TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Opening Spring Loss Doesn't Ruin Rays' Day

ADVERTISEMENT

By MARC LANCASTER

mlancaster@tampatrib.com

Published: February 26, 2009

PORT CHARLOTTE - You couldn't call it a storybook opener, what with the 7-0 drubbing absorbed by the home team and a traffic jam that kept many fans from reaching the stadium on time, but the Rays didn't have many complaints as they began Grapefruit League play Wednesday.

"It was a great first day in spite of the score," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said after his team was shut out by the Reds in its first game at Charlotte Sports Park.

A pregame ceremony, highlighted by the raising of a giant flag commemorating the team's 2008 American League championship, had a lot to do with the upbeat vibe that seemed to rule a pleasant, partly cloudy day at the extensively renovated ballpark.

A crowd of 6,028 - short of a sellout by a few hundred - took in the festivities. The main seating bowl didn't begin to look full until perhaps a third of the game already had been played. Some of those empty seats could be attributed to fans walking around and checking out the Rays' new digs, including the outfield boardwalk that remained well-populated all afternoon.

But there also were significant traffic-control problems that Rays officials moved quickly to address. Senior vice president Michael Kalt vowed even as Wednesday's game was in progress to find a solution for traffic tie-ups that frustrated many fans. Hours later, the team announced it would increase the number of parking lot attendants on hand, provide clearer signage and open the parking lots and stadium gates 30 minutes earlier for future games.

"It will be better on Friday," when the Rays host the Red Sox, Kalt promised.

On the field, the Rays collected only four hits against a series of frontline Reds pitchers and committed a pair of errors while watching their own hurlers get knocked around a bit. A Jerry Hairston Jr. grand slam off Randy Choate in the fifth and Adam Rosales' two-run shot off Mitch Talbot in the ninth did most of the damage.

But it didn't count for anything - or not nearly as much as seeing that championship flag rise beyond the left-field fence.

"A sense of accomplishment," was how Carl Crawford described it after collecting the first hit at the Rays' new home with a first-inning single off Edinson Volquez.

Though some faces were new and a few others were missing, Evan Longoria said "it felt normal."

"It didn't feel like we had lost a whole group of guys," Longoria said. "I think our core guys are still here, and it felt like we were the old Rays again."

The old Rays, he meant.

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT