This is my first spring living in Florida, and accepting the Rays as my new home team would be a lot easier if the local news didn't report so rosily about it. I'm used to the gloom and doom of Philadelphia, so I'm still trying to figure out whether they mean it in a sarcastic, "Aw, that's so cute," way or not, because it sounds like some of them really, genuinely think that this could be the Rays' year for - you know what? I don't even know what for. It's like the sports reporters are live from Bizarro World.
And the more I think about it, that would explain the Rays' excellent spring performance a lot, by actually treating March like it counts.
The boys from the Bay get ready for RAYPRIL®, after the jump.
Why, when Tampa Bay's season has had a fork in it for weeks, is Roy even being considered for a slot in the lineup? Why, after blowing his stack in Philly and "also other situations that have taken place this season involving Andre" according to Feaster, does Roy come back? The most obvious answer is for a further audition: He's got one more year left on his deal at $1 million per season; if the Bolts want him out of town, it doesn't do Tampa any good if he ends the season stewing at home rather than showing an iota of professional competence on the ice.
The more complicated answer is that no matter how crazy Andre Roy might have become, his teammates won't hold it against him.
For some, "balanced reporting" and "The New York Times" are mutually exclusive terms. Last weekend's notebook item titled "Enthusiasm Cools for Hockey's Foray Into the South" did little to dispel that notion; here was a doom and gloom report on the NHL in non-traditional markets -- an indictment of Tampa Bay, Phoenix, Nashville, Atlanta, Washington, Florida and Carolina -- that contained not a single interview with any of the defamed. Instead we have two financial consultants, a crackpot Marcel Dionne and NHLPA president Paul Kelly, keeping that Canadian wet dream of the NHL's return to Winnipeg alive.
There are some basic misconceptions and ingrained hypocrisy throughout the piece. Let's explore them together, shall we?
Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.
St. Pete Times reporter Damian Cristodero dropped a bomb the other day, quoting Tampa Bay GM Jay Feaster that huge changes could hit the Lightning if the team hasn't turned things around by Christmas: "Being sub-.500, being 13th or 14th out of a 15-team Eastern Conference isn't cutting it, given the money we lose, to think we're going to keep payroll where it is and not make changes."
Naturally, Vinny Lecavalier became the topic of conversation for everyone from Vancouver to Montreal, who believes it should own Vinny based on birth-right. Lyle "Spector" Richardson -- one of the few level heads when it comes to trade speculation in the NHL -- points out that unlike high-priced teammates Brad Richards and Marty St. Louis, Vinny does not have a no-trade clause in his contract. But Spector also claims that Feaster has gone on the record stating that "he wouldn't go down in history as the man who trade(d) Lecavalier." Which, to me, means it's more likely that the Bolts will fire John Tortorella or trade Vaclav Prospal if the team doesn't turn it around.
But even if Vinny were on the block, the notion that he could be had for some sort of mediocre Joe Thornton package is ludicrous.
(Coming Up Next: Last Night's Losers, Scandalous and Hilarious Puck Headlines, More CBC Hockey Blogging Reaction, Wade Belak Hits Pay Dirt, Games You Need To Watch Tonight, NHL Limericks and Why Hockey Players Need To "Where Visors.")
To this point in franchise history, most of the Tampa BayDevil Rays' playoff aspirations have been the stuff of imagination. So I guess it makes sense that the team has landed Kevin Costner, who built a career out of suspension of disbelief and playing fake baseball players, to help launch its new uniforms, team colors and logos.
It all makes perfect sense to Costner, who claimed a special kinship with Rays manager Joe Maddon.
"[Maddon] didn't make it into the bigs as a player, and ... I kind of dig that," Costner said. "That's kind of who Crash Davis was."
The extravaganza will also include a fashion show, with Maddon, Wade Boggs and Fred McGriff modelling the Rays' new look uniforms. And if that doesn't scream "something I need to see before I die," I just don't know what would.
Nothing like a profanity-filled tirade to cap a season. Like the one Devil Rays outfielder Delmon Young launched yesterday after being pulled from a game by manager Joe Maddon.
Maddon accused Young of disrespecting the game by not running out a ground ball during yesterday's match-up against the Blue Jays. Young responded with a verbal carpet bombing, claiming he'd been unfairly singled out, and saying he was pulling himself out of today's season finale
"S---, everybody else is m-----f------ doing it," Young said. "S---, I'm the only one who m-----f------ gets in trouble for the s---. ... I play every day. I don't complain about going out there. So, I'll see you guys next year. I'm shut down for (today)."
Maddon stuck to his guns, explaining that The Game is bigger than even one of his team's best players.
"I'm not angry, I'm not upset, I'm disappointed," Maddon said. "That is my major rule among position players, just to run hard to first base. I believe this: when you run hard to first base every time you put the ball in play, that permeates your entire game. That makes you a better player. For us, for the Rays, we're going to run hard to first."
