By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, December 31, 2010

The Rays could be close to getting a new closer. They appear interested in free agent left-hander Brian Fuentes and are trying to add him to anchor the rebuilt bullpen. Fuentes, 35, had 24 saves and a 2.81 ERA in 48 games for the Angels and Twins last season after leading the majors with 48 saves (and a 3.93 ERA) in 2009 for Los Angeles.

Nearly a dozen teams are reported to be interested in Fuentes, coming off a two-year, $17.5 million deal that had a $9 million option for 2011 that failed to vest based on his number of games finished. While the Rays aren’t likely to bid anything close to that, they can offer the chance to close games. Some other interested teams, such as the Yankees, Red Sox and Twins, would use him as a setup man or specialist.

Foxsports.com reported Fuentes is seeking a salary of more than $5 million and a multiyear deal. Because he is a Type B free agent, the Rays wouldn’t have to give up a draft choice.

Killebrew has cancer

MINNEAPOLIS — Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer. The 74-year-old released a statement Thursday, saying he expects to make a full recovery: “With my wife, Nita, by my side, I have begun preparing for what is perhaps the most difficult battle of my life.” Killebrew hit 573 homers and made 11 All-Star appearances during his 22-year career spent mostly with the Twins and Washington Senators. He retired in 1975 after one season with the Royals. He ranks 11th on the all-time homer list, and his eight seasons with 40 or more is tied for second in league history to Babe Ruth.

Information from Times wires was used in this report.

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St. Petersburg, FL– The Tampa Bay Rays are interested in signing relief pitcher Brian Fuentes, and having him compete for the closer’s job.

Tampabay.com reported that the Rays would add him to the back end of their bullpen, if they can sign him.

Several teams are interested in Fuentes, who is looking for a multi-year contract. According to the story, most teams see the 35-year-old Fuentes as a set-up man or a left-handed specialist. He may lower his price, if a team offers him a chance to close, like the Rays.

Last season, Fuentes had 24 saves and a 2.81 ERA with the Angels and the Twins. In 2009, he led the majors with 48 saves for the Angels.

10 News

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Posted: Dec 30, 2010 02:25 PM

The Tampa Bay Rays may be close to finding a new closer.

They appear to be very interested in free-agent lefthander Brian Fuentes, and are trying to add him to the back end of their rebuilt bullpen.

Fuentes, 35, split last season between the Los Angeles Angels and Minnesota Twins, logging 24 saves and posting a 2.81 ERA. He had a major-league leading 48 saves (and a 3.93 ERA) in 2009 for the Angels.

Fuentes appears to be a popular subject of conversation, with SI.com’s Jon Heyman reporting earlier this week that up to 11 teams (including the Rays) had expressed some form of interest. The others include the Blue Jays, Brewers, Mariners, Mets, Phillies, Pirates, Red Sox, Rockies, Twins and Yankees, though several have recently added relievers – the Jays getting Octavio Dotel, the Rockies Matt Lindstrom and the Brewers Takashi Saito.

Fuentes signed a two-year, $17.5-million contract with the Angels, and was traded to the Twins in late August, where he missed about two weeks with a stiff back but returned to pitch in eight games in a set-up role, plus twice in the ALDS against the Yankees. He had a $9-million option for 2011, but fell far short of the 55 games finishes needed for it to vest. Talks with the Rays obviously are expected to be in a lower price range, though they offer him the chance to be a closer.

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Editor’s note: Each day this week, Tony Lee will examine one part of Carl Crawford’s journey to major league stardom. On Tuesday, Crawford’s jaw-dropping minor-league career was recalled. Carl Crawford should’ve seen it coming.

In his debut with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays midway through the 2002 season, Crawford had a hit, scored a run and drove in two to help spur a 10-run attack. Unfortunately, three Devil Rays pitchers gave up 12 runs, with four errors helping them out along the way, as Tampa Bay fell in Toronto.

It was the kind of game Crawford would see for five-plus years as a member of what was a hapless franchise. That setback in the Rogers Centre was part of a 106-loss disaster, the worst in what was, until 2008, a miserable team history. Crawford was one of the few bright spots along the way.

Through it all there were teases, moments of promise or high-profile signings that suggested the organization may be on the upswing. Crawford probably felt that tease even in the first game; he was on deck with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, dreaming of a chance to be a hero. Excitement ran through his veins.

Alas, Jared Sundberg, one of the countless members of the rabble that would inhabit Tampa Bay’s roster for years, struck out to end the game, leaving Crawford wanting more. It was an emotion he would have to get used to. Hope was often fruitless.

“I was kind of hoping it would come to me, to get a chance to drive in the winning run,” Crawford said after the loss, a 20-year-old who needed to get used to trial and tribulation as quickly as he could.

