Rays to slash payroll after this year. as low as 50 million?

[corpusse]

http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/comments/sternberg-payroll-to-go-down-after-this-season/

This is sad news even if it means the jays will have one less mega team ahead of them.  70 million is still pretty modest.  Tampa has a very realistic chance of being better then at least one of the yankees or red sox for at least another 2-3 years. 

They really need a new stadium. 

[Darryl]

I just don't think the market is there for Tampa. Even after an appearance in the World Series their attendance only went up about 1000 per game.

[BlueJayWay]

Floridians don't like baseball.

[corpusse]

I just don't think the market is there for Tampa. Even after an appearance in the World Series their attendance only went up about 1000 per game.

It's possible.  I think the economy is a lot worse there. Downtown tampa is pretty dead, but they actually play in st. petes.  The stadium is in a poor location in addition to being horrible.  One thing I did notice last spring there were a LOT more people walking around with Rays caps, tshirts and jerseys.  Something I did not notice the spring before.  

[Blacksheep]

I lived in Florida before there were baseball teams there, thing I noticed was A. Native Floridians (read redneck kind that don't live in the big cities) do not, at large, follow baseball. B. The massive elderly community, which comes from every other state in the country, continues to root for the teams from their home states and visit them during spring training. So I really don't think there was ever a market for a Florida team, perhaps if they only had the Marlins and the Marlins were consistent, over the course of 50 years a new fan base would appear, but two teams with no payroll (Marlins go up and down like a roller coaster) in a state that doesn't like the sport/roots for other teams, just doesn't work.

I'm guessing Tampa gets shipped to another state one day and the only team that stay's is the Marlins (maybe, Marlins might go one day also).

[djfreebodyremix]

so much for ppl who like to point out that a team like tampa can compete with the big boys and there is no need for a cap. suck on that selig.

[corpusse]

so much for ppl who like to point out that a team like tampa can compete with the big boys and there is no need for a cap. suck on that selig.

If Tampa is going to spend 50 million, how is a salary cap going to help them?  Maybe the yankees couldn't pay Carl Crawford to play center field for them, but it doesn't mean the Rays would be able to keep him.  They might end up being slightly less of a super team but a cap would not allow small market teams to spend more.

[London Knights]

If Tampa is going to spend 50 million, how is a salary cap going to help them?  Maybe the yankees couldn't pay Carl Crawford to play center field for them, but it doesn't mean the Rays would be able to keep him.  They might end up being slightly less of a super team but a cap would not allow small market teams to spend more.

If you limit how much a team can spend, it means that New York isn't as stacked as they currently are.  Sure, Crawford might be playing elsewhere, but it would also mean that he is more likely to go to Pittsburgh, or Atlanta, or San Diego.  You can also regulate the spending of some of the lower market teams by having a cap floor like the NHL that prevents a team like Florida/Pittsburgh/Tampa from gutting their team to save a buck or two.

[corpusse]

While that is true I still think teams like the rays spending more would help considerably more then the Yankees spending less.