MLB Insider
By: Althea Pashman

MLB Insider: Chicago – Cuban Style… Dogs Days of Summer… Rays’ Rock The House

Mark Cuban is still alive, well and remains among the potential buyers for the Chicago Cubs.  Cuban survived the first cut of the original list of 10 prospective buyers to make the final five.

The Chicago Sun Times reported that the Tribune Company which owns the franchise acknowledged that the six remaining potential buyers all have submitted bids of $1-billion or more.  However, according to the Sun-Times Cuban is not the favorite son of the MLB owners because of his outspoken ways.  Case in point, Cuban has been fined in excess of $1-million dollars for his frequent criticism of NBA officials since buying the Mavericks in 2000... more
 

Speaking of Sports: TRS: The Real Story Behind the Garza-Navarro Meeting

EXCLUSIVE: The Tampa Bay Sports Net has in its possession the conversations between Rays’ pitcher Matt Garza and catcher Dioner Navarro on the mound, when Garza got a close-up look at what Navarro wears on his face, in the dugout when they met again and in the runway leading to the visitor’s clubhouse.

Without anyone’s knowledge, a miniature microphone was cleverly embedded in the catcher's mask padding and every word was heard across the Gulf of Mexico (when you are in an area loaded with 1,000-5,000 watt radio stations, you know you can hear them further out in the water to the west than you do over land to the east).

So without further adieu, TBSN brings you the complete blow-by-blow from start to finish.... more
 

Thinking Out Loud:
By Ted Fleming, Tampa Bay Sports Net 

Thinking Out Loud: Going To Hell In a Handbasket

Almost a month ago I penned a piece about the entertainment at Tropicana Field – (Rays Missing a Beat on In-house Fun) - and how the departure of John Franzone, aka John the Maestro, has left a huge void inside the stadium.

Having been inside the House of the Tilted Roof this entire homestand, there has been something else that has been gnawing at me but I just couldn't put my finger on it until Sunday's homestand finale with the White Sox... more
 

Rocco Baldelli’s health is one of the biggest question marks the Rays have this spring.  He appeared in only 127 of 486 games the past three seasons because of an assortment of injuries.  Baldelli has been a major disappointment since signing a long-term deal in November 2005 and there was much hoopla as to why the team would make such a commitment to someone who had just missed the entire 2005 from a torn ACL and a torn rotator cuff.  Heading into spring training, the Rays have asked Baldelli to pace himself during spring training, something that Baldelli has never had to do..... complete interview
 

Hurdles Aside, How Will Rays’ Stadium Plan Really Affect St. Petersburg
By Ted Fleming, Tampa Bay Sports Net

There are logistical problems. Parking problems. Ecological problems. IRL problems. Government problems. Voter problems. Problem problems.
 

Other than that, the Rays new stadium idea is fabulous.

Or is it?
 

Part of the $1 billion project depends not only the sale of the stadium and land where Tropicana Field currently rests to pay off roughly $100 million in bonds, but who will develop it and how.... more

Could It Be Back to the Future in Rays Quest For New Downtown Stadium?
By Ted Fleming, Tampa Bay Sports Net 

It was an accident. Really.

I just had a chunk of my house painted recently and as I was trying to reconstruct the displays I had from the early days of the Devil Rays, I had something in a pile I wanted to frame but never got around to it..... more 
 

With the Cubs on the brink of the playoffs, Jim Hendry wears the hero crown again. But the last two years, with the team a big disappointment, he wore the goat horns, asking why he didn’t do more to improve the club. In this interview, he addresses the issue if his hands were tied by Andy MacPhail, just what Alfonso Soriano was promised when the Cubs signed him, his thoughts on Lou Piniella, and what player surprised him this year.... more
 

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