To Oriole Fans (A Moving Letter from Devil Rays Fan)

[rtwu48d]

Dear Devil Rays fan,

Your team should be contracted. You have no fan base, no legit history and a crappy stadium. The end.

[esmd]

I can't believe you didn't know the letter was from me!

I am Spartacus.

No, I am Spartacus!!!

No, no, I am Spartacus!!!

[weird-O]

And "Mr Jr." He's very polite. Why am I picturing a blind kid petting a dead parakeet with his head duct taped to his body?

thanks for that memory. I forgot about that scene.

"our pet's HEADS ARE FALLING OFF"

[weird-O]

considering how the fans in TB are "long suffering", I would think the % of fans wanting a salary cap, over those who don't, would be greater than 18%. this shows that the fans in TB realize that a cap isn't necessary if the owner would just commit funds to winning.

[mdrunning]

Their biggest problem is the lack of an even playing field in MLB. What do you expect, Tropicana Field to be rocking with a sellout crowd each night when the D Rays finish last in the AL East year after year?

You're missing my point entirely. In the nascent years of a franchise's existence, it shouldn't matter if they couldn't beat the local high school team, fans will come. No team becomes the '27 Yankees overnight. Look at the 1962 Mets. They were godawful in their first year and they played in the ancient and crumbling Polo Grounds. But despite just missing out on the pennant by 60 1/2 games that season, their attendance increased the next year and continued to do so for the next three.

The D-Rays' biggest problem is that they exist. Baseball should never have put a team there in the first place. Right near the end of Peter Ueberroth's term as commissioner, a blue ribbon panel was commissioned to study the feasibility of placing a franchise in Florida. The panel recommended one team, preferably in the Orlando area, near Disneyworld. Two decades later, Florida has two teams with fanbases that wouldn't fill a mid-size SUV, and neither is within hailing distance of the Magic Kingdom.

[Elevation]

The letter was legit and perhaps those who don't wish to take it seriously have trouble dealing with the real feelings and deep emotions that it expresses.

Only in America.

I hope the Devil Rays never win a single game again.

[HolyCow]

"Trop Nation", huh? That letter almost brought a tear to my eye. Poor little guy.

But what's with the "Mr. Bobby" and "Mr. Jr." thing?

He sounds like he might be a kid but then he says he's a "long suffering fan"? That's rich!

Hey, Trop......get a life!

C'mon, junior.....who's your secret pen pal; Maverick Hiker?

Bobby and his "Army of One"!

[Ponticar]

Most salary caps have floors that force teams to spend. If you cap the Yankees and others,players have no choice but to sign with teams like the Rays and O's. Maybe not the A-Rod caliber but a higher caliber than what these teams get now.

Most salary caps? Which ones?

A salary cap helps the owners, not the players, and the MLBPA is not going to agree to one. The owners will never sit through a prolonged strike to break the union, so this is all a moot point anyway.

Still, I want to know why the people in favor of a cap ignore the fact that teams like the Royals and Tampa Bay receive literally millions of dollars now from the Yankees, Red Sox, etc. As I stated earlier, Tampa got enough revenue from that tax to pay their entire ML payroll and still have close to 40 million left over. For that they could have signed four high quality free agents-when have they signed any?

[Saint-Just X]

The letter was legit and perhaps those who don't wish to take it seriously have trouble dealing with the real feelings and deep emotions that it expresses.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays do not exist to pay homage to the NY Yankees, or any other team.

Their fans want to win just as much as Yankee fans. And their team deserves a fair chance to do so.

A salary cap would give all teams a fair chance.

I'm not going to give up on this issue even if I have to carry it to every bulletin board of every MLB team in the country. Fans like Michael deserve better than the present system.

And so do the 68% of Tampa fans who voted for a cap.

Mister Bobby,have you thought about inviting Mister Michael to this forum?

You share very similar opinions.

In some ways,it's as if two hearts beat as one...

Pax Vobiscum
Saint-Just X

[can you hear me now!]

very moving....so get going and move to Tampa.

68%, again you are using this more for support than illumination. your "poll" is scientifically flawed and invalid (like most of your threads).

baseball should have never put a team in Tampa. It's a spring training attraction in Tampa, not a 7 month attraction. in addition, there is no worse stadium that the Suncoast Dome/Tropicana Field. It's a warehouse with a funny roof and all the atmosphere of a landfill.

[Mister Big]

Another bobby jr.
Who would have thunk it?

They're in basements of every American town.

Funny, cellar dwellers rooting foir cellar dwellers.

[HolyCow]

Mister Bobby,have you thought about inviting Mister Michael to this forum?

You share very similar opinions.

In some ways,it's as if two hearts beat as one...

Pax Vobiscum
Saint-Just X

"Mr. Michael" sounds a bit "disturbed". This place may not be the right place for him. He's better off hanging out on the Rays board. Besides...isn't "Mr. Bobby" more than enough?

[HolyCow]

"TropNation's" "moving letter has made it on to the Yankees board. Watch out. This could get nasty.

http://forums.nyyfans.com/showthread...90#post4322290

[MC]

"TropNation's" "moving letter has made it on to the Yankees board. Watch out. This could get nasty.

http://forums.nyyfans.com/showthread...90#post4322290

Oh boy...this could be a real interesting day...

[HAIL2BNG]

"TropNation's" "moving letter has made it on to the Yankees board. Watch out. This could get nasty.

http://forums.nyyfans.com/showthread...90#post4322290

On to A Yanks board, not the.

[OrioleMark]

LOL....so 1242 people looked at your "hot" thread and only 88 posts were made??? Even assuming that 88 people posted one time (which we know isn't the case), that's only 7% of the viewers who felt it was worth commenting on.

Yeah, keep slapping yourself on the back there, pal.

Isn't that the case with most threads? Even bronco's only has an 11% response rate.

[HolyCow]

On to A Yanks board, not the.

Well...it's the Yankees board that junior is so enamored with.

[flarkenberry]

Hallelujah!!! We found Bobby Junior Junior!!!

BJ, if you think that letter was emotional, you must bawl like a baby every time you see a Stop sign.

68% or Rays fans? Let's see, 68% of 127 = 86.36. That should be enough to force a change.

People don't go to Rays games because the team is bad. if the team were good, people would show up. Cripes, they packed the place a couple weeks ago for a Don Zimmer double bobble head night.

The stadium isn't much, but it's a lot better than it used to be. People I know who go to games frequently and have never been to another park think it's a great place. It's really not a bad place to watch a game from in there -- 1,000 times better than the old Kingdome in Seattle used to be. The biggest problem is the empty seats. And one reason for that is its downtown St. Petersburg location. St. Pete is a great place to live and downtown is a lot of fun, but folks from Clearwater, Tampa, and Sarasota don't come to St. Pete for entertainment.

The Tampa Bay metro area is a larger media market than Baltimore, and there is no reason why baseball can't work here. For the team to become viable and competitive, they will eventually need to move to the Tampa side of the Interstate or to Orlando.

[bobby jr]

Sure the writer soundes a little young, but that only makes his letter all the more moving and heartfelt.

He actually included his whole name in the original letter I took out his last name. I'm glad I did now that someone has put his letter on the Yankee board.

I'm taking a vacation from the Yankees board the last couple of weeks, because a couple of posters started to get a little too much into personal attacks and insults instead of discussing the issues in a logical and rational method.

[Elevation]

The Yankees board will be horrible without their MVP.