The Tampa Bay Rays walked away with their 11th win of the spring Thursday, edging out the New York Yankees by a score of 6-5. The game had everything one could ever want in a game: solo homers by Evan Longoria and Desmond Jennings, quality base running by Kevin Kiermaier, timely hitting but the likes of Asdrubal Cabrera and Brandon Guyer, and so much bullpen action that the only reasonable question left in the wake should be, “How much bullpen can you take?”
Tag Archives: Rays Stadium Saga
Rays Spring Training Update, Day 11: Rays Fall 3-2, Joey Butler is a Masher
Despite a two-out, ninth inning solo blast off the bat of Joey Butler, the Tampa Bay Rays dropped the Grapefruit League opener to the Baltimore Orioles by a score of 3-2, Thursday afternoon. All is not lost, however; Nathan Karns was solid in his two innings of work, there were more than a few defensive gems in the game that stayed scoreless into the seventh inning, and Butler turned out to be the Rays offense.
Highlights From Spring Training, Stadium Hypotheticals
The third day of Spring Training is in the books. RHP Roland Belisario, non-roster INF Juan Francisco and OF Joey Butler arrived at camp Wednesday, bringing the total number of arrivals to 59 out of the 63 players on the spring roster. Alex Colome — who has been delayed by visa issues in the Dominican Republic, Jeff Butler, Boog Powell and Eugenio Velez have yet to arrive, though the first full workout is not until Saturday.
A Few Questions As Spring Training Opens; Sternberg On the State of the Stadium Saga
As the hours tick down from a very busy offseason to a Spring Training full of hope and optimism, there are a handful of questions that long to be answered over the course of the next 6-½ weeks. Marc Topkin wrote about three of those questions Thursday — How is the middle infield going to be set up, is Steven Souza ready, and can they make their pitch? — though I’d argue another question should be included: who will back up Rene Rivera behind the plate? In an attempt to answer these questions, I am going to piggyback Topkin’s thoughts and add some analysis of my own.
City Council Holds First Stadium Workshop
The abstract: Despite an attempt by Mayor Rick Kriseman to stop St. Petersburg city staffers from preparing for a workshop on the subject of building a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays, St. Petersburg city council members met Thursday to discuss that very subject, potentially by redeveloping the 85-acre Tropicana Field property. That redevelopment would combine such things as a hotel or a small convention center with a new ball park. Unfortunately the reporting on the first of what promises to be a series of workshops on the subject netted cloudy results.