs a small fortune – $5 hot dogs and pretzels, and $8 beers. It’s not cheap to go to a game.

That being said, think about this: Tropicana field is old but adequate. There are no rain-outs, it’s 72-degrees inside and it’s somewhat easy to get to.

The Rays organization should think about this. Lower the parking fees and some of the food prices. Lower the price of tickets all around, and for season-tickets holders. Make it easier for the fans to fill their seats, and the numbers will add up.

Yes, building a new stadium closer to me would be fine, but is that the answer? Look at what happened to the Marlins – a new stadium did nothing for their attendance, and there are a lot more people in Miami.

If you want to ruin the Rays’ fan base, don’t even think about moving them out of the state.

Rays’ management has to wake up and smell the flowers. We love our Rays, but you guys have to come up with some new ideas and make it cheaper for us to fill your seats.”

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Archer Does It Again (Updated)

All hail King Archer! The Rays rookie tossed nine innings of two hit -- no run -- ball Saturday against the Yankees. — All hail King Archer! The Rays rookie tossed nine innings of two hit — no run — ball Saturday against the Yankees.

The last time Chris Archer tossed a complete game shutout (the 5-0 shutout of the Astros just prior to the All-Star Break), he called the outing the best of his career. Keep in mind, up to that point Archer had never gone more than seven innings in a game. Well kids, backed with an electric fastball and a sharp slider, Archer not only tossed another complete game shutout, he did so by giving up only two hits. I’d reckon that yesterday’s outing may have superseded his first complete game shutout.

The Rays RHP performed closer to his splits Saturday, striking out six batters while inducing 12 ground-ball outs and nine fly-ball outs, all the while walking none. Archer was able to stifle any hard hit balls, and only one Yankee was able to get into scoring position — Brett Gardner, who hit a ground rule double in the sixth inning.

This isn’t to take anything away from Ivan Nova, he was excellent. Nova, historically, has dominated the Rays. Prior to yesterday’s match-up, Nova sported a 4-1 record with a 2.20 ERA against the Rays in Yankee Stadium. Yesterday was no different. Leaning heavily on a very sharp curveball, Nova limited the Rays to one run in his seven innings of work, while striking out eight batters, walking three, and allowing six hits.

By the by, I live blogged the game. You can check out the blow-by-blow account at our Tumblr page.

The New What Next

Matt Moore and the Rays will go for the series sweep against Phil Hughes and the Yankees this afternoon. You can read about the pitching match-up here.

Rays 7/28/13 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Scott DH
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Myers RF
Joyce LF
Johnson 2B
Lobaton C
Escobar SS
Moore LHP

Noteworthiness

Here are some nuggets to mull over, while you sip your coffee this fine day (courtesy of DRaysBay):

The team is 21-0 in Chris Archer, Jeremy Hellickson and Matt Moore’s last seven starts.
In his last four starts, David Price has 3 complete games.
The starting rotation is 16-3 with a 1.92 ERA in the month of July.
Price – 4-1, 1.76 ERA, .78 WHIP, 27 strikeouts and only one walk in 41 IP.
Archer – two complete game shutouts, 4-0, 0.73 ERA, .65 WHIP, he’s the first pitcher of any age to shut out the Yanks in the Bronx without a walk since Greg Maddux in 1997. Archer went 4-0 with a 0.73 ERA in July and he might not even have the best month on the team.
Chris Archer is the first visiting pitcher to throw a 1-0 shutout against the Yankees, while allowing two hits or fewer and no walks in 78 years. The last was Wes Ferrell in 1935 with the Red Sox.
Moore – 0.91 ERA, .67 WHIP.
Per Barry and Orestes, prior to 2013 the Rays pitchers put together five complete game shutouts in franchise history. The Rays pitchers have put four together in the last month alone.
Yeah, is it really surprising that this Masshole is a jag-off? Cough…could their be cracks in the Red Sox foundation?

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: From Last to First

CC Sabathia tosses the ball after surrendering a run in the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Think back to the middle of June. The Rays were a part of an ultra-competitive AL East which found the Red Sox, Orioles, and Yankees in first, second, and third. Sitting in last place, most knew that Tampa Bay would eventually move up in the standings. Fast forward to last night, the Rays were finally able to claim sole possession of first place following a 10-6 win over CC Sabathia and the New York Yankees.

It all started in the top of the second inning. Ben Zobrist crushed a line drive double into the alley off of a CC Sabathia fastball that stayed up in the zone. Sean Rodriguez moved Zo to third on a well struck fly-ball out to left-field, bringing Yunel Escobar to the plate. Escobar sent a hanging slider to deep center field, plating the first run of the game on the second double of the inning. Following James Loney’s pop-out (for the second out of the inning), Jose Lobaton worked a seven pitch at bat, ultimately drawing a walk to put two on with two-outs. Sam Fuld was next, coming up big with a two-RBI single to center.

