But at some point between 8:30 Wednesday night and the moment I started to pen this piece, I had a change of heart. A question I dared ask myself, what if this portion of the trade was positive? I fully acknowledge that I had a change of heart, partly because of what I’ve read about Rivera — despite the fact that he’s now with his seventh organization in 11 years, Rivera is a solid backstop.
Let’s expand on that.
Former third-base coach Tom Foley has been named as the Rays new bench coach, while former Durham Bulls skipper Charlie Montoyo will take over his spot, and Rocco Baldelli will take over for George Hendrick — who accepted a position with the Rays as Special Advisor, Baseball Operations — as the first-base coach.
While I hoped the City Council would have come to an understanding with the organization Thursday, I am not shocked by the outcome. This tired, less than tacit game of cat and mouse has been played out in front of the public for the last six years, and nothing really shocks me anymore: not Stu Sternberg’s explicit threats to ________________ (fill in the blank, like Mad-Libs) the team he uses as leverage, nor the city’s attempt to regain the leverage lost during the Bill Foster years.
I’m busy with a ton of stuff at the moment, so it is easier to re-post Fallon Silcox’s article on the failed stadium deal between the City of St. Pete and the Tampa Bay Rays. I’ll put something together shortly. In short, Noah Pransky (Shadow of the Stadium blog) put it best, the teams indication that they wouldn’t tweak the memorandum of understanding cost them yes votes. That is, the turning point in the meeting came when Rays President Brian Auld told the city council that St. Petersburg had to live up to terms of the use agreement regarding Tropicana Field redevelopment. What follows is the article in its entirety, followed by a smattering of notes.
The Rays — unexpectedly — just completed a three team trade of Wil Myers and Ryan Hanigan with the San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals. The deal is pending physicals of all the players involved, and final confirmation from the Rays.
