Nellie Cruz Rakes in First Game for Rays

[strumdatjag]

I don’t want a “Cruz watch” thread second guessing the trade. Last night, Nelson Cruz hit a homer in his second at bat.   I’d still make the trade and hope his success continues. No second guessing, because he wasn’t going to make a difference for the Twins for the rest of this tough season. He will contribute to success in St Pete.  The Rays’ players are exceedingly positive on Nellie’s presence in the dugout.   Twins fans are not surprised. 

[RedBull34]

22 minutes ago, strumdatjag said:

I don’t want a “Cruz watch” thread second guessing the trade. Last night, Nelson Cruz hit a homer in his second at bat.   I’d still make the trade and hope his success continues. No second guessing, because he wasn’t going to make a difference for the Twins for the rest of this tough season. He will contribute to success in St Pete.  The Rays’ players are exceedingly positive on Nellie’s presence in the dugout.   Twins fans are not surprised. 

At this point, I hope the Rays win it all simply because Cruz is on the team.  

[Brock Beauchamp]

I hope Cruz posts a 1.500 OPS with the Rays. I want to see him win a World Series and do very well. I like both him and the Rays organization. 

[gil4]

32 minutes ago, strumdatjag said:

I don’t want a “Cruz watch” thread second guessing the trade. Last night, Nelson Cruz hit a homer in his second at bat.   I’d still make the trade and hope his success continues. No second guessing, because he wasn’t going to make a difference for the Twins for the rest of this tough season. He will contribute to success in St Pete.  The Rays’ players are exceedingly positive on Nellie’s presence in the dugout.   Twins fans are not surprised. 

I think most of us are with you. Part of this trade is showing respect for Cruz by trading him to a contender, since this team has cratered. No second guessing - it was a trade that had to happen, even  if we hate to see him go.

[strumdatjag]

Just for fun, I’ll rain on this parade.  Target Field is a much better place to see a ballgame than the Trop or whatever that monstrosity in St Pete is called today.  Nellie got a big downgrade as far as his place of work.  
Worst ballpark in MLB.  Worse than Oak-town.  
but I’m still cheering for him snd the Rays this year. 

[ashbury]

He's batting only .250 for the Rays. Might be DFA'ed before September.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

3 hours ago, ashbury said:

He's batting only .250 for the Rays. Might be DFA'ed before September.

Did they win?

[sampleSizeOfOne]

3 minutes ago, sampleSizeOfOne said:

Did they win?

Yes. Sorry i was too lazy to look it up before posting...

Wisler got the win, too. (following a blown save)

 

3 hours ago, ashbury said:

He's batting only .250 for the Rays. Might be DFA'ed before September.

But an on base percentage of .400, which i think is respectable?

Keep settin' the tables!

[AceWrigley]

6 hours ago, strumdatjag said:

Just for fun, I’ll rain on this parade.  Target Field is a much better place to see a ballgame than the Trop or whatever that monstrosity in St Pete is called today.  Nellie got a big downgrade as far as his place of work.  Worst ballpark in MLB.  Worse than Oak-town. 

Except when the game is over and you leave the ballpark, you're in St. Petersburg, Florida instead of Oakland, Ca. Bazinga!

[twinssporto]

15 minutes ago, AceWrigley said:

Except when the game is over and you leave the ballpark, you're in St. Petersburg, Florida instead of Oakland, Ca. Bazinga!

St. Pete is great in October too. Beautiful weather. Crappy ball park but great parking lot in the fall!

[BD57]

I agree the Trop is awful.   They'd do much better if they built a real ballpark on the Tampa side of the Bay - it'd cut at least an hour's travel time off for a lot of fans.

[h2oface]

Can't one follow and talk about what Cruz does without it being second guessing? Yes, they can, and will.

How did Strotman and Ryan do for the Twins?

"First baseman Miguel Sano paid tribute by wearing his friend's game pants. "They both wear pretty good-sized pants, so to the eye, I could not tell any difference. But I bet it meant a lot to Miguel to be doing that, and probably Nellie, too," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said."   https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31864460/tampa-bay-rays-finalizing-trade-minnesota-twins-slugger-nelson-cruz-sources-say

Hmmmm. Am I the only one that finds that a bit..... creepy weird? I mean, not the jersey, not the number, not the hat, not the helmet..... but the pants......

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 hour ago, AceWrigley said:

Except when the game is over and you leave the ballpark, you're in St. Petersburg, Florida instead of Oakland, Ca. Bazinga!

I'd rather be in Oakland and it's not close.

