Earlier today, Rays owner Stuart Sternberg went before the Hillsborough County Commission meeting and said that MLB “no longer believes in the Tampa Bay area.” Per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, MLB has since released a statement on the matter:
“The Commissioner has had conversations with Stuart Sternberg and is disappointed with the current situation in the Tampa Bay market. The status quo is simply not sustainable. The Rays have been a model organization, averaging nearly 92 wins per year since 2008 and participating in the Postseason three times, including their inaugural World Series in 2008. Their .565 winning percentage over the last five years is second among all American League Clubs and third in all of Major League Baseball. Last year, the 30 Major League Clubs averaged nearly 2.5 million in total attendance; the Rays, who finished with a 90-72 record, drew 1,559,681, which ranked last in the game. The Club is an eager contributor to worthy causes in the Tampa and St. Petersburg communities and takes pride in meeting the social responsibilities that come with being a Major League franchise. We are hopeful that the market will respond in kind to a Club that has done a marvelous job on and off the field.”
The main issue for the Rays is that they are locked into their current lease at Tropicana Field until 2027. They have requested the ability to discuss other locations in Hillsborough County, but St. Petersburg mayor Bill Foster is standing in the way, presumably because the team would simply hop over to Tampa. MLB stopped short of threatening relocation in their statement today, but it appears they are happy to play the role of the bad guy if it can sway public opinion and put pressure on the local government.
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Caleb Thielbar goes from independent ball to the majors with the Twins
May 20, 2013, 3:15 PM EDT
AP
Caleb Thielbar was pitching for the independent league St. Paul Saints in 2011 and now he’s headed to the majors. Minnesota signed Thielbar after he impressed with the Saints and he’s steadily climbed through the Twins’ farm system, putting together a very impressive stretch at Triple-A this year in which he’s allowed zero earned runs…
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I’m sure it has zero to do with their play, but Pete Abraham of the Globe reports that, unlike in years past, the Red Sox are puttin’ on the ritz this year for road trips: Clay Buchholz, John Lackey, and Jon Lester now dress like hedge fund managers on road trips. Ryan Dempster has custom-made…
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AP
David Aardsma, who was released by the Yankees in early April and opted out of a minor-league deal with the Marlins last week, has agreed to a new minor-league contract with the Mets. This will be Aardsma’s fourth organization since the end of 2011, as he tries to prove that he can be healthy and…
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AP
Mark Teixeira initially said he’d be back by May 1 and then adjusted that to June 1 and now … who knows. But the Yankees first baseman did take a big step in his recovery from a wrist injury by playing in his first extended spring training game today. Stats for those games aren’t really…
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In response to Ken Rosenthal’s column on the possible imminent end to Don Mattingly’s career in Los Angeles, Bill Shaikin reports thusly: The Dodgers have “no plans” to fire Manager Don Mattingly when the team returns home Thursday or any time before then, a club official said late Sunday night. So he’s safe. That is, unless the Dodgers are…
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That state being one in which the team has a lot of injuries but not a lot of help on the farm. Also: how does Cabrera’s prime match up to others’, historically speaking?
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Reuters
Colby Lewis resumed his minor-league rehab assignment today after taking a break due to triceps tendinitis. Lewis, who’s coming back from elbow surgery last July, allowed two runs in 2.1 innings at Double-A. He struck out three, walked zero, and gave up four hits while throwing 47 total pitches. In terms of building up arm…
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A pretty depressing take on Albert Pujols from Posnanski today: Each of the last two seasons, he hit well enough the last four-plus months of the season to end up with strong numbers. Last year, for instance, after May 14 he hit .312/.374/.589 with 42 doubles and 29 homers. You have to believe that he…
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Reuters
Earlier this month the Diamondbacks traded Mark Teahen to the Reds as minor-league depth, but the deal was canceled due to questions about his health. Today the Diamondbacks released Teahen, who hasn’t played since April 30 and, according to Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors, asked to be let go from the Triple-A team. Teahen…
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AP
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times asked the M’s manager to explain something. Here’s his answer without context. It’s different. If I have to explain it to you, then you don’t understand. I can’t. I don’t have enough time to explain it to you, because if you don’t know, then you don’t know. And you’re never…
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Reuters
Toronto recalled outfielder Anthony Gose from Triple-A, which surprised Blue Jays fans and media members because he was hitting just .227 with a .667 OPS in 40 games at Triple-A after struggling in his first taste of the majors last season. And you know who else is surprised by the call-up? Anthony Gose. Gose, on…
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Is there some friction between Mike Rizzo and the Nats’ owner?
May 20, 2013, 11:32 AM EDT
AP
Adam Kilgore has an interesting article up about the job status of Nationals GM Mike Rizzo. The Nats just extended him per the terms of his current deal, so sure, that’s a vote of confidence. But there is some weirdness afoot too: In April, Mark Lerner, the Nationals’ principal owner, told the Washington Times that…
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John Danks made his fourth minor-league rehab start over the weekend and Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports that the White Sox left-hander could come off the disabled list to make his season debut Friday. It’s worth noting, however, that Danks hasn’t actually pitched all that well in the minors. He lasted just 4.2 innings in…
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Posnanski hits the nail on the head: What player in baseball do you think has the most ANT — Announcer Nonsense Talk — spoken about them? By ANT, I’m not just referring to stuff announcers say. I’m referring to a sort of universal praise that does not tie to logic or anything tangible but instead…
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Johnny Cueto is slated to come off the disabled list and start tonight for the Reds after missing the past month with a lat injury. His return was delayed by the same oblique problems that plagued Cueto last season and the right-hander revealed that he’s considering changing his mechanics to avoid similar injuries. Here’s what…
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Watch Robinson Cano play wiffleball in the street with a boy fighting leukemia
May 20, 2013, 10:32 AM EDT
Headline says it all. But this from the MLB Fan Cave is cool, dudes.
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Ryan Howard sat out Sunday’s game with a sore left knee and the Phillies first baseman is getting an MRI exam today. Howard told Stephen Pianovich of MLB.com that the knee “has been acting up a little bit since spring training” but “yesterday was when it really kind of kicked in more than normal.” Howard…
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The Yankees are ruled by different expectations than everyone else
May 20, 2013, 9:45 AM EDT
The Yankees average over 37,000 a game, yet get stuff written about how they are having attendance issues. If you’re savvy and go to the secondary market, you can still get tickets for a relatively decent price to most Yankees games, even if they’re not the best seats in the world. Compare this to basketball…
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Apparently Miguel Cabrera’s 2013 has made his 2012 better somehow
May 20, 2013, 9:18 AM EDT
AP
Bill posted about Cabrera’s big night last night, and this morning Twitter is dominated by folks noting just how utterly ridiculous Cabrera has been so far this year. And make no mistake, he has been. He’s hitting .387/.457/.659 and leads the AL in runs, hits, RBI, batting average, on-base percentage, OPS, and total bases. Just…
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I mean, yes, it’s totally reasonable to think his job is in jeopardy given how poorly the Dodgers have played amid high expectations. But Ken Rosenthal’s latest column is pretty bold in speculating that Mattingly’s days are numbered. Rather than just analyze the team’s struggles, Rosenthal talks about his gut feeling that Mattingly could be…
