February 2010
Rays 2010 Concert Series Band Facts
I got to admit here, I was holding onto the secret to one of the Tampa Bay Rays Hess Express Saturday night Concert Series performers as close to my vest as I could this past weekend. I did tell a few close friends who would not throw it all over the place the artist, and I got a great reception to them coming to Tropicana Field in 2010.
The Concert Series list some say is a group of band that could soon be lifetime members of the AARP, but that is fine with me because I am no spring chicken myself. But this is also a special time for Rays fans as the team has gone a combined 16-2 during the Concert Series, with sell-out crowds and people swaying and singing in their seats, and people dancing in the aisles of Tropicana Field.
They are a nice collection of the bands of my youth, which also includes the second concert I ever saw when the Go-Go’s performed at the (now gone) Bayfront Center. And yes, I did wear my parachute pants with the red velvet inserts and swanky punk rock shirt to the concert to try and influence the ladies who I knew would come out in droves to support the first all female band on the Billboard charts to write and also perform with their own instruments.
And I also got to attend a Go-Go’s concert the last time they were in St. Petersburg, Florida at Jannus Landing and got a chance to meet the band during a “meet and greet” arranged by a friend in upper management at Pepsi.

RRCollections
So to say I am not excited to see all five of these bands come into Tropicana Field would be insane. For these bands, Hall & Oates, John Fogerty, Nelly, Z Z Top and the Go-Go’s are very much a fabric of my musical roots, and great selections by the Rays Front Office, and we still have five more to be announced later. But this group of five are such an interesting meshing of bands that could sooth even the savage baseball fan.
So I decided to today to post some facts about each band that you might not know, and give you a little insight into the bands heading for the Trop. during the 2010 season. I will also list the game date and the opponent so you easily purchase your tickets when they go on sale to the public at 9 am on Friday.
1) 25th Anniversary of “Centerfield” being released to the world. In 1985, John Fogerty finished his first solo album for Warner Brothers records. But you had to think that when Fogerty wrote the title track to his album, it was going to be sung and imitated at Major League and minor league baseball stadiums for eternity. When “Centerfield” hit the stores, not only was the title track an instant hit, but another track off the album, “Old Man Down the Road” also was a Top-10 hit for Fogerty.
2) Fogerty also got one of those rare honors in Hollywood California on October 1, 1998 when he was enshrined on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His Hollywood Walk of Fame star is located at 7000 Hollywood Blvd right alongside 63 other inductees which include Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and actors Angela Bassett (St. Petersburg native), Tony Danza, Dudley Moore, Tom Hanks, Eddie Murphy, Chuck Norris, Glen Close and Renee Zellweger. Also included in this section is fellow musicians’ Nancy Sinatra, Donna Summers, Patti LaBelle, Pacido Domingo, and fellow baseball lover Alice Cooper.
3) Fogerty pulled off a great “double feat” during Thanksgiving 2006 when he appeared at halftime during both National Football League games held on that day. He started that day singing at the Miami Dolphins at Detroit Lions game, then got on a plane and went to also do the halftime festivities at the Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs game later that day. Fogerty was in the house on April 16,2009 to help celebrate the first home game in the new Yankee Stadium.
Fogerty (of course) sang “Centerfield” from Centerfield prior to the New York Yankees first game in their new home. At one point, the infamous “Bleacher Creatures” that shout players names for “Yankee Rollcall” during the first innings of Yankee games, shouted out for Fogerty to acknowledge them. Fogerty got accepted in the new stadium…New York style.
1) Most people might not know that there is a double reason they selected the name ZZ Top for the band. First, it was a hybrid name formed from the two names of rolling papers Zig-Zag and Top. The second reason it is a duo homage to classic Blues legend ZZ Hill. ZZ Top guitarist Bill Gibbons also wrote in his autobiography “Rock+Roll Gearhead” that it also derives from Blues master B B King. The band originally planned to call themselves ZZ King, but they reconsidered thinking it might seem to similar to B B King. But since BB King was at the “Top”, they chose ZZ Top as their final band name.
2) Even before their hit “Cheap Sunglasses” in 1979, the band always wore darken sunglasses on stage for their gigs. Guitarists Gibbons and Dusty Hill also wear similar black clothing, usually biker leathers, and either black Cowboy hats or baseball caps when performing on stage. Gibbon also wears a trademark neck chain of beer bottle openers around his neck when he performs to remember those early days in the Texas Honky Tonk bars. While Gibbons and Hill wear chest length beards, their drummer Frank Beard ( love it!) usually has a well manicured beard and mustache.
3)
Keeping with the “beard” theme for another moment, both Gibbons and Hill were offered $ 1 million each by the Gillette (razor) Company if they would shave off their chest length beards during a television commercial. The duo declined saying,” We’re tool ugly without them.”1) Most people know Nelly’s (Cornell Haynes Jr) obsession with everything related to St. Louis, but did you know that he was also a pretty good baseball player before he turned to rap music. He honed his baseball skills watching video of his idol Cardinals short stop Ozzie Smith during St. Louis amateur Summer Leagues and always considered playing professional baseball.
Even though Nelly was not drafted out of High School, he has attended several Major League Baseball Spring minor league tryout camps including the Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves. Some people close to Nelly think he accepted his rap music career as a consolation prize to his first love….baseball.
2) Nelly has built himself a small empire outside of his music interests with the establishment of two clothing lines, Apple Bottom for women and Vokal for men. He also had a contract with Nike back in 2003 to design and develop a “Air Derrrty” shoe which was a retro remake of former NBA star Charles Barkley’s signature sneaker. He also signed a contract with Reebok on June 20,2005. Nelly is also became one of the owners of the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats when it was announced on May 19,2008 he would join the Bobcat’s owners group along with Robert L Johnson and NBA legend Michael Jordan.
3) Most people instantly know him for his first album “Country Grammar”, which was his debut album with the Universal Music Group. The album was certified 9x platinum on April 27,2004 and includes a track with inspired baseball metaphor s called “Batter Up”. Another interesting fact is that Nelly once played in the Main Event at a World Series of Poker event in 2007.
1) I personally have an axe to grind with Hall and Oates. They sang the National Anthem of Game 5 during the 2008 World Series at Citizen Bank’s Park on October 27,2008. The reason I have a beef with them is that I think they wished for rain and that made the game be postponed and I had to fly back to Tampa Bay without seeing the conclusion of Game 5, which happened several days later. They did a great rendition that night, but it was a rainy and cold night and my teeth were chattering.
2) The two Philadelphia native sons met during a band competition at the Adelphi Ballroom back in 1967. They were not there to compete together, but was put together after gunshots rang out in the venue after two rival gangs converged on the arena. Daryl Hall and John Oates were both thrown into a service elevator together and they started talking and noticing they had multiple similarities in music and both were attending Temple University.
Not bad for two guys always immortalized by the sit-com “Friends” where Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), was once shown as a young man-fro keyboardist who was in love with the Hall and Oates music.
3) In a play on the band’s name, the NHL’s St. Louis Blues manufactured a tongue-in-cheek line of hockey apparel called “Hull and Oates” to play homage to players Brett Hull and Adam Oates. Also with a Hockey linage is the fact that their song “Private Eyes” was the unofficial locker room song of the 2008-2009 Edmonton Oilers. But there was no doubting the band’s 7 platinum and 6 gold records and their 34 hit singles on the U S Billboard charts.
The Go-Go’s July 10,2010 Cleveland Indians
2) here are some wild facts about each member of the group:
Belinda Carlisle(Lead Singer) once dated former Los Angeles Dodger Mike Marshall and he should have a nice section in her upcoming biography “Lips Unsealed” that will be out in bookstores on May 20,2010. She also was a contestant during 2009 on “Dancing With the Stars”, and performed in the production of “Hairspray” on stage in London’s West End.
Gina Schock (Drummer) co-wrote the title track on Miley Cyrus’s second album “Breakout”. The song debuted at #1 in the summer of 2008. She also wrote tracks for Selena Gomez and The Scene’s release “Kiss and Tell.” The Go-Go’s had to stop touring in 1983 while promoting their “Vacation” CD after Schock developed health problems and had to have surgery for congenital heart defect.
Karen Valentine(Bass Guitar) During their Go-Go’s “hiatus moments”, Valentine went back to her Texas blues-rock roots and formed the Blue Bonnets. The group did two albums before they morphed into The Delphines, which included Schock as their drummer,
Charlotte Caffey (Lead Guitar/Keyboards) Caffey and Jane Wiedlin co-wrote Country star Keith Urban’s first # 1 single hit “But for the Grace of God“. Caffey and Wiedlin also performed several concerts back in 1997 as Twisted and Jaded, in which they performed acoustic versions of Go-Go’s songs and debuted any new materials they wrote during the bands existence.
Jane Wiedlin (Vocals/Guitar) is always one of the fan’s favorites, not only for her quirky sense of humor, but for her “obsessions.” Wiedlin is a devoted “star Trek” fan and once formed a band FroSTed as a homage to the ultimately popular television and movie series. She is an ordained wedding officiant who performs her wedding services as Reverend Sister Go-Go. She is also the main subject of an upcoming comic book called “Lady Robotika“, and was endeared to millions on the reality show “The Surreal Life” when she came out of the closet about her fascination with Domination.
3) Over their career, which started in 1978, they have sold over 7 million albums and made rock history as the only all-female band who also plays their own instruments to top the Billboard charts. Their first album “Beauty and the Beast” was considered a “cornerstone” of the New Wave music movement. This album reached double platinum which at the time made it one of the most successful debut albums of all time. The album is still today listed at # 413 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”.
With tickets going on sale to the General Public on Friday morning, it might be a great idea to purchase tickets for these days in advance to guarantee a chance to see concerts on these dates. I will again bring you some facts and great baseball related situations concerning the bands that the Rays select for these additional dates. At this time there are no previous games selected for these Saturday Rays games by either for a possible Fox Baseball Broadcasts or by ESPN.
I am looking forward to these concerts with great anticipation, and also hope that we can again sell out Tropicana Field and boost our record to 26-2 with a 10-0 run in 2010. When the Trop. Is full, the Rays players feel the presence of the crowd and gain additional energy from us in the stands. So do not forget to get up early tomorrow and get your coffee and your fingers ready to select seat locations for all five of the already selected bands in concert following Rays games in 2010. Tell me you are not excited!
Hotel Indigo is “Rays Worthy”.
