Major League Baseball 2023 (1 Viewer)

[Saintman2884]

As a Jays fan, I'm happy they went after Ohtani and glad they didn't get him considering the price tag.. not my money, I know I know.

I haven't seen a big contract age well in any sport and don't think this will change my mind. Year two -year four should be great for the Dodgers, then his pitching arm and bat speed will dwindle. Happens to every hitter, the pitching decline due to more arm troubles since there is already a history twice in his ML career.

I feel sorry for the fans of Tampa, Cincinatti, KC, Cleveland etc. who only get to see their homegrown talent get sold off before they get too expensive.

Tampa has sort of become the new Oakland A's, except maybe 6-7 years ago when they were still a small-market, yet smart, decisive, well-run pro team with a very good farm system that could win 96-97 games with a payroll of only $25-30 million, had an excellent manager, yet inept, anemic at times FO and ownership and a team playing in a woefully outdated stadium in front of an indifferent fan base.

Its downright shameful how Tampa-area sports fans have not supported the plunky Rays over the past 5-6 seasons. They've had good, maybe great teams loaded with talented rosters, but very few sellouts. I realize they play in a old, 33-year old stadium that's cavernous, and outdated and located in a hard-to-reach, somewhat difficult to access part of town, but in other cities with more rabid, die-hard fan bases like Montreal, Cleveland, S.F. or even Seattle, logistics might pose a bit of an issue in similar-type situations, but a determined, overwhelming sense of civic pride embedded in a perennial playoff MLB team, would win out over tricky logistics with those above-referenced. I also think as time goes by, if Tampa/St. Petersburg new stadium situation can't be resolved, MLB owners might consider Nashville as a viable option for another relocated MLB franchise like they did about a month ago with A's and Las Vegas.