* Mayor Jane Castor has indicated that she would like to see the Rays relocate to Tampa. The issues–including the legal option for the Rays to re-open a Tampa search–are beyond formidable.
And this much still seems obvious. If Tampa ultimately is not a stadium-site choice, then that choice will be outside this regional market. St. Petersburg, for all the hipness around downtown and the bay front and the redevelopment possibilities around the Trop site, is still not a winner for the Rays. Unless the Red Sox or the Yankees are in town, the Rays–with MLB’s best record at this writing–still struggle to draw more than 9,000 per game in St. Pete.