At least once a year I try and get out to one of the “live” Rays Radio Network broadcasts before the beginning of the Spring Grapefruit League games. And with only a handful of day before the Rays take on the Baltimore Orioles in the ” new” Spring Training home, Ed Smith Stadium. The Rays Radio hosts Andy Freed and Dave Willis were going to do their Monday “Hot Stove” show from 7-8 pm in an old historic hotel situated just a mile from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The site of this weeks “Hot Stove” program was Hotel Indigo, which was known by locals as the Heritage Hotel until Tampa-based Baystar Hotel group bought the Hotel back in June, 2008 and pumped $ 3 million in restorations and modern improvements to the classic Florida colonial-style hotel. I thought it was really wild that they decided to use a hotel that is steeped in local history, and also carries a Spring Training vibe to it even today. As you walk into this quaint hotel you get the air of the 1920’s immediately as you see the style of that day in its old world charm architecture and details in the wood fixtures.
And with its ornate open-air bar just to your left as you walk in, it invites you to sit, relax and enjoy just as if you were transported back in time listening to radio hosts from yesteryear. And there is a distinctive feeling here that this hotel has seen more than it’s share of baseball lore as it was here during the heydays of the New York Yankees playing their Spring Training games in Waterfront Park in St. Petersburg after the team moved their Spring Training site from New Orleans to corral in Babe Ruth and keep him out of the Bourbon Street establishments.
And the hotel has been transformed into a modern business travelers dream with all 71 rooms going through massive reconfigurations and revitalizations that brought wall-to-wall murals, and rustic area rugs over the great hardwood floors of every room. And this not your usual “cookie-cutter” Florida vacation destination resting place, but a stylish boutique hotel that gives you more of a feel of a personal exclamation point to your stay in St. Petersburg, Florida. And it would be a great destination for any visitor’s coming in for the Rays games, either during the week, or the weekend. Rooms range from $ 139-199 a night and will have all the same accommodating extras as other area hotels, but will provide you with an added flair of Southern atmosphere mixed with modern elements.

www.hotelindigo.com
I took a short tour of the rooms and it is a fantastic hotel just by it’s architectural charm, but the renovations also brought out some of the over painted details and carvings in the wood, plus the simplicity of hotel life in the 1920’s. With the added charm of a great dark wooden bar and the green-tones to the lobby walls, it brought a old Florida sense to the hotel. And that is rare in the days of basic beige box hotel rooms and doubles and twins beds. Both rooms I saw had their own sense of sophistication and modernism without losing the boutique hotel ambiance. And mix with the small of hot dogs being cooked, and popcorn being made for the Rays Radio guests, it felt like a baseball hotel.
I mean as I walked in, Rays Radio Network pre-game/post-game Host Rich Herrera was sitting in a cozy chair in the corner reading “Willie May: The Life, The Legend” by James S. Hirsch, so it instantly had a baseball feel to the night. And even if tonight’s broadcast was only a one hour segment, it was a time for most of the Rays fans in attendance to talk about the upcoming season, the past weekend events at Rays Fan fest, and just remark about this great hotel. And tonight the bar staff was decked out in Rays jerseys ready to offer you food, refreshment, or in my case, an extremely cold Blue Moon with orange slice.
I have to say the Rays Radio show went by so quickly that night, but I had a chance to chat with both the management staff and one of the waitresses from the on-site restaurant, and they were extremely helpful and charming. More often than not, I would be writing today about the Rays Radio show, but this hotel simply blew me away. I had been in it between the Heritage Hotel days and their reincarnation as Hotel Indigo, and I was simply amazed at the upgrades and the elegance restored to this boutique hotel within walking distance of the shuttle to Tropicana Field.
The hotel management took great care in restoring that old Florida charm with its seating area on the front porch, to the garden terraces laced with Florida vegetation, this hotel screams circa 1920’s elegance. I am one of those travelers when I go out of town to attend Rays game, I try and stay in authentic old style hotels that ooze charm and are accented by old architectural designs. This hotel to me is up there with the Hotel Monaco and Hotel Deca in Seattle, and also my favorite circular room in the Wyndham at Playhouse Square in Cleveland, Ohio.
And that is something I strive for when I go out of town for away series games. I want to feel something different than staying in a Motel 6 or Holiday Inn Express ( even though my fastball picked up 6 mph after a stay there). Along with the baseball game’s experience, I like to take in the charm of the city I am visiting by staying in a boutique hotel setting. And sure I might miss out on the free breakfast, or even the complimentary extra towels, but these types of hotels also show you some extras that are missed by the value chains. Small things like beverages and a snack upon check-in (Cleveland), or even transportation to the stadium by their staff, and not in some corporate 18-person van (Seattle).
The Hotel Indigo is just another one of the Florida hotels that gets it. Sure you could hit the value nightly rate at the Hilton Hotel across from now vacant Progress Energy Field, but you miss out on the little things and the subtle essence points this hotel spoke to me about on Monday night. Most hotel staff are courteous to their guests, but I saw it bumped up a notch at Hotel Indigo. These people seemed to love their jobs and it showed in their voice with the affection shown, and the historic references given about this often missed hotel. If I did not live locally, I could see myself staying at the Hotel Indigo for Rays games. And how can you not love a hotel that is within walking distance to great food options and a variety of entertainment choice, but in the end, how can you go wrong with a place that give you six pillows on your bed….Ahhh, luxuries in a romantic setting with baseball ties…..I am in heaven.
2010 Rays Fan Fest Photo Blog 1 of 2

I decided to break the Tampa Bay Rays 2010 Fan Fest into a 2-part blog post since I had reduced my photos down into 60-odd photos. I thought it might be best to start off with the first segment basically focused on the events of the day that were swirling all around Tropicana Field. from the moment the doors opened at 10:05 am (late) and ran until basically 5:30 as Rays Manager Joe Maddon wanted to give every fan in line a chance to get his autograph before they finally turned the lights out and we all went home tired and drain by all the sights and sounds of the day.
As usual, I saw Rays Senior Director of Promotions Brian Killingsworth mad on his walkie talkie trying to get the day events started out with a flurry of excitement and give everyone in attendance a bit of refreshment. And the Rays did that as we strolled into the Rotunda at Gate 1, and were presented with a Rays Sky Blue inspired Fan Fest daily schedule offering the players and times for the days autograph sessions, and included a map of all the planned activities for the day.
We quickly got a burst of sugar presented at a sampling table by Pepsi Bottling Group which furnished everyone with a sampling of the “Throwback” soft drinks made with pure cane sugar and not the corn syrup we have gotten used to in our sodas. And the crowd was eager to get into the stadium and rushed the table like a group of marathoners trying to rehydrate ” on-the-run” as we briskly walked through Centerfield Street towards the Centerfield gates and into Fan Fest.
But most did not want to stop by the Budweiser Brewhouse for a free sample (while supplies lasted) of the Rays new signature adult beverage or even the Ted Williams Museum to see the multiple displays, or check out classic baseball artifacts today, they had Rays players autographs on their collective minds.
But the line quickly formed just below the Batter’s Eye Restaurant in Centerfield where the Rays established a long line of twisting white chains to wind people to the tables to buy a silver wristband that would let you get your autographs for a $ 20 donation to the American Red Cross and the Save the Children Foundations. It quickly became the center of most of the activities for the first 15 minutes as fans then proceeded to do a quick tour of the outer displays and booths set-up before getting in line almost two hours early for autographs.
Some people did not even notice the always popular “Rays Rookie table as they first walked into Fan Fest nestled right next to the wristband area that highlighted exclusive benefits for Rays fans 14 and under. And most people did not even see the American Red Cross table to the right of the wristband section that was offering a special edition Carlos Pena T-shirt produced by the Rays to celebrate Pena’s accomplishments on and off the field for the Rays since he came here in 2007. I almost missed the table as it was hidden against the centerfield wall where B J Upton usually goes to bring in long fly balls with his cleats on the wall. With only 500 of these shirts produced, you know it will be a classic Rays collector’s item in the coming years.
But if you decided to not get into line quickly and walked around clock-wise around the field you would also encounter Season Ticket sales and Fan Fest Ticket packages table that was eagerly waiting to show you the multiple advantages of Season Ticket ownership. Just beyond them was a four car set-up by Chevrolet that featured a simply beautiful orange and black 2010 Chevy Camaro that would have looked great in my driveway if I had not looked at the sticker price. Just past that was the Ruth Eckerd Hall table where Rays fans could try and win a chance to get free tickets to events at the Clearwater venue.
After that on the infield side of First Base was Radio row which held the tents of most of the radio partners of the Clear Channel empire here in Tampa Bay. Also in this area was the “Maddon’s Maniacs” table where you could join or renew your membership for $ 25 and get your yearly swag and card that could get you discounts during the year within Tropicana Field. Right next to them was the Rays Flagship station and radio voices Andy Freed and Dave Willis were on hand for autographs and photos with Rays fans. WDAE “The Sports Animal” also did a “Live” broadcast from the Trop. from 9 am to 3 pm during the Fan Fest.
As you went around towards Home Plate, you saw the table set up by the Rays Wheelchair Baseball team that just celebrated their 7th season and won the 2009 Division II Championship and are currently ranked number 1 in the nation. Then right after Home Plate you noticed the large crowd checking out the Rays Silent Auction and the Rays mystery “grab bag” promotion where you purchase a brown bag for $ 20 and could possibly win a Rays game line-up card ( I got Rays @ Minn), an autographed baseball (I got a Shawn Riggans baseball), or a Rays Batting Practice jersey.
Right next to the Rays Foundation table was the Rays Team Spirit Squad, which set up a table to give autographs to Rays fans and also promote the Rays Team 2010 Calendar ($ 15) and was more than eager to personally autograph your copy of the calendar. The girls were all eager and ready to chat with fans and even talk about their MLBlog that was set-up in late 2009.
Stuck right behind Home Plate and located in the usual food room for the Home Plate Club was the Raysvision crew on their “Casting Call” promotions for the upcoming season. You could sing Karaoke, ask a Rays player a question, or show your best dance moves for the camera. I actually got wrangled into singing Otis Redding’s “Dock of the Bay” by a few of the Rays staffers who knew I sometimes sing in a cover band in Pinellas Park. It was fun, and I stayed there for a bit and saw some great fan questions and a few wild renditions of songs, even a Lady Gaga song. It was the perfect place to let out your inner “Rock Star” without anyone else catching onto your actions.
One of the most popular tables early was to go up and meet Country Rap Star Cowboy Troy before he went up on the Pepsi stage and did a few numbers before coming back over and doing autographs and photos with the Rays fans. He was also selling coins and CD’s to benefit his foundation which helps support the military troops overseas throughout the world. I enjoyed talking to Cowboy Troy, and he was excited to come back to Tampa Bay today and celebrate the event because of his love for baseball.
But as always, the Rays Fan Fest also wanted to put a smile on our youngest fans and again Bright House Networks helped the Rays in setting up multiple areas like the “running of the Bases” race section in the Rays infield, and the multiple gaming centers along the leftfield fence region. The first section was a chance to experience just what a MLB player saw as the ball came down from the roof of the Trop. I got to tell you, it seemed like if you took your eye off the ball for a moment, you lost it and it fell to the ground. Also a popular event was the Speed Pitch challenge where you could see if you had the right stuff to hopefully become a Rays pitching ace in the future.