For a guy who seemed a sure contender for AL Rookie of the Year accolades, Young didn't do himself any favors with this outburst. It will be interesting to see how this bizarre finish to his 2007 season influences voters.
When your team's more than 25 games out of contention with less than 15 games left to play, it's probably safe to set your sights on 2008. But the Devil Rays could still pull a surprise out of their hat before the season ends: the return of Rocco Baldelli.
On the DL since May, Baldelli's become the Keyser Soze of Tampa Bay. On numerous occasions, he was expected to be rejoining the team, but never materialized. Joe Maddon thought he'd be playing during the Rays' recent stop in Boston, but it never happened. He may still appear during the team's upcoming west coast swing, but nothing's cast in stone.
"I'd like to get him on this road trip still, but I'm honest to God not sure if that's going to happen," Maddon said. "It still could happen in Seattle."
The last "official" word on Baldelli came back in August, when ownership said he was having "a series of tests." We've heard nothing since then, but wait with baited breath.
For the past few seasons, the Tampa Bay Lightning have had very sleek and clean uniforms. The Bolts uniforms did a good job of utilizing blue, silver, and black in good harmony, paired with a clean font and a classic logo. While Tampa Bay uniforms were never usually at the top of anyone's list, they would never be near the bottom, either. Of all of the team's that used black, Tampa Bay was one of the few that pulled it off in a positive fashion.
The updated Lightning logo is a modernization of the team's classic lightning bolt with the contrast of black surrounding the bolt and the insertion of blue into the bolt's interior to empower the logo's impact. A new, custom typeface with angled letters is used for "TAMPA BAY", while "LIGHTNING" has been dropped from the logo. These changes were made to provide a bold and unified icon.
"We have taken the opportunity that comes with the Reebok uniform redesign to modernize the crest on our sweaters," said Ron Campbell, President of the Lightning and the St. Pete Times Forum. "We don't consider this to be an extreme makeover of any kind, but we think the people at Reebok did a great job at giving the Lightning a crisp new look, while maintaining the essence of the logo we wore while winning the Stanley Cup Championship and the spirit of the original design implemented by Founder Phil Esposito 15 years ago."
I liked the old uniforms a bit more than these newer ones, but the new duds still look nice, clean, and "hockey-ish". The change to the logo is pretty good, giving us a very sharp, electric logo. Kudos to the Bolts for not screwing this one up.
Looks like Elijah Dukes can cross "Japan" off his list of vacation destinations. In an interview with the St. Petersburg Times, Japanese expat and Rays third baseman Akinori Iwamura notes that in his homeland, Dukes'off-fieldantics would make him persona non grata.
If there is a player who does the same thing in Japan, the player is going to be buried. Buried not only professionally, but socially. Buried. Their life would be destroyed. The shame and disgrace that they brought upon themselves would basically destroy their life in Japan. That would not happen in Japan.
Even cooler is Aki's response when Dukes' name is first brought up by the interviewer: "Elijah Dukes? Unbelievable!"
If that's not a T-shirt waiting to happen, I don't know what is.
Okay, so they didn't get that crazy, but the Devil Rays were pretty friggin' thrilled to break their eleven game losing streak. After beating the Kansas City Royals, their primary competition for the worst record in baseball, the Rays looked like a team that just clinched the World Series, cutting loose in the clubhouse with plenty of loud music, high fives and extra special guest, team Vice President Andrew Friedman, who flew in just to see what the christ was going on with this team.
No one was happier than Manager and guy-most-likely-to-have-lost-his-job-if-the-losing-streak-continued Joe Maddon:
"A load is always lifted after you've lost 11 games in a row, " Maddon said, "and to say otherwise would be total denial."
Interestingly, for all his team's woe's, Maddon had been a portrait of calm throughout the 11-game skid. After the Rays dropped their eleventh, he was still finding positives, as he told Marc Lancaster of the Rays Report:
"It's never fun to stay out there and get your brains beat in, but that's what happens in this game sometimes," he said. "We're in one of those moments that is not good and there's no way to get around that. But while we are having this difficult moment, I'm looking to see what we're improving, because this is going to go away and we're going to be fine and then we're going to turn this around. I'm not discouraged, I'm not going to grab any sharp objects and go at my wrists. This will pass."
For now, Maddon's job -- and his wrists -- appear safe.
From guest writer Mike Westfall of Progressive Boink:
After Andre Roy went bat-poop crazy during a game against the Flyers earlier this month, Tampa Bay general manager Jay Feaster announced 
Every day from Monday to Saturday, 
To this point in franchise history, most of the 
Nothing like a profanity-filled tirade to cap a season. Like the one 
When your team's more than 25 games out of contention with less than 15 games left to play, it's probably safe to set your sights on 2008. But the 
Looks like Elijah Dukes can cross "Japan" off his list of vacation destinations. 
Okay, so they didn't get that crazy, but the 