What made Crawford stand out, or should have made him stand out if anyone was paying attention to the trials in The Trop, was the fact that he rose to stardom amid such disappointment without an issue. Players with less drive or worse attitudes have succumbed to similar situations, piping up about their misery or expressing a woe-is-me attitude while making millions doing what they love. That loss of perspective can come about through persistent losing, but not with guys like Crawford. He methodically and quietly worked harder than anyone around him to become a better ballplayer, even though few would’ve noticed if he didn’t go the extra mile.

“Carl works his ass off, and he doesn’t have to,” former teammate Jonny Gomes once said. “He can roll out of bed and be the fastest guy in baseball. He can take terrible routes to the ball and still catch everything. He’s a five-tool guy with a great work ethic.”

And so, while the Devil Rays won just over 40 percent of their games from the time Crawford came up through the end of the 2007 season, the Houston native hit .296 and averaged nearly 50 stolen bases a year while rarely missing a game and playing a dazzling left field. He was, for all intents and purposes, the stalwart of the worst team in baseball.

Three days after that 12-10 loss to Toronto in Crawford’s major league debut, the Devil Rays took a 4-0 lead on Tim Wakefield in Fenway Park, only to see the Red Sox score 22 unanswered runs for an 18-run whitewash. It was another example of hope being dashed in humiliating fashion.

The next day, Crawford began a nine-game hitting streak, during which he would hit .433 (16-for-37) with three triples and seven RBIs. So began a pattern that would carry the headstrong speedster through some otherwise difficult years in Tampa Bay.

By embracing the pattern, Crawford eventually earned his reward.

Check out Thursday’s story on Crawford’s days as a winner in Tampa Bay.

By Bill Chastain / MLB.com | 12/27/10 10:00 AM EST

ST. PETERSBURG — Joe Maddon arrived in Port Charlotte, Fla., in mid-February ready to prepare his team for the 2010 season, and a recurring theme continued to haunt the Rays’ manager: What might have happened in ’09 if his team had not gotten off to such a poor start?

Thus, he reasoned that the only way to find out would be to get off to a good start in 2010. So throughout Spring Training he harped on the importance of getting out of the blocks quickly. And that’s exactly what Tampa Bay did.

In April, the Rays raced to a 17-6 mark, establishing a club record for wins in the opening month. Perhaps most significant was the fact they went 9-1 on the road in April after struggling away from home in 2009.

Opposing teams knew what to expect when Tampa Bay came to town as “Rays Baseball” translated to stellar pitching, above-average defense, timely hitting and speed and daring on the basepaths, or just the tonic to battle the likes of the Yankees and Red Sox for the American League East title.

Using a lineup that had great versatility, the Rays were able to start many different combinations, employing countless batting orders on any given night, which kept everybody fresh and sharp throughout the season.

David Price emerged as one of the top pitchers in baseball in his first full season, while Carl Crawford experienced his best season.

Looking back at 2010 MLB Year in Review • Game prospering • Final standings • Statistical leaders

When the Rays’ rotation of Price, Matt Garza, James Shields, Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis experienced trouble, a quality bullpen was there to rescue them, which was all made possible by the arrival of Rafael Soriano as the team’s closer. In the end, the Rays claimed their second AL East title in three years.

What follows are the Rays’ top five storylines from 2010.

5. Fast start sets the tone
Tampa Bay went 9-14 in April in 2009, putting the team in a hole. Fast forward to 2010, when the team began the season with a 3-3 homestand. They followed that by winning seven in a row to start a road trip, completing it with 9-1 mark to take a half-game lead in the AL East and setting the template for the season.

4. Rookies make an impact
Talk about the year of the rookie — 2010 fit the bill for the Rays. Reid Brignac and Sean Rodriguez broke camp with the team and the rookie infielders remained with the team for the length of the season, playing well offensively and defensively while adding versatility in respect to the many positions each played. Davis also began the season with the team, bringing his nasty stuff to the rotation and performing well enough to finish high in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. John Jaso joined the team early in the season and by the end of the campaign, he was the team’s starting catcher. Jeremy Hellickson came up in August and gave the staff a boost while Davis and Niemann were on the disabled list.

3. Crawford has his best season
Long the favorite of Tampa Bay fans, Crawford had his finest season in the Majors in 2010. No player in the modern era (since 1900) has matched his combination of home runs (19), triples (13), batting average (.307), and stolen bases (47) in one season. He also set career highs with 90 RBIs and a club-record 110 runs scored, breaking his own club mark of 104. The Tampa Bay Chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America named Crawford the team MVP.

2. Price becomes one of the AL’s top pitchers
Price emerged as one of the premier pitchers in the Majors in his first full season in The Show. The 25-year-old left-hander went 19-6 with a 2.72 ERA in 31 starts and one relief appearance, setting club records in wins and ERA. He began the season as the Rays’ No. 4 starter and by the end of the season, he had pitched his way into the top spot. Price finished second behind Seattle’s Felix Hernandez in the AL Cy Young Award voting.