Right next to this section was the two Batting Cages one set up as a Little Hitters Zone so young Rays sluggers could get their timing down on balls thrown by pitching machines. This always has one of the longest lines and showcases some of the great raw talent in the Tampa Bay area. And even adults had a chance this season to get in there and try and hit that white dot in the regular Big League Batting Cages exhibit. It is always a blast to see a young kid around 10 years old beat up on his dad who is also hitting in the neighboring cage, but his young son is constantly hitting balls that dad seems to swing and miss on.
And as always, the Rays again had Wiffle Ball Home Run Derby set up where oversize wiffle balls and bats were used by really young fans to try and blast one out of the make-shift rendition of classic Ebbets Field. Also along the outside ring of the stadium, the usual gameday activities sections like along rightfield where you could enjoy the T B Rays Carnival games, Raymond’s Art Studio, the Science of Baseball, Raymond’s Room and the St. Petersburg Times Press Box where you could get your own personalized St. Petersburg Times front page.
Then if you strolled towards leftfield you could enjoy maybe making a replica Rays jersey, the Louisville Slugger Wood Shop, or even Make Your Own Baseball card for your personal collection. And if you were in an extreme mood, you could hit the Mountain Dew Extreme Zone stick ball diamond, or even the MLB 2K10 sports lounge where you could play MLB2K10 for free on gaming consoles during Fan Fest. No matter where you went inside Tropicana Field, you could find an activity to make anyone in your family smile.
But also local theme parks like Busch Gardens was at Tropicana Field introducing Rays fans to their upcoming new park promotion “Sesame Safari of Fun”. Rays fans were also able to enter for a chance to win free tickets as well as try their luck at games on sight and also take photos with the Busch Gardens performers. There were even multiple baseball collections including some artifacts from the Ted Williams Museum and also the “Little Cooperstown” baseball display which has over 3,500 signed baseball currently in their collection.
And if your are a “lover of the statistical”, or even just a lover of the game of baseball, you had to go by the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) table and try your hand at their trivia crossword test to win prizes or even sign up for the national baseball research group. One of the members at the table, Rays Season Ticket holder Bill Dunstone will be celebrating his 1,000 Rays game during the 2010 season. If you like odd trivia or reading interesting facts and figures about the game of baseball both present and past, this is the group for you.
As in the last few Rays Fan Fest’s, Rays Radio Network Pre and Post Game Show Host Rich Herrera did the Master of Ceremonies duties and did his usual strolling around the ballpark letting the Rays fans in attendance know about some of the odd events and happenings during Fan Fest. One of my favorite is when he goes up to the signing tables and interviews some of the players about their off
the field contributions, or even their activities during the off season. I still can not believe Rich struck a “Vegas Elvis” pose here on the Pepsi stage before he introduced Cowboy Troy for his musical performance.
One of the events that has become more and more popular every season is the Major League Baseball Players Association Alumni table that is set up near Section 142 to provide autographs and photos with some of the legends of the game that live around the Tampa Bay area. Players like former Ray Doug Creek former Rays Hitting Coach Milt May, Phillie Robin Roberts, and other veterans like Ron LeFlore, Bill Demars, Darold Knowles, Mark Whiten, Wayne Garrett and Scott Winchester. Dave LaPoint was also in attendance today in the MLBPA Alumni 12-1 pm veteran group and he told me he was managing the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with MLB currently.
Also during Fan Fest, there were two Town Meetings being held in the Batter’s Eye Restaurant. The first was a meeting with Rays Television broadcaster Dewayne Staats with Robin Roberts. The second Town Meeting was the first chance for Rays fans to meet new Rays Hitting Coach Derek Shelton along with radio voices Andy Freed and Dave Willis. Both events went along fantastic with each explaining their part in baseball and also telling great tales and stories concerning their time within the baseball ranks. Each session also included a Question and Answer section so the fans could get some additional insight into the inner workings of baseball.
But the main draw for most of the Rays fans in attendance was the autograph session from 12-5 pm featuring most of the Rays players and Coaches. Unfortunately prior to the event Carl Crawford, Pat Burrell, Sean Rodriguez and Ben Zobrist had previous engagements and would not be able to attend. I will get into this deeper in the next section of my blog posting on Monday. There were a few surprises and a few late arrivals, which I will get into more tomorrow after I check to see if traffic situations did not compound the problems with some of the player’s signings.
Rayvision and Centerplate concessionaires also had a promotion going on during Fan Fest for Rays guests to sample some of the new foods that will be introduced around Tropicana Field in 2010. In this sampling, the chef was trying to get a Rays fan to talk about the new Cuban sandwich selection that will be unveiled during the Rays home opener in April. The sandwich has a crisp breading and a highly spicy mustard that provided a great kick to the cooked pork and meat highlighted also by a sharp Swiss cheese. I think it will be an instant hit around the stadium.
Even “Star Wars” youngster Boba Fett had a great time at the Rays Fan Fest. What I always find exciting is the people who travel from great distances to come to this once a year event. Not only do they come from South Florida and beyond, but some people came here from South America and as far north as Ontario to partake in the Rays celebration with the fans to the beginning of Spring Training. I always thought the Rays should do a contest during Fan Fest to celebrate the fan who traveled the longest distance to attend the Rays Fan Fest. Maybe in 2011 they could award a Rays Fan pack to the long distance champion for their show of support for the team (HINT, HINT Promotions Department).
