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Been discussed a trillion times before.edit: The main reason is the dome is in an atrocious location. Most people in Tampa (the big population base) aren't driving over to St. Pete on a work night, after working all day where you would have to head home to get the kids, etc. The weekend attendance is usually pretty fair.There will be a new stadium closer to Tampa sometime in this decade.
I think the best stat I've seen to sum this up is this:Under 30% of the Rays fanbase lives within a 30 minute drive. I read somewhere that no other MLB team was under 50%.Premier said:
Can't be true
I don't know enough about other markets to say...just repeating what I heard. What teams would not fit? Isn't all of Manhattan within 30 minutes of the Bronx? Miami could be close...but if you go 30 minutes north and south, I think you've covered the 5K fans that make up their 50%. Braves probably doesn't work.Maybe it was an average of over 50%.
Also a HUGE percentage of tickets are bought by major corportations. Other than Raymond James that area really doesn't have any major corporations.
So I am assuming this is alluding to St. Pete being a bad neighborhood? Never been there but I head them dancing around the subject last week on the ESPN broadcast. It seemed like Boone and Singleton wanted to really say something about the location but just beat around the bush, and kept using words like unfortunate.Anyway, I would love a layout similar to the SF Giants, where the water was beyond an outfield wall, if they ever were to get a new stadium. The broadcasters also alluded to them being locked into a pretty lengthy lease at the Trop though.
30 minute drive when? 30 minute drive at gametime and I'd say the Rangers are in the 30% range. 30 minute drive at 3 in the morning 50% is more likely.
The neighborhood is about 12-14 blocks from the nice, waterfront area of downtown St Pete. Unfortunately, there is nothing around where the Trop sits but gas stations, industry, and lower quality housing.The plans for the new stadium last year were to sit it on the Al Lang grounds...which is one of the original Spring Training venues. Right Field would have backed up to the water and guys could hit HR's over the seats and into the Bay. But the Team realized that venue would never happen....too many older people in the area who wouldn't want traffic, noise, views blocked, etc (even though they already have that). And the problem of fanbase location would still remain.So the ideal solution seems like the area around the Lightning arena, convention center, Channelside entertainment district (where a lot of the Super Bowl pregame shows aired from last year). They could also be waterfront, and in the heart of Tampa.
Usually teams with the best record in baseball are considered 'good'.
I think they give Pena to the ASB to get going. After that they'll go Zobrist at first, Brignac/S-Rod platoon at 2B, Joyce in RF.DH continues to be a hole, outside of Jaso's play today. Blalock is just as useless as I remembered seeing him being.
After last nights blow up, I'm going to predict another poor week in (recently) typical fashion.
It gets frustrating...but you have to take the bad with good when it comes to Maddon's aggressiveness. He will not let off the pedal...ever. Most of the time it works out ok.One of his clubhouse slogans is "Err on the side of Aggression!".
After a huge week, I'm going to predict a typical 10 game super slump.
I doubt ever. Maddon likes matchups...he's got Zobrist, a switch hitter who will rarely see the bench, to play RF or 2B...and he can play the righty SRod or the lefty Brignac against good matchups opposite Zobrist.If Brignac was playing worse...maybe Maddon would work something out...but he's got similiar numbers to Rodriguez.Polecat said:
I'll take up Cappy's cause in his absence....:broom:
Like clockwork.:broom:
We're a little streaky.
Two All-Star game starters.
CC deserved it.Price rounds out the threesome. Too bad Soriano didn't make it.
Congrats to Soriano btw...Two All-Star game starters.CC deserved it.Price rounds out the threesome. Too bad Soriano didn't make it.
Would still like a conventional lineup with Upton leading off.
