Mr Met13

The Devil Rays were a team hat had been around for about a decade without even winning a posting a record better than .500.  This season, the small market Rays are one game out of the AL East with more than half of the season to go.  People called me crazy when I said the Rays would win the AL East this decade, but I didn't even think that they would make this serious of a run this season.  This is just a small market team with good scouting who decided to wait to win.  They have a young roster led by players like B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, Carlos Pe <link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\cbk\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_filelist.xml" /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables /> <w:SnapToGridInCell /> <w:WrapTextWithPunct /> <w:UseAsianBreakRules /> <w:UseFELayout /> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style type="text/css"> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]-->ña, Matt Garza, and Scott Kazmir (as a Mets fan, I hate hearing his name).  They also have Tim Beckham and David Price.  Price could be called up as soon as this season, his first pro season.  He is already in AA.  When he made his first pro start in high-A, he faced, and beat Pedro Mart <link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\cbk\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_filelist.xml" /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables /> <w:SnapToGridInCell /> <w:WrapTextWithPunct /> <w:UseAsianBreakRules /> <w:UseFELayout /> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style type="text/css"> <!--{</style>ínez.  After the game, Pedro had to admit that he was impressed with what Price had done in this game.  The question most people are asking is how are the Rays going to keep these guys when they become free-agents and start costing money.  The Rays have actually locked up many members on their roster to long-term deals like Longoria, Kazmir, Peña, etc.  The Rays will be a contender for awhile, great timing too because they are attempting to build a new waterfront stadium like in San Fransisco with a canopy to protect fans from rain.  They did delay the referendum for the new stadium bill though.  The Rays are a great team and will be great for awhile.

The MLB is catching up to the NFL in total revenue.  The MLB has finally post a $6 billion season, just behind the NFL.  The MLB will see these numbers increase soon with seven new ballparks opening soon, two of the in New York.  The MLB will also launch the Baseball Chanel in 2009 which will boost revenue further.  Part of the revenue is better attendance, with more competitive balance, more fans have been going to smaller market team's games like the Brewers and Rockies.  Also, the MLB has grown overseas faster than the NFL, which is way behind every major American sports league.

$2.7 million.  That is the cost for a thirty second ad during Super Bowl XLII.  It cost $40,000 for a thirty second spot during Super Bowl I.  The commercials are entertaining, but are they worth the cost to the companies paying for the ad time?

Johan Santana will be the highest paid pitcher after this deal, but what does it mean for baseball.  There are talks that the Indians may look to trade ace C.C. Sabathia if the Mets and Johan Santana reach an agreement because Johan WILL set a high bar for quality pitcher's salaries, one that would make signing Sabathia impossible.  The Mets are trying to keep th deal under the $150 million threshold, but the players union hopes that Johan's representatives can go above that, making quality pitcher's pay higher.  The Mets need to sign Santana now and that means Santana holds most of the power in the negotiation.  The Mets are one of the few teams who own a TV network where having Johan will benefit the ratings and a new stadium under construction for 2009.  The Mets won the deal with the Twins after the Yankees and Red Sox both backed out.  Now, to please fans, signing Santana and completing the swap is a must.