But I could not end this first blog posting without telling you about the GTE Federal Credit Union and their money machine. Got to admit, I was tempted, but with my luck I would drop all the money with one second left on the clock. I watched a few people use some very interesting cash collecting methods before positioning them for a chance at great prizes from their time in the U-22 Money Booth. What could be better than coming to Fan Fest and getting a chance to win some additional money to spend at future Rays games.
And last, but not least, I wanted to say that Cowboy Troy did a great job of doing his songs on a make-shift sound system that did not rival the last one he sang on during the 2009 Big & Rich Saturday Night Concert Series during Country night at Tropicana Field. He had both young and old fans dancing near the Pepsi stage while he performed three songs and did some great dance moves and interaction with the crowd.
So here we are at the end of the first segment out of three of my postings about the Rays 2010 Fan Fest. Tomorrow I will give you some interesting facts and stories about the autograph session and a few behind-the-scene photos involving the Rays players. So I am already excited to get tomorrow’s blog posting up for you, but I want people to also check out this first segment before it gets lost in the shuffle. If you have read my Twitter account the past two days, I have been giving you small doses of some of the information I got while sitting in my Season Ticket seat most of the day and talking with Rays players, Rays Security and front office staffers. There is some really interesting stories to let you know about on Monday.
Tampa Completes a Double-Steal Move

TBO.com
You know, it is funny. I wrote my last entry about the possible community firestorm created when Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Ken Hagan requested to “take a meeting” with the A Baseball Community (ABC) Coalition, and even then something did not smell right to me at the time. I was hoping it was just the sea decay of a usual low tide down here near the Rivera Bay bridge, but now I know the real cause of that nasal nausea came from a few miles more to the east, and to the north of the Spiltsville bowling alley in the Channelside District of Tampa.
And the funny part is that I, like so many others in this community, were watching Hagan’s motives and I completely missed the “double-steal” attempt when other Tampa land developers snuck into second base standing up, and launched a plan completely under our noses.
I had a weird gut feeling a few days ago that the Downtown Tampa real estate movers and shakers hiding behind the vacant condo high rise towers and empty Channelside storefronts had something concieved and total hidden up their collective sleeves.Hagan’s deceptive song and dance look more like the “Boot, Scootin’ Boogie” and caught most of us not expecting such a large scale deception to be sign, sealed, but not delivered yet to be totally organized quite so fast, but then again you do not get rich off downtown real estate in this economy unless you send a few smoke signals out, or even knock on a few real estate speculators doors with cashor blank checks in your briefcase.
But I always expected some sort of blindsided move was going to be coming ever since ABC sent their final five stadium site recommendations to the printer. I just didn’t think they could mobilized so quickly after the mid-January ABC Coalition report came hot off the presses and into the general public’s hands. But then again, ever since this coalition was formed because the Tampa Bay Rays and the City of St. Petersburg wanting to show “just cause” to move forward to establish a dialogue for the discussion of a Rays new fangled stadium before their earliest possible 2015 vacate date, I knew someone already had some sort of building blueprints or artists renderings hidden somewhere in a safe place just waiuting for this moment.
And I am upset over the whole downtown Tampa stadium discussion, but I also could smell a rat coming in this stadium endeavor for some time. And maybe we all got taken in by the initial diversion of Hagan and his quest to get an audience with the leaders of the ABC coalition, and it definitely turned in another possible direction when a real estate developer began flashing around plans and conceptions for an entertainment complex centered with a large development building that looks auspiciously like a retractable roof baseball stadium within sight of the Crosstown Expressway.
And maybe I was especially caught off guard today and was centering my attention on the fact that Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig was in St. Petersburg, Florida tonight to take part in the annual Governor’s Dinner to “officially” signal the beginning of the Grapefruit League and Spring Training held last night under the Teflon dome of Tropicana Field.
Selig has been more vocal in the past than current Rays owner Stuart Sternberg as to the Rays needing a new facility so they could get the economical advantages of MLB-sponsored events like an All-Star game and its 3-day festivities, and that their current home, Tropicana Field would never be the game site of such a gala celebration by Major League Baseball.
Also quite enlightening was a comment by Hillsborough County Commissioner Rose Ferlita in that same Times article that ” Any action by the (MLB) Commissioner could be used as leverage in their discussions with St. Petersburg.” Got to admit, I never saw this one coming, Sun Tzu would have been extremely proud of this maneuver.
And one of the hidden corporate commando’s in this undercover operation seems to be a Charlotte County real estate company which normally seems to handle a majority of rural land transactions, and is based out of Marco Island, Florida. It was a simulated Black Ops strike that was unwillingly discovered when Land and Sand Realty President Claire Clements began circulating a draft of the initial plans with her company’s letterhead on the documents. But even with this sudden development in downtown Tampa, the deal is far from reality right now.
Basically some of the land that might have to be allocated for the property is currently owned by the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority and would need prior governmental approval to rubberstamp any tract of that land to the proposed “entertainment complex” project. But there are a few signs that the developers of this project did take into consideration the view Rays baseball fans would have when the roof is open to the night skies. The stadium renderings in the initial drawings show it would face north and west, so the crowd would get a well-lit cityscape backdrop along the lines of Cleveland’s cityscape that is a great aspect to Progressive Field,or Seattle’s Safeco Field.
