The Rays scored another Fox Sports Saturday TV game recently against the Minnesota Twins. Because it was a regional telecast, Fox used Rays’ regular play-by-play announcer Dewayne Staats to complement analyst Eric Karros. The chemistry worked well – and even included some warm fuzzies for the oft-maligned Trop from Karros.
According to Karros, the Trop seemed “lively” and “more colorful” than some of the other domes – including the dour one that the Twins will move out of after this season. What helped, of course, is that more than 36,000 fans were there as the Rays kicked off the start of their summer (Saturday) concert series. Thus the Trop looked – and sounded – “lively” for the regional telecast. Normally, the Twins are not a particularly good draw.
And speaking of the Rays, nice to see that third baseman Evan Longoria is a lock to be voted in as an American League starter in next month’s All-Star Game. Disappointing, however, to see that Jason Bartlett, the leading hitter in Major League Baseball and the defensive backbone of the Rays, is running such a distant second among shortstops.
It’s a reminder that fan voting is a major MLB marketing tactic that inherently favors big-name players in big markets (read: Derek Jeter). It’s not meant to be the fairest system, but sometimes it’s downright unfair. This looks like one of those. Bartlett is that good: at the plate (where he also hits for power and drives in runs), in the field, and — often overlooked — on the bases.