The Rays' testing of a plan to light the inside of the Tropicana Field roof blue "didn’t yield the hoped-for results of making fly balls easier to see and now seems unlikely, or certainly less likely, to be implemented for game play," according to Marc Topkin of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Rays manager Kevin Cash yesterday said the lighting was "awesome-looking, but the early reviews of it were not ideal." He said that the problem was "inconsistency in visibility of the ball against the roof." Cash added that the Rays are "looking into MLB rules about whether the lights can be used at times, or just for day games, rather than permanently" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 3/26).
HEY, BIG SPENDERS: The Rays last week guaranteed $74M and potentially more than $100M in extensions for 2B Brandon Lowe and P Blake Snell, and Topkin wrote that "wasn't the biggest shocker." It was that the "woe-is-us, small-market, low-revenue, fan-challenged Rays" had hoped to "do more deals." Ultimately, these deals are "more about the future, arguably to the point that the Rays are spending some of the money saved with this year’s majors-low payroll" of $50M (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 3/24).