But the biggest difference would be that Tampa’s skyscrapers would play a prominent role in this locations appeal to both baseball, and possibly the Rays. And believe me, this latest twist to the Rays stadium saga probably did not come as a shock to Rays Vice President of Development and Business Affairs Michael Kalt. Now do not read into this any collusion or tampering, but something like this doesn’t go unnoticed within the circle of community leaders without a few whispers in the dark among the region’s power brokers.
And with the enclusion of Tampa getting a huge series of bonus points recently for possibly stationing a center to the proposed “bullet train” within a few miles of this project, along with the already employed eletric railcar system within the downtown region, ABC might become as easy as 1,2,3 to connect the dots soon to give this downtown Tampa project and early lead in the future stadium discussions. And I find it quite amazing that certain property owners of some of the parcels in and around that proposed complex have taken basically a “code of silence” in reference to any discussion of their tracts and this proposal being shopped around Tampa.
Landowners like Salvatore Italiano and the W.D.F. Enterprises have shirked the Times reporters’ questions, which always is a sign to watch their movements. Forty-One Corp. and Conagra Corporation also owns a tracts of land just beyond the north rim of the present Channelside District.
But it is so early for even this one proposal to gather real solid energy and long-lasting strength right now, but with the downtown Tampa plans hitting the newspaper websites within the next few hours, you can be sure there will be a mountain of public opinion popped out there to either fuel the fires or smother them out for a while.
I have to say for a long time I have been against this downtown Tampa proposed site and I even am aghast of its possible logistics in regards to parking and traffic flow after a game, but then again, I had the same fears with the St. Petersburg Times Forum, built in this same area years ago when the Tampa Bay Lightning left Tropicana Field for their new home in downtown Tampa..
But maybe after being beaten in the head a few times over the past two months, the realistic fears of this team some day moving across the Howard Franklin Bridge is becoming more and more viable. I still might not be happy or even condusive to that happening, but it is growing on me.
And that plain fact kills me inside. I guess more and more of this previously “quiet” project will come out before the end of Spring Training and both sides of the bay will begin to align themselves with their own branishments of public opinion and alternative solutions or resolutions to this Rays stadium situation. Maybe I am showing some of my Southern naïve nature by thinking this issue might have realistically been tabled for a bit by both sides of the Tampa Bay, and again brought back into the sunlight to go full effect in 2012 or 2013.
Believe me, we have just seen the beginning of the underbelly of this whole downtown Tampa proposal and its own brand of apparent resolution to the Rays impending stadium issue. But when website like www.BuildItDowntownTampa.org starts to get some of the Tampa area public opinion rolling, this issue might begin to gain some unneeded attention right now and steamroll quickly into a feverish pitch. Hopefully this does not happen, but we only have to look at the Chicago White Sox situation to remember that sometimes thing move quickly and beyond our control in regards to baseball.
There is even another Tampa area group who also counts former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco among their membership who are currently also drawing up plans and development ideas concerning the present Florida State Fairground enormous acreage, which was another one of the final five sites brought up by the ABC coalition report. So this stadium issue is just beginning to heat up, and there will be more surprises and deviant twists and turns before it is all said and done. But like I mentioned yesterday, could this pull our Tampa Bay region apart, or could it bring us closer together?
But I guess we can truly say we know what Major League Baseball thinks as MLC Commissioner Selig was asked again by the Times on Wednesday night about a new Rays stadium and he first spoke his usual “company line” policy statement that the ” Rays will need a new stadium before their current contract at Tropicana Field expires”. But then Selig also added to the Times article Wednesday night, ” It almost boggles my mind that there is room for debate. They need a new stadium.”
And even with this Kalt has been mum and quiet about any of these discussions or progressions on the Tampa-side of the bay. The Rays still have to chat with their current landlord (St. Petersburg) before considering any other options. But for some reason, I think their discussion with St. Petersburg will take some time and with that political tugs of war will develop between several groups, which might give the Tampa area developers and the downtown Tampa planners more than enough time to line up prospective financiers’ and maybe throw a huge bonus bone of needing less public funds towards the Rays to entice them more…….in the future.
Will Tampa Bay Divide Again?

Ciekurzis.org
Really Hillsborough County Commission? You really want to step on these collective St. Petersburg and Pinellas County toes again? Just because this side of the bay is envisioned daily wearing mostly Docker shorts and inexpensive flip flops and spending most of their downtime hanging out at beach bars drinking fruity drinks with umbrellas, can you seriously considering this hot potato of controversy was not going to divide this region’s opinions again. By considering to even ask for a formal powwow with the A Baseball Community (ABC) Coalition to speak to your own divided HCC membership on this issue seems to be amateurish at best.
And it might be helpful for your ultimate goal HCC Chairman Ken Hagan, if you had every one of your HCC Commissioners’ on board with you in advance. I know I personally think it stupid and frowned upon when your own group has a division within its own house before you commit to anything, but then again, that might not be your style of leadership. Funny how HCC Commissioner Jim Norman comment to the St Petersburg Times recently that ” He’s (Hagan) not speaking for me”, might speak volumes that this might be more of a newspaper/media shout-out crusade by you for some free press and attention when your own county’s finances and future sport ventures revenues might be in a tight knit ball with no strings left dangling.
Are you really going to try and throw your County’s already smug “superiority complex” out there for everyone else to see? Or will you say you are “doing your job” by claiming you are doing due diligence on the Rays stadium issue by trying to get an preliminary discussion going with the ABC Coalition, which has no political pull or remote chance of being a key player in any future discussions of this stadium deal. And did you forget something remember Mr. Hillsborough County Commission Chairman, especially now in this down economic climate, money talks and B S walks, even within a city considered a even Southern folks to be a “cow town” until as recently as 1990.
