| Jim (Tampa): Hey Joe, I'm a big D-Rays fan (one of the few) and I need to know what the Rays can do this trading deadline and in the offseason to give themselves a chance within the next 10 years. Joe Morgan: (4:54 PM ET ) First of all, congrats on being a Devil Rays fan. It's easy to be a fan of a winning team, but a true baseball fan picks a team and sticks with them. So congratulations. A lot of the problems stem from the ballpark. It's hard to get good pitching in that park. It's hard to build a team there. I guess the easiest thing would be to blow up the park and start over. But they have to be committed to going about things one way. Remember, they went out before and got Canseco and all those other HR hitters and it didn't work. >> The ballpark? Seriously? The ballpark?! What the hell are you talking about? Here is ESPN's Park Factor chart. I copied and pasted the whole thing just to emphasize how crazy it is to say the problem with the Devil Rays is their ballpark. Noitce anything? (Hint: Tropicana Field is actually a pitcher's park this year.) Park Factor - Through Thursday, July 28, 2005 | |||||||
| Rk | Park Name | Runs | HR | H | 2B | 3B | BB |
| 1 | Coors Field (Rockies) | 1.412 | 1.235 | 1.240 | 1.316 | 1.655 | 1.181 |
| 2 | Ameriquest Field (Rangers) | 1.217 | 1.087 | 1.093 | 1.086 | 1.667 | 0.998 |
| 3 | U.S. Cellular Field (White Sox) | 1.139 | 1.402 | 1.095 | 0.979 | 0.870 | 1.016 |
| 4 | Rogers Centre (Blue Jays) | 1.128 | 1.117 | 1.054 | 1.076 | 1.199 | 1.101 |
| 5 | Wrigley Field (Cubs) | 1.123 | 1.329 | 1.031 | 1.001 | 0.913 | 0.987 |
| 6 | Fenway Park (Red Sox) | 1.120 | 0.974 | 1.100 | 1.334 | 0.600 | 0.975 |
| 7 | Camden Yards (Orioles) | 1.077 | 1.050 | 1.022 | 1.036 | 0.704 | 0.950 |
| 8 | SBC Park (Giants) | 1.069 | 0.899 | 1.072 | 1.102 | 1.812 | 0.946 |
| 9 | Bank One Ballpark (Diamondbacks) | 1.068 | 1.290 | 1.051 | 1.116 | 1.294 | 1.013 |
| 10 | Metrodome (Twins) | 1.045 | 0.925 | 1.017 | 0.968 | 0.741 | 0.938 |
| Rk | Park Name | Runs | HR | H | 2B | 3B | BB |
| 11 | Miller Park (Brewers) | 1.042 | 0.981 | 0.986 | 1.161 | 1.235 | 1.129 |
| 12 | Citizens Bank Park (Phillies) | 1.024 | 1.134 | 0.981 | 0.865 | 1.360 | 1.009 |
| 13 | McAfee Coliseum (Athletics) | 1.012 | 1.089 | 0.976 | 0.984 | 0.682 | 1.050 |
| 14 | Minute Maid Park (Astros) | 1.004 | 1.075 | 0.993 | 0.892 | 1.448 | 0.929 |
| 15 | Turner Field (Braves) | 0.991 | 1.128 | 0.973 | 0.937 | 0.742 | 1.015 |
| 16 | Shea Stadium (Mets) | 0.974 | 0.804 | 1.033 | 0.976 | 0.467 | 0.978 |
| 17 | Angel Stadium (Angels) | 0.972 | 1.062 | 1.019 | 0.863 | 0.579 | 0.951 |
| 18 | Jacobs Field (Indians) | 0.960 | 0.742 | 0.952 | 1.115 | 0.781 | 1.127 |
| 19 | Busch Stadium (Cardinals) | 0.936 | 0.798 | 0.996 | 1.041 | 1.263 | 1.067 |
| 20 | Comerica Park (Tigers) | 0.923 | 0.871 | 0.995 | 0.820 | 1.844 | 0.974 |
| Rk | Park Name | Runs | HR | H | 2B | 3B | BB |
| 21 | Yankee Stadium (Yankees) | 0.922 | 1.029 | 0.965 | 0.887 | 0.548 | 0.943 |
| 22 | PNC Park (Pirates) | 0.918 | 0.876 | 0.988 | 1.080 | 0.790 | 0.899 |
| 23 | Tropicana Field (Devil Rays) | 0.911 | 1.007 | 0.936 | 0.904 | 1.041 | 1.022 |
| 24 | Kauffman Stadium (Royals) | 0.910 | 0.706 | 0.975 | 0.949 | 1.419 | 0.978 |
| 25 | Dodger Stadium (Dodgers) | 0.909 | 1.016 | 0.961 | 0.762 | 0.600 | 0.841 |
| 26 | Dolphins Stadium (Marlins) | 0.898 | 0.987 | 0.951 | 0.930 | 1.025 | 1.058 |
| 27 | Great American (Reds) | 0.847 | 1.048 | 0.890 | 0.864 | 0.538 | 0.883 |
| 28 | PETCO Park (Padres) | 0.837 | 0.691 | 0.895 | 0.895 | 1.519 | 1.046 |
| 29 | Safeco Field (Mariners) | 0.834 | 1.033 | 0.867 | 1.033 | 0.470 | 1.046 |
| 30 | RFK Stadium (Nationals) | 0.827 | 0.552 | 0.852 | 0.899 | 0.851 | 0.983 |
Labels: joe morgan, joechat, live blogging