[h2oface]

1 hour ago, BD57 said:

I agree the Trop is awful.   They'd do much better if they built a real ballpark on the Tampa side of the Bay - it'd cut at least an hour's travel time off for a lot of fans.

I don't think that would matter. People just don't go to MLB games much in Florida, Tampa or Miami, which always seemed odd to me, as Florida houses the Grapefruit League! 

[MABB1959]

9 hours ago, strumdatjag said:

Just for fun, I’ll rain on this parade.  Target Field is a much better place to see a ballgame than the Trop or whatever that monstrosity in St Pete is called today.  Nellie got a big downgrade as far as his place of work.  
Worst ballpark in MLB.  Worse than Oak-town.  
but I’m still cheering for him snd the Rays this year. 

I would go back to the Metrodome just to have a competitive team again.  Nothing but crap memories of Target Field so far.  Not one to go for the TF experience!

[BD57]

22 hours ago, h2oface said:

I don't think that would matter. People just don't go to MLB games much in Florida, Tampa or Miami, which always seemed odd to me, as Florida houses the Grapefruit League! 

Can't say anything specific about Miami, beyond this - it was a long haul for people to the ballpark when they played in the Dolphins stadium, and now the new ballpark is on the site of the old Orange Bowl . . . not the most desirable area in town.

As for Tampa . . . .  that stadium is really awful.  It's outdated to an extreme (it was outdated when the Tampa was first granted a franchise).  

There's only "one way there" from the mainland, and the traffic to the bridge is usually "nasty," especially for any weekday game (including Friday) - you have to slug your way across town during Rush Hour into an interchange which isn't set up to move traffic smoothly.

If they were on the east side of the Bay - esp. if they built in Ybor City (which has been discussed, though nothing happened), it'd be way easier to get there and, especially, "to get out of there after the game." 

Would there be more Rays fans if they did that?  Probably.  It'd also be a lot easier "ask" for fans of the teams coming in to play the Rays.

Until they caught on themselves, going to a Lightning game against certain opponents gave you a crowd of, maybe, 70% Lightning fans, 30% "opponents."   Fans who want to "see the team they grew up with, before moving to Florida" are still well represented at Lightning games.

That it's easy to get out of Amalie and on the road back to central Florida after a Lightning game (park in the right place, and you can be on the highway with little traffic inside of 15 minutes almost every time) makes it a lot easier "ask" for fans wanting to see their team.   The Rays in St. Pete . . . You don't get out of there quickly, and when you do, you still have to drive at least a half hour to "get to where the ballpark should be."

[Unwinder]

On 7/24/2021 at 10:25 AM, strumdatjag said:

Just for fun, I’ll rain on this parade.  Target Field is a much better place to see a ballgame than the Trop or whatever that monstrosity in St Pete is called today.  Nellie got a big downgrade as far as his place of work.  
Worst ballpark in MLB.  Worse than Oak-town.  
but I’m still cheering for him snd the Rays this year. 

Good! I want him to win a world series, but I don't want him to get too attached to Tropicana Field.

[h2oface]

1 hour ago, BD57 said:

Can't say anything specific about Miami, beyond this - it was a long haul for people to the ballpark when they played in the Dolphins stadium, and now the new ballpark is on the site of the old Orange Bowl . . . not the most desirable area in town.

As for Tampa . . . .  that stadium is really awful.  It's outdated to an extreme (it was outdated when the Tampa was first granted a franchise).  

There's only "one way there" from the mainland, and the traffic to the bridge is usually "nasty," especially for any weekday game (including Friday) - you have to slug your way across town during Rush Hour into an interchange which isn't set up to move traffic smoothly.

If they were on the east side of the Bay - esp. if they built in Ybor City (which has been discussed, though nothing happened), it'd be way easier to get there and, especially, "to get out of there after the game." 

Would there be more Rays fans if they did that?  Probably.  It'd also be a lot easier "ask" for fans of the teams coming in to play the Rays.

Until they caught on themselves, going to a Lightning game against certain opponents gave you a crowd of, maybe, 70% Lightning fans, 30% "opponents."   Fans who want to "see the team they grew up with, before moving to Florida" are still well represented at Lightning games.

That it's easy to get out of Amalie and on the road back to central Florida after a Lightning game (park in the right place, and you can be on the highway with little traffic inside of 15 minutes almost every time) makes it a lot easier "ask" for fans wanting to see their team.   The Rays in St. Pete . . . You don't get out of there quickly, and when you do, you still have to drive at least a half hour to "get to where the ballpark should be."

Agree with all you say. And have been to both, the Trop about 10 games. It sure can't hurt to get a new stadium, that's for sure. I just don't think it would pay off, in the end. I know I go to games when I have to be in that state, regardless.