Until today, your agency has been playing it smart by sitting back and letting all the dust settle on the Tampa Bay Rays stadium issue. So why is it right now, when the focus should be on the influx of Major League Baseball players about to arrive and begin to fill the county business coffer’s and housing vacancies in our regional community that you want to tip over the apple cart and start a controversy and ultimate division of the region……..again. Oh! You think most of us have not forgotten the sorted past power struggles for control of Tampa Bay baseball between the Sharks (Morsani) and the Jets (Namoli) posses’ proclaiming our own version the epic “West Side Story” doing their own improvisational song and dance towards getting the region’s first taste of MLB-quality baseball?
How embarrassing it was for us as Tampa Bay area citizens to watch as two separate Tampa Bay Baseball groups considered themselves superior and collectively converged upon MLB as separate business entities to try and seducing the MLB power brokers during the first round of expansion site considerations and verbally sparred in the media and tried to constantly downgraded the other to show a visible key weakness of community division in the Tampa Bay area’s quest for baseball. That neither of the area’s groups even ventured into the expansion discussions with the MLB hierarchy with the same agenda points showed the deep division by the region, and not only by the saltwater that separated the two battling communities.
That first attempt became a complete and utter fiasco and the first expansion team in Florida ended up being awarded to another Florida group poised down Miami way because our two communities were doing their rendition of the Hatfield’s and the McCoys and canceled each other out by internal regional fisticuffs. The MLB leadership seemed to find it unnerving and utterly shallow that the two Tampa Bay groups were fighting for this one region’s team, and no compromises from either group was on the horizon. And it was not until each side of the bay ultimately agreed and considered that the Namoli baseball group out of St. Petersburg might have the necessary political and baseball clout to impress and regain MLB’s trust that the Tampa Bay region’s should be considered a viable location for baseball. Divided regional loyalties ceased and we collectively began the hunt to fight for a MLB team as one region.
How does your little political power play now by asking the ABC Coalition to chat with your group before they finish their rounds of discussions with the Pinellas County government agencies not constitute the basic element of tampering? How did you find a mindset of justify your pushing your collective political agenda forward with these actions being “okay” and not the usual sleezybag ” look at me” political mentality associated with an ultimate misplay of power by a government official. How soon is this school yard power play going to backfire into your faces like a kid with a firecracker on the Fourth of July? Did you even think of the massive repercussions of your request, or were you going to “play dumb” to the white noise that came from this action and hope support came running of unforeseen sources?
How can a leader of a county governmental agency who ultimately knows that his area’s finances are tied up neatly in a beautiful bow be so into discussing something they realistically can’t consider unless they want to possibly anger their own region’s citizens by asking them to tighten their belts a little tighter, or maybe even pull the sheepskins over their citizen’s eyes by imposing another bump in future sales taxes to even consider such a future power play. Has the HCC Chairman really been blunt and honest enough to Hillsborough’s own citizen to tell them that their possible finance options for such an future endeavor as seducing the Rays to their side of the bay might be unfathomable unless extreme measures were taken to secure even minimal finances for such a proposal.
Hagan can not say he is on his own “fact-finding mission”, that was the entire reason for the initial existence of the ABC Coalition in the first place, but it was to center on Pinellas County and St. Petersburg options towards future support of baseball, not expand its horizons over the bridge towards the eastern shore of the region. I think the Hillsborough community should be proud of the past HCC commitments to improving sports projects among their community made possible by them imposing the half-cent sales tax increase in the past to help fund projects like Raymond James Stadium and other sports ventures. And that theirs collective County revenue stream for such projects will be weakened until after 2026, which is beyond the current Rays stadium lease with the City of St. Petersburg.
And also maybe forgotten by Hagan was the Hillsborough County additional financial sports projects commitments made possible by their collection of an a hotel tax increase that helped financially secure the building of such venues as The Forum, the modernization of the Florida State Fairgrounds complex, upgrade to Raymond James Stadium and George Steinbrenner Field and will ultimately limit the HCC coffers in that aspect until 2035.
With the Rays about to “officially” unveil the new “Sunday” alternate jerseys on Wednesday with no “Tampa Bay” regional significance emblazoned over the front of their new “Sky Blue” color pallet jerseys, maybe the team is sending out early signals that this entire fiasco will be done in a business manner with no regards to communities or even social acceptance down the road. Maybe the Rays are setting up another scenario, a more concise and surgical approach that none of us will see coming, not even from our front porches looking towards the tilted forward roof of the Trop.
And the whole process of Hagan even asking for a chance to speak to the Coalition might have sent ripples through the region. The City of St. Petersburg is already on the defensive since the committee ultimately overstepped their initial set of guidelines and considered locations outside Pinellas County. And with these new calls from the east side of Tampa Bay wanting an audience to discuss the idea of Tampa Bay baseball can be viewed in many ways, with interesting twists all over the place. But unless the HCC as a group can shoot down any of the locations, or open their financial situation wide for all to see, this has to be just another wedge to force this region apart again with no healing in sight. This whole new Hillsborough County Commission situation just opens another wide open wound that needs a bandage quick before in gets infected and turns into another ugly mess. You can be sure I will keep my ears to the ground hoping to hear something new, and hopefully inspirational to everyone within Tampa Bay.