Category: Uncategorized

We know all too well the endemic issues surrounding poor attendance at Rays’ games. For starters, there’s asymmetrical geography, an obsolete facility with a bad regional location and a chronic lack of mass transit. Then there’s a dearth of corporate headquarters, the challenge of allocating public money and the back-home allegiances of many relocatee residents. Then add the lure of golf, boating and escape to the Carolinas in the summer. So the one thing that can be most directly addressed–a well-located, modern stadium–has to be pitch perfect. Tropicana Field has not–and will not–work. “Raybor” Stadium didn’t wow the business community.

The clock keeps ticking contracturally toward 2027 and the end of the Trop use agreement, and not enough has changed since Vince Naimoli and Frank Morsani were eyeing an expansion franchise–for St. Petersburg and Tampa, respectively–in the 1980s. Thanks again, Vince.

So in what seems like a last-ditch effort to get this market off the baseball dime, the Rays have received permission from Major League Baseball, which begrudgingly signs off on revenue-sharing money for the Rays, to “explore” the bizarre idea of the team splitting its home games between St. Pete and Montreal, starting in, oh, 2024. What the hell, Montreal used to have the Expos, and the less-than-identical twin cities are in the same time zone.

This gives “scheme” a bad name. “Hustle” is a positive attribute on the baseball field; it’s a pejorative in business negotiations. That’s what this smacks of: the game of leverage. Prominent player agent Scott Boras, no stranger to hardball bottom lines, likely summed it up for most observers. “It’s a very interesting concept to force one city or the other to build a stadium rapidly, which I think is the real idea behind it all,” he noted pointedly. He may not be wrong.

Rays majority owner Stu Sternberg, who just bought a home in St. Pete, keeps stressing that he wants to make Major League Baseball work in this market and for everyone to “keep an open mind.” He said at the Rays Dali press conference that this blind-siding scenario wasn’t part of a “staged exit.” That he’s looking for a “permanent arrangement,” where the Rays could “thrive” in two places, each with its own new, roof-less facility. An expanded Al Lang Stadium could even be in the mix.

“We believe this is a creative, sensible, extraordinary solution,” underscored Sternberg. He wants, he says, to play ball with Tampa Bay and somehow make baseball, however customized, happen here. But it still sounds a lot like he’s shouting: “Ploy ball.”   

* Thanks, as it were, to comedian-host Kenon Thompson, the Lightning’s hangover from the playoffs lingered on at the NHL Awards night in Las Vegas. “Shout out to my Tampa folks,” quipped Thompson. “That’s right. They tied the most wins in a regular season with 62 and then they followed it up by tying the least wins in the playoffs with zero. That’s what I like about them, win or lose, they set records.” Ouch. Comes with the territory. The Bolts do own this one.

That said, we still need to give well-earned shout-outs to Nikita Kucherov, honored as the NHL’s scoring champion and Most Valuable Player, and Andrei Vasilevskiy, the league’s best goalie. That’s quite a parlay for one team. Go, Bolts.

* There were two recent–back-to-back–games that could ultimately define the Rays’ season of early high expectations. Blake Snell, of Cy Young Award fame and renegotiated new contract, continued to disappoint and lasted all of 1/3 of an inning against the Yankees and gave up six runs. Even Daniel Robertson, the utility infielder asked to pitch the 9th inning of an embarrassing 12-1 loss, was better. The next day the Rays blew a late 4-1 lead and lost on a walk-off homer to Oakland. A sobering reminder that the Rays do not have a reliable closer, without which the playoffs are problematic.

* The Rays, however, have the consensus best prospect in MLB in infielder Wander Franco, 18.  

* “We are there (Mideast) to deter aggression. President Trump does not want war.”–Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during his meeting with commanders of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill AFB.

* “Trump seems  to inhabit a fantasy world in which his abandonment of the Obama nuclear deal with Iran, along with sanctions and bellicose tweets, will force Iran to roll up its nuclear program. Instead, Trump’s tactics have, quite predictably, led Iran to lash out.”–Nicholas Kristof, New York Times.

* “The very people–in some cases, literally the very same people who lured us into the Iraq quagmire 16 years ago–are demanding a new war, this one with Iran.”–Tucker Carlson, Fox News host.