Desmond Jennings wanted a piece of the action. The speedy center-fielder surprised the Yankees with a two out bunt base-hit, and Fuld and Jennings were able to advance to second and third (respectively) when Austin Romine over threw first base in his errant attempt to gun Jennings down. Prior to the game, Evan Longoria was hitting .383 off CC Sabathia. In his next at-bat, Longo was able to tack on hit number 19 against Sabathia, sending a hanging slider into center field for an RBI double and giving the Rays a 5-0 lead. Tampa Bay was able to tag CC for one more run in the second on a Wil Myers single to left.

James Loney would add four more runs in the fifth and seventh innings (respectively), on an RBI single to center, and a three-run homer to right. Those would prove to be important runs — the Yankees whittled the lead to four in the eighth and ninth innings.

Warts and all, Jeremy Hellickson was able to post a quality outing after giving up only one run in six innings of work.

Helly got himself into a world of trouble in the third inning, loading the bases on three singles, a fielder’s choice, and a walk. But he impressively put together a good sequence against Alfonso Soriano, culminating in a weakly hit fly-out to right field. He shakily started the fourth inning as well, giving up a base hit to Lyle Overbay, and promptly walking Eduardo Nunez on five pitches. Jim Hickey noticed something, and he came to the mound to give Hellickson a breather. Whatever he said worked. Hellickson struck out Travis Hafner on a change-up, then retired the next eight hitters he faced in order.

31 of Hellickson’s total 102 pitches were change-ups. What’s more, eight of his twelve swinging strikes were on that pitch. Hellickson ultimately threw his change-up for a strike 77% of the time, while very other pitch he threw went for a strike 46% of the time. In the end, I’d say that Helly did a good job of making the proper adjustment to keep the wolves at bay.

Kyle Farnsworth put together an efficient 1-2-3 seventh in relief of Hellickson. However, as Ian Malinowski of DRaysBay put it, “The other pitchers at the bottom of the Rays bullpen totem pole did not make compelling cases for retaining their spots when the bullpen is reinforced. Cesar Ramos gave up two runs in the eighth, and Jamey Wright was pulled with two runs in already and the bases loaded after only getting one out.”

Joe Maddon brought in Jake McGee and Fernando Rodney to face Alfonso Soriano and Chris Stewart to get the last two outs of the ninth. McGee induced a fielder’s choice, and Rodney got Stewart to ground to third to end the game.

To be fair, Jamey Wright seemed to have the BABIP luck dragons nipping at his heels last night. Two of his three hits squeaked by the infielders, including a Brent Lillibridge single into center just beneath the glove of a diving Ben Zobrist. Gardner also hit a weak infield single that neither Longo, Wright, or Lobaton could field cleanly. I’d also like to point out that Wright was robbed of three of called strikes (see numbers one, one, and five at the top, bottom, and bottom right on the pitch f/x chart below).

Jamey Wright pitch f/x chart. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)

For the outcome oriented, all that mattered was the 10-6 win.

The New What Next

Chris Archer will butt heads with Ivan Nova in the second game of this three-game series. You can read about the pitching match-up here. Let’s Go Rays and Orioles!

Rays 7/27/13 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Longoria 3B
Myers RF
Loney 1B
Zobrist 2B
Joyce DH
Johnson LF
Molina C
Escobar SS
Archer RHP

Noteworthiness

Wil Myers is again hitting third today. Speaking of Myers, his seven-game multi-hit streak finds him tied with Marco Scutaro for longest in MLB this year, and the longest by an AL rookie since Ichiro in ’01.
The best tweet of the day award goes to Marc Topkin, “Girardi just said Jeter will play in a simulated game today at an undisclosed location. Seriously.”

The New What Next: Rays Will Attempt to Bury Yankees in A Three Game Weekend Series

Yunel Escobar and the Rays head to New York to take on the Yankees Friday. — Yunel Escobar and the Rays head to New York, to take on the Yankees in a three-game series, starting Friday. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times)

The Rays will attempt to bury the Yankees — consequently relegating them to their rightful place at the bottom of the AL East — in a three-game set in the Bronx, starting Friday. Tampa Bay is coming off a franchise tying eighth consecutive series victory, following the aborted game four in Boston, Thursday.

On the subject of Boston, we wouldn’t be talking about a rain delay or rainout, if that tin can of a stadium in Boston had a roof —retractable, or otherwise. Seriously, next time some Masshole rags on the Trop, kindly remind them that our field may have its disadvantages, but at least we don’t have rain delays and/or rainouts seemingly every series.

