Put a fork in it, the 2011 season is over, well at least for the Rays. There are so many opportunities for me to pick apart yesterday’s tough 4-3 loss to the Texas Rangers. But in the end, all that really matters is, that inspite of the odds against them, the Rays by and far exceeded the fair majority of our expectations. Our Rays defied the odds. Our Rays left our community with our collective heads held high. And in a time with little to be hopeful for, economically speaking that is, our Rays gave us a sense of identity and something to bond over; something to be proud of. Cliche as it may sound, the Rays have set and are setting some amazing examples of the virtues of never giving up, to a population of kids that need some concrete examples of that in their lives. Yankees and Red Sox fans, take your history and shove it; we’re slowly but surely creating our own, and we’re doing it on our own terms.
Chalk 2011 down in the baseball history books as the year that our small market team, composed of two well-known players and a rag-tag group of nobodies, forever changed the narrative of baseball. Correct me if I’m wrong Yankees and Red Sox fans, but that’s history right? Just checking.
So where do we go from here? Hopefully the front office will make some pivotal moves in the off-season to solidify the team somewhat. What moves? It’d be great to see the Rays firm up the shortstop and catcher positions, and ideally acquire some arms in the ‘pen. I will say that I was impressed with Shoppach behind the plate this year, and I do think that Sean Rodriguez is solid defensively. I also feel like he’s starting to come alive at the plate. However, I think that the Rays need a solid second catcher, and not John Jaso. Tampa Bay also needs someone to fill in SeanRod’s spot up when Maddon starts him at another position. It would greatly behoove Tampa Bay to re-sign Casey Kotchman, Johnny Damon, and Joel Peralta, as well as picking up Kyle Farnsworth’s option for 2012. Finally, we’re going to need to get another center fielder since we can only assume that BJ Upton will not be on the roster next spring.
There’s a hope that we can figure out this whole stadium mess. It’s no secret that the Rays revenues are dwindling, and much of the problem is precipitated by a sub-par facility. Mayor Foster needs to stop balking at any mention of a new facility, and reopen the lines of communication with Sternberg and Co. As much as we don’t want to admit it, Sternberg makes a good, albeit rough around the edges, point. This isn’t to say that his petulant musings are winning him any new fans, nor can the Trop be the blame for all of the attendance and revenue woes. However, he owns the team and it’s silly to think that he’s whining for whining sake, nor has any basis for those musings. There are many valid points in his arguments and the mayor owes it to him to sit down and discuss things in a civil manner. The city is at risk of losing $300 million plus (cumulative revenue) a year if the Rays were to seek greener pastures.
We’ve come to expect a winning team over the course of the last four years. However, Gary Shelton made a good point in his front page article, in today’s St. Petersburg Times.
…this might be as good as it gets for Tampa Bay baseball. The crowds are probably not going to get significantly better, and the payroll isn’t going to go up, and the Rays still aren’t likely to have enough hitting. They seemed to be destined to be limited, doomed to be flawed.
In short, things aren’t going to get any better if we the fans, the City of St. Petersburg, and the Rays organization don’t do anything about it. Folks, we need to step it up. We need to fill the stands on a daily basis…and by fill I mean average more than 14,000 people a night. It’s not unreasonable to ask for an average of 24,000 people in the stands for any given series outside of the Yankees, Red Sox, and now (hopefully) the Rangers series. We fans, that consistently come to games every season, need to put the rest of you to task. Tired of hearing Stu’s petulant cries? You folks, can do something about it by showing up!
The organization, on the other hand, could take cues from other teams like the Brewers who offer discounted tickets to get people in the stands. Sure, the Rays wouldn’t make as much money as they would, if the Trop was filled with attendees paying full price. But, they’d certainly be making more money than they typically do when the stands are empty…money with which we can sign players with big bats, and re-sign old fan favorites. Maybe the organization could lower parking costs so that we don’t have to park in sketchy neighborhoods, in order to save a few dollars to buy an overpriced beer. To that end, perhaps the Rays could lower their concession costs. Call me crazy, but $9.00 for all you can drink sugar water, and $10 for piss water (read: Miller Light) is a bit expensive, innit? To the Rays FO: Give some sort of incentive for the fans that are strapped for cash to come out to the ballpark, and they’ll come out to the ballpark.
I can remember growing up without a baseball team as a kid. I can remember the excitement induced by the mere mention of the possibility that the White Sox, Giants, or Mariners might move to our fine area. We’ve now got a hell of a team to be proud of, and there is so much for us fans, and the organization at large, to be proud of. The promise of a team that can take down the big boys is explicit and, I for one, cannot wait for spring training to get the gears cranking again. I mean Christ, if this team with as little experience as they have can make it this far, just think how far the Matt Moore’s, Sean Rodriguez’s and Desmond Jennings’ of the team can take us from here on out!
So, where will the good folks here at Raysbaseball.co be in this off-season? I certainly can’t speak for everyone. As for me though, I’ll be trolling the internet, scouting reports, and other sources for news surrounding our team to bring to you, dear reader. I have a sickening feeling that I’ll be reporting the ill feelings between the mayor and the organization, but my hopes remain high that something good will come out of this off-season. I’ve also got this thing called a job, so I’m sure some of my time will be spent working. So yeah, in any case I’ll see y’all around at area drinking establishments, lamenting the season and the fact that there’s nothing on the tube worth watching. As always, Go Rays!