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I'm asking because in 2009 they missed the playoffs and only won 84 games and was wondering what they did in the offseason to come back to battle the Yankees?
I like Tampa Bay, specifically because the so-called "experts" never figure on them to do anything. They justify my belief that what you really need to win is a team that plays like a team--it's not necessary to sign a locker-room full of All-Stars and celebrities. Just go out there and play baseball!
I like Tampa Bay, specifically because the so-called "experts" never figure on them to do anything. They justify my belief that what you really need to win is a team that plays like a team--it's not necessary to sign a locker-room full of All-Stars and celebrities. Just go out there and play baseball!
A smart front office, the best young group of major league talent in baseball, and a top notch farm system gives the franchise an embarrassment of riches. They don’t have room for all their quality players. Their depth is ridiculous, yet there are few weaknesses on the major league roster that could use an upgrade. The team’s revenue streams aren’t up there with the big boys, but their remarkable talent overcomes that limitation. The Rays are for real, and they’re going to put a contending team on the field for the next half decade at least.
Five Questions: Tampa Bay Rays
I can't find a link to the actual PECOTA projections, which is (what I was really looking for) odd, but this article published in March of 2008 says what I wanted to say:
Quote:
2. Is Andrew Friedman the new Billy Beane?
Perhaps that’s a bit hyperbolic—Friedman likely won’t have a book written about his approach on market efficiency anytime soon—but you have to admire the job the first-time general manager has done with some of the lowest payrolls even for the Rays’ meager history. Friedman has managed to combine talented prospects with a few steady veterans and some breakout candidates to the extent that PECOTA sees the Rays winning 88 games while only “paying” around $2 million per victory.
The experts see the Rays for what they are: an enormously talented, very well run team that will be in the thick of things in the AL East for the foreseeable future.
I'm asking because in 2009 they missed the playoffs and only won 84 games and was wondering what they did in the offseason to come back to battle the Yankees?
Pretty simple answer: Benoit and Soriano. In 2009, their bullpen gave away a ton of games - now, not so much.
The Rays need to move from Tampa to a real city. They have to give tickets away so that people will show up.
That's part of the problem - there's a long list of reasons why they're not packing fans in the Trop. The biggest issue is the economy, then the location of the stadium in St Pete.
As for providing tickets - that only happened on one day, sort of a fan appreciation/sample the product day to give some people a taste of baseball if they've never gone to MLB.
Recently, the Rays tickets were found to be the most affordable ticket in sports, so you can't blame the organization.
that will be in the thick of things in the AL East for the foreseeable future.
I'm not so sure about that. They've already said that they need to cut payroll and will have to let Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena leave via free agency after this season. They do have a very well-run organization, so maybe they have some prospects that will step in and do well, but I will bet that there's a drop off next year with losing 2 of their biggest sluggers.
Florida is just a horrible place for baseball...the fact that the Rays have one of the best teams in baseball and can't get fans is pathetic. Giving away tickets just to get people in the seats?? In Philly, you have to sell your soul just to get tickets. I could see the Rays pitiful attendance if they were still losing 95 games a year, but with this team, and the affordable prices, they should be packing them in, no matter if their stadium is the newest style or not.
And then the Marlins, a very successful organization, yet they can't outdraw little league games. I think its just that people down there aren't really into baseball, and the people there that are baseball fans more than likely moved from somewhere else and only show up to Rays/Marlins games when their team is in town...see all the Yankees and Red Sox fans at Rays games, and Phillies fans at Marlins games.
Florida does not have real cities. I visited downtown Tampa once and it was a ghost town. The Rays really deserve a better location.
I have heard people throw around the idea of moving a 2nd team to Philly. I think the Rays would draw better in Philly than in Tampa. Think about it, the AAA Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs drew just under a million fans this year for minor league baseball, just 45 minutes from Philly. The Trenton Thunder also draw well, not all that far from Philly. I think putting an AL East team, with a lot of games against the Yankees and Red Sox, in either central Jersey or the northern suburbs of Philly (which could also draw from the Lehigh Valley and Poconos), would do well. Philly is the largest market with only one team. But the Phillies ownership wouldn't stand for it, and they would have to give their approval seeing that its in their territory. And I would guess a team in central Jersey would also have to be approved by the Yankees and Mets as well.
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