The aborted game will be made up this coming Monday, July 29th at 6:10 PM. As it stands, the Rays will decide whether to start David Price or Roberto Hernandez against the Red Sox Monday, with the other facing the Diamondbacks Tuesday. Now, back to the subject at hand: The Rays/Yankees series preview.

The Yankees are anticipating a bolstered offense with the recent acquisition of Alfonso Soriano, and the highly anticipated return of Derek Jeter. However, they will be facing a very tough and confident pitching staff that’s posted a cool 2.36 ERA over the last 30 days.

Rays and Yankees offensive production at home, away, and over the last 14 days.

CC Sabathia: Per Rotowire, “Sabathia and pitching coach Larry Rothschild found a flaw in Sabathia’s delivery while reviewing video Tuesday, the New York Post reports.” You know how we love watching the Rays butt heads with Sabathia. The Yankees struggling starter is 1-2 with a 7.29 ERA in three starts versus the Rays this season, giving up five runs in seven innings in his last start against the Rays on June 22nd. Key match-ups: Yunel Escobar (9-31, 3 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 2 BB), Kelly Johnson (5-15), Jose Lobaton (3-11, 2 RBI, BB), James Loney (4-12, HR, 2 RBI), Evan Longoria (18-47, 4 2B, 6 HR, 10 RBI, 12 BB), Wil Myers (2-3, HR, 4 RBI), Sean Rodriguez (11-36, 2 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB).

Ivan Nova: Per Rotowire, “Nova lost to the Rangers Monday as he pitched seven innings and allowed three runs, seven hits and three walks to go along with four strikeouts.” At 5-1 with a 3.04 ERA against the Rays extending back to 2010, Ivan Nova has been a hough nut to crack. However, Tampa Bay was able to beat him back in June in a 6-2/3 IP/7 H/3 R outing. Key match-ups: Desmond Jennings (5-15, 2B, 3B, BB), James Loney (2-4), Wil Myers (1-3), Sean Rodriguez (5-12, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI).

Phil Hughes: Per Rotowire, “Hughes allowed three runs — all unearned — on four hits and three walks over 5.2 innings Tuesday against the Rangers.” The Rays weren’t quite the offensive juggernaut the last time they faced Hughes in July. In that outing, Tampa Bay tagged the Yankees RHP for all of two-runs on six hits. Since then, Hughes has given up three or more runs six times — five of which culminated in a Yankees loss. Key match-ups: Yunel Escobar (7-19, 2 2B, RBI, BB), Matt Joyce (5-13, 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 BB), James Loney (3-6), Evan Longoria (5-19, 2B, RBI, 3 BB), Luke Scott (8-16, 3 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB).

Noteworthiness

Per Yahoo Sports, “Hellickson is 5-0 with a 2.19 ERA over his last six starts after giving up two runs in five innings of Saturday’s 4-3 win at Toronto. The right-hander, 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in five career starts versus New York, last faced the Yankees when he allowed three hits in 8 2-3 innings of a 3-0 win April 8, 2012.”
Wil Myers is 18-for-36 in his last nine games, and went went 2-for-3 with a homer and four RBIs against Sabathia on June 22.
Per Steve Kinsella of DRaysBay, “The Yankees have an all-time record against the Rays of 163-103, 89-42 at home, and 24-16 at new Yankee Stadium. This will be the 4th series of the season between the two teams with the season series all even at 5-5. The Rays have won 11 of the last 20 contests overall and are 19-13 head to head dating back to September 22, 2011. The Yankees have won 12 of their last 18 and 14 of the last 21 home meetings between the clubs.”
Alfonso Soriano’s belted eight home runs in July. By comparison, the Yankees have mustered an AL-worst seven.
Mike Axisa of CBS Sports gives the Rays a B grade (modesty will get you nowhere, Mike) on the week, saying, “The Rays came into the week as the hottest team in baseball — they’d won 17 of their last 19 games — but they still had some doubters because most of that damage came against bad teams. The four-game series against the Red Sox in Boston would be a litmus test, and they responded by taking two of three before the series finale was rained out. Lefties Matt Moore and David Price deserve an individual “A” — they threw complete games in the two wins. Moore twirled a two-hit shutout, Price a one-run, five-hitter.”