* “It’s 21st-century gunboat diplomacy. We’re showing the adversary we can inflict serious costs without actually doing much. We used to park ships within sight of the shore. Now, perhaps, we get access to key systems like the electric grid.”–Robert M. Chesney, University of Texas law professor, on the shifting legal basis for digital operations–notably the targeting of the Russian grid.

* “Americans want reliable energy that they can afford. Fossil fuels will continue to be an important part of the mix.”–EPA chief Andrew Wheeler.

* “The carbon tax is an example of how to use market forces to save the planet.”–William L. Holahan and Charles Q. Kroncke, co-authors of “Economics for Voters.”

* “History has proven time and again that when we give politicians the power to set the value of money, they do it badly and the consequences can be catastrophic.”–Peter Conti-Brown, the author of “The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve.”

* “We’ve been on defense for 47 years, and it’s not working.”–Sen. Elizabeth Warren, on Roe v. Wade.

* “However the I-4 Corridor breaks is how you win Florida, ” and we won’t take any vote there for granted.”–Ellie Hockenberry, Republican National Committee spokeswoman.

* “If the governor and Legislature would just pay attention to what the voters ask of them, citizen initiatives wouldn’t be necessary.”–Paula Dockery, former Republican legislator–now NPA–from Lakeland.

* “He’s a businessman.” “He tells it like it is.” “He listens to us.” “He doesn’t want THEM coming in here either.” “He’ll drain the swamp.” “He’ll kick some ass.” “We need a cult leader.” Whatever. Iran is the latest reminder that the president of the United States, even if it’s Donald Trump, plays a pivotal role in what happens in our world. From climate change to nuclear threats to global alliances. Those aren’t priorities of a faux populist charlatan.

* The Trump Administration to Iran: “Live up to the nuclear deal that we pulled out of.”

* Is Mike Pompeo secretary of state or secretary of defense?  

* Talk about a bottom line. “Let me make something 100% clear to the American public and anyone running for public office. It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election. This is not a novel concept. I would not have thought I needed to say this.” No, that wasn’t Nancy Pelosi. It was Ellen Weintraub, chairwoman of the Federal Election Commission, not exactly known for political partisanship.

* “If you want to know how much these polls matter, just ask President Hillary Clinton.” That’s a recent Jimmy Fallon line, more haunting than humorous.

* Sarah Huckleberry Sandbag, the Trump spokesperson who makes us miss Sean Spicer, is leaving this month. Her replacement?  Likely an insider moving up, but hard to dismiss Sean Hannity, Kanye West, Kid Rock, Matt Gaetz, Steve Doocy, Laura Ingraham or Pam Bondi.  

What will be SHS’s legacy? Let’s count the ways. She whored out for the worst, most despicably dangerous president in U.S. history. She killed off the daily press briefing. She suspended the WH pass of CNN’s Jim Acosta. She didn’t just spin like all press secretaries do, she also lied–including claims that the WH had heard from “countless” FBI agents who complained about James Comey. And she was a gratuitous gift to “SNL.”  

BTW, whoever replaces SHS will have already proven unsuitable because they’ve already given de facto proof of their values and motivation: fealty to Trump and a high-profile bridge to Fox.

* Kellyanne Conway: the Hatch Actress.

* We know why Trump won’t dump Kellyanne Conway: She’s an outspoken, arrogant, loyal apologist. But why won’t George Conway dump her? Is it some sort of perverse celebrity coupling that only Mary Matelin and James Carville would understand?

* “Donald Trump should launch his anti-worker, anti-woman, anti-farmer, and anti-minority campaign elsewhere.” You go, Nikki Fried.

* However this Democratic casting call shakes out, one reality seems certain: The 2020 Democratic ticket will not consist of two straight white guys.

We’ll know that we’ve turned the ultimate self-interest corner, and hopefully not too late, when climate change is referenced foremost as an existential threat–not merely a political and economic issue. To wit, much was made of a recent Monmouth University poll that showed that 64 percent of Republicans now believe in climate change, an eight percent jump since 2015. While this likely doesn’t include President Donald Trump, Sen. Rick Scott or EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, it still says that with science-based climate change increasingly manifest every day–temps hit 123 degrees recently in India–more than one in three GOPsters still doesn’t believe in climate change. That’s still unconscionable.

