DEVIL RAYS OF HOPE IN TAMPA? VEECK'S NEW MARKETING EFFORT

          The Devil Rays '99 marketing budget is "about" $2.5M,
     compared with about $500,000 last season, and the team's ad
     campaign "will cover a larger geographic area in the effort
     to draw" 2.75 million fans, the goal of new VP/Marketing
     Mike Veeck, according to Kyle Parks of the ST. PETERSBURG
     TIMES.  The Rays hired Tampa-based Paradigm Communications
     to create a marketing campaign called "Off the Wall" for
     this season, which will be featured on 65 billboards around
     FL beginning today, as well as in print, radio and TV spots. 
     Paradigm's Vince Fabrizzi: "We wanted to tell people that a
     trip to Tropicana Field will be unpredictable."  Veeck, on
     first meeting the team's Managing General Partner Vince
     Naimoli: "He said he'd heard I was an idiot, and I said I'd
     heard he was a micromanager. ... Vince has been great" (ST.
     PETE TIMES, 2/12). As part of its promotional program for
     the upcoming season, the team will honor Larry Doby on April
     9 and Hank Aaron on April 11 (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 2/12).