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: All Hail Kings David, Escobar, and Zobrist

Rays shortstop Yunel Escobar makes a behind-the-back glove toss to start a double play ending the fourth inning of Wednesday's game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. — Rays shortstop Yunel Escobar makes a behind-the-back glove toss to start a double play ending the fourth inning of Wednesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

It was a hallmark type game that you’ve come to expect out of the Rays, a game that had everything: excellent pitching, outstanding defense, and a scrappy offense that was able to push across five runs — all on base hits. Tampa Bay again moved a game closer to owning sole possession of first place Wednesday night, with a 5-1 win against its AL East rivals Boston. Handcuffing the Red Sox, the Rays made a four run deficit feel like a wide chasm that was impossible to cross. And to be fair, it was an impossible chasm to cross when you consider that nothing was getting by the Gold Glove caliber infield of Longoria/Escobar/Zobrist/Loney. I’ll highlight (below) a few things that I may have neglected to talk about in our live blogged coverage of last night’s game, on our Tumblr page.

David Price was absolutely dominant from the get go. The Rays ace now has three complete games under his belt, following his 47-day stint on the DL. More impressively, Price has thrown less than 100 pitches in those starts, all the while featuring stellar velocity and control. There has been a simplicity in his approach — throw quality strikes, and don’t shy away from contact. I’d imagine that twelve ground ball outs and four strikeouts speaks to that. King David only gave up five hits on the night, and impressively walked no one. In fact, he has walked only one batter in his last five starts, while getting into only two three-ball counts. In short, it was a masterful performance against one of baseball’s most potent and patient offense’s. Price’s line in his five post DL starts: 4-1/1.76 ERA/41 IP/27 K/1 BB
That double play… Whoa! Yunel Escobar continued to show why he should be a Gold Glove candidate, putting together some of the best glove we’ve seen all season (hell, some of the best glove work since 2008), turning this glove-flip double play:

Click this to be redirected to streaming video of the most amazing Rays borne double play I've ever seen. — Click *this* to be redirected to streaming video of the most amazing Rays borne double play I’ve ever seen.

I can’t leave you out, BenZo! Credit where it’s due, Zobrist did his part in turning the double play — bare handing Escobar’s toss, and quickly firing the ball to Loney a step ahead of the runner.
Oh yeah, the offense. The Rays singled Doubront and company to death, ultimately tagging the Red Sox pitchers for five runs on 11 hits — none of which being an extra base hit — and two walks. Tampa Bay did most of its damage off Doubront in the second inning. Wil Myers plated the first two runs on a base hit to center following a pair of Desmond Jennings and Evan Longoria singles. Myers and Ben Zobrist (who reached on a bunt fielder’s choice) pulled off the double steal to put runners on second and third, then Luke Scott hit a sac-fly scoring Zobrist, ultimately giving the Rays a 3-0 lead. In the eighth inning, Luke Scott scored the fourth run for the Rays on a James Loney single to right off Matt Thronton, while Sean Rodriguez gave the Rays an insurance run, crossing the plate on a Jose Molina grounder through the left side.

The New What Next

Jeremy Hellickson and the Rays will attempt to take a half game lead on the Red Sox tonight against John Lackey. Tampa Bay has had a lot of success against Lackey in the past. You can read about the pitching match-up here.

Rays 7/25/13 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Longoria 3B
Zobrist 2B
Myers RF
Loney 1B
Scott DH
Joyce LF
Lobaton C
Escobar SS
Hellickson RHP

Noteworthiness

Maddon has Longo hitting second again tonight.
Moore and Price are the first LHP teammates to record complete games in same series against Boston at Fenway since Blue and Knowles of Oakland in ‘73.
Sometimes the darndest things happen when a report is made that there has been a breakthrough in the talks between the City of St. Petersburg and the Rays: The facts get obscured, and we’re lead to believe that a shiny new facility is all but ready to go in downtown Tampa. Slow your roll, Tampa Bay Times and the Tribune, we’re not as close to a resolution as you’ve implied. First off, St. Pete’s top attorney, John Wolfe, said an agreement is “a long way off.” Noah Pransky of the Shadow of the Stadium blog asserts, “And it’s not a surprise – how does a city guarantee the Rays’ promise to consider Pinellas County stadium sites is anything more than lip service?” To that end, St. Pete city council member Karl Nurse noted that the city would be protected, because neither side could break the team’s current contract to play at Tropicana Field “unless both sides agree.” Furthermore, the Rays would be compelled to thoroughly examine a proposed stadium in St. Petersburg’s Carillon Business Park — if not other sites in the greater St. Petersburg/Pinellas County area (cough, the 84 acres of land that the Trop sits on). Pransky also asks five simple questions that we all should be asking: 1. Who will flip in St. Pete? 2.How close is an agreement in reality? 3. What will St. Pete get out of letting the Rays look? 4. How independent will the study be? 5. Who will pay for a stadium?