And too bad the Democratic Party didn’t heed the request of candidate Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington, to make climate change the lone subject of one of the 12 presidential debates. It would have forced candidates to get detailed–and not just get by with clichés. But the DNC turned it down. Chairman Tom Perez should know better. This is the ultimate existential threat to the planet–aided and abetted by the warped, science-challenged priorities of Trump, his “Deliverance”-crowd base and the fossil fuel industry. There should be no debate about that.

* “I told you so.” I’m afraid we’re going to hear that before too long. It will be because someone on a scooter will have been seriously injured or killed. And some official in St. Pete will explain again why that hipster city had decided on watchful waiting instead of giving the go-ahead for scooters.

* When it comes to school mascots, Florida State University makes a good model. Seminoles are not depicted as some demeaning Sunshine State Chief Wahoo. The Seminole Tribe gets a percentage of paraphernalia sales, and the Seminoles have an embedded curricular place in the teaching of Florida history. The school board should keep context in mind when looking at Hillsborough Native American school mascots and ethnic stereotypes. In Tallahassee, Chief Osceola and Renegade are points of pride–not parody.

It speaks volumes, doesn’t it, when Gov. Ron DeSantis goes to Okaloosa County in the Panhandle to sign a bill. But it wasn’t, of course, just any bill. It was the controversial one that will ban “sanctuary cities” in Florida.  It’s also a reminder that there are no sanctuaries from blatant, political pandering to a base, and that there’s a thin line between a bill signing and a campaign rally. No, Gov. DeSantis hasn’t lost his Fox Green Room pass.

* Maybe it’s generational. Or maybe it’s just the generic nature of pop culture at any given point in time. Whatever, I’ll never get Marvel Comics movies and zombie cinema. We’re better than this, aren’t we?

* The Elton John movie “Rocketman” is well worth seeing, especially as we get mired in summer cinema drivel. Yes, it has its wince-able moments, but a well-scored, well-staged fantasy-musical-biopic that also deals with addictions will do that. His hyper kinetic, catalytic American debut at the Troubadour in West Hollywood is reason alone to see it. And Taron Egerton is spot on in the lead role. Alas, however, “Philadelphia Freedom,” my all-time, favorite Elton John song, was not included. Yo.  

* While President Trump might not be impressed, the European Commission officially confirmed that Russian disinformation was detected in last month’s European Union elections. No, this issue–Russian meddling to suppress turnout and influence voter preferences–or Trump, is not going away soon enough.

* Hong Kong, the former British colony, is in the news. Again. It’s what happens when pro-democracy protesters hit the streets and have to wear masks to stay ahead of China’s authoritarian, police-state surveillance. They take measures to mask their digital footprints. They miss freedom, autonomy and their jailed leaders. They want full universal suffrage, not Beijing’s version of “1984.” They’ve never missed Mao.

While no one would advocate for–or wax nostalgic for–colonialism, the erstwhile British crown colony days never looked so good. Come to think of it, British Honduras is looking better by the Tegucigalpa day. Honduras, the most murderous country in the world, is nearing failed-state status.

* I’ve seen the HBO miniseries on Chernobyl, the infamous Ukrainian site of a 1986 nuclear disaster.It’s compelling. But not nearly compelling enough to want to go there. Yet we’re seeing a surge in bookings for trips to the site and the nearby town (Pripyat) that were abandoned after the nuclear accident. Tourists turning Chernobyl into a radiation theme park?  Flint never seemed so appealing.

* For what it’s worth, there are already published odds–by sportsbook.ag–on next season’s Stanley Cup winner, and the winner is: the Tampa Bay Lightning at 6-1. Next is Las Vegas at 7-1. Current Stanley Cup champion St. Louis is listed sixth at 14-1. Last is Ottawa at 300-1. The only down side: It doesn’t matter, as we well know.

* Imagine if the Rays had a home record to match their away record. The latter, outside of Yankee Stadium, is outstanding, the best in baseball; the former is barely above .500. It’s typically the reverse for winning teams. Could it be that home Trop attendance–and the accompanying optics, ambience and media franchise-speculation–also impact results on the field? Players are well paid and focused, but they notice empty seats.

* It was big news the other day when a Babe Ruth jersey sold at auction for $5.64 million. Even more gobsmacking, frankly, was the reminder that Ruth not only hit more than 700 home runs in a non-steroid age, but he also had a lifetime batting average of .342. And, oh yeah, he was also 94-46 as a pitcher–with an ERA of 2.28.