1. Rays win the AL East
A year after finishing a disappointing third in 2009, the Rays stormed to the best record in the AL at 96-66. Entering September, the Rays trailed the Yankees by a game and they saw the deficit reach 2 1/2 games. On the final day of the season, the Rays and Yanks had identical records at 95-66 — but Tampa Bay owned the tiebreaker due to their 10-8 advantage over New York in 2010. On the final day of the season, the Rays notched a 3-2 win over the Royals to win the division outright and claim their second division title in three seasons.

Editor’s Note: NESN.com Red Sox reporter Tony Lee will examine one hot-button baseball topic each day in December. On Sunday, he tabbed Josh Hamilton as the game’s best all-around player. 

There is no denying that the American League East is the best division in baseball, and perhaps in all of sports, from a relative standpoint.

Winning seasons and championships aside, the AL East can also brag about several superlatives when it comes to the stadiums in which its teams play. There are the giants of the game playing in Boston and New York in front of packed houses on a nightly basis. Toronto has the financial and media backing of an entire country while playing in the Rogers Centre monstrosity that is not going anywhere anytime soon. And while they are mired in a rather embarrassing run of losing seasons, the once-proud Baltimore Orioles reside in perhaps the best stadium in all of baseball, Camden Yards.

Then there’s the Tampa Bay Rays, an easy answer to the question, which team has the biggest need for a new stadium?

Behind as solid a young core as any you will find in the game today and a cerebral manager who has the backing of a sharp front office, the Rays have won the division two of the last three years. They possess as potent a farm system as there is in existence, an indication of success still to come. Yet, until they find a place to play that feels a bit more welcoming than a motor parts factory and perhaps incorporates the lovely nights in the Tampa Bay area, the Rays will remain the black sheep of the bunch.

The team’s fight for a new home has not come without drama, although the latest news does not bode well for the club. A recent survey suggested that two-thirds of area residents are opposed to helping to finance a project through tax payments, and a light rail initiative that would’ve played into the Rays’ hand in creating a foot traffic flow to a new site has fallen by the wayside. The current lease extends to 2027. Rays owner Stuart Sternberg has said he will not stay in Tropicana Field for that long, but efforts to find business support for a new park either in downtown St. Petersburg or in neighboring Tampa remain relatively fruitless. There is potential for a move to another city or state altogether.

Meanwhile, The Trop plays home to a dynamic squad loaded with exciting players and personality, yet rarely draws many fans, except when the Yankees and Red Sox roll into town. It got a tad ugly in 2010, when Rays players themselves called out the fans for poor attendance down the stretch, as the team was fighting the mighty New Yorkers for a division crown.

A similar struggle for a new park took place on the other side of the state, but when the Marlins’ new ballpark opens in 2012, that charade will be officially put to rest. Sternberg’s team will stand alone as the only remaining member of the four expansion teams from the 1990s without an attractive place to call home.

All but eight of the 30 current stadiums in use in the majors were opened in the last 20 years, but those that are older are not going away anytime soon. That list includes the historic gems of Wrigley Field and Fenway Park; the beloved Dodger Stadium; refurbished and perfectly satisfactory homes in Kansas City and Anaheim; the soon-to-be-replaced Sun Life Stadium in Miami; and Toronto’s behemoth of a ballpark. Only the Oakland Athletics, who have called Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum home since 1968, have any real momentum toward moving to a new park, which could occur as early as 2015 in nearby San Jose.

If and when that move takes place, the Rays would once again stand alone. They would be the only team in baseball not playing in either a retro ballpark such as Camden Yards or Yankee Stadium, a “retro-modern” park such as Angels Stadium or Target Field, one of the retractable-roof stadiums such as Rogers Centre or Chase Field, or an ancient classic such as Fenway or Wrigley.

Tampa Bay has cowbells, but little else. In the AL East, that lack of panache is even more glaring.

Which team has the biggest need for a new stadium? Leave your comments below.

According to an Exclusive St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9 poll, the majority of people feel the Tampa Bay Rays should remain at Tropicana Field and another stadium somewhere else probably won’t change the likelihood that they’ll attend more games.

Forty-two percent feel the current stadium is the best location for the Rays followed by a new stadium in Tampa or elsewhere in Hillsborough County (24%).

Rays’ management has made it clear they want a new stadium, possibly in Hillsborough County.

St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster isn’t going along with that plan. The two parties hit an impasse last summer when Foster said he’ll hold the Rays to their lease agreement that ties the team to St. Petersburg or possibly elsewhere in Pinellas County for the next 17 years.

“We’re gonna go above and beyond the call of duty, over what’s required in the lease agreement and I’m gonna continue to be a huge fan,” said Foster. “The fact that they lost a couple of stars, I don’t care. I love baseball and we’re gonna continue to support the Rays at that location.”

Foster has said he’s not interested in any discussions that deal with the construction of anything in the city of Tampa.

Though, 65 percent of those polled said they would not go to games more often, even if the stadium was in Tampa. Sixty-seven percent would also not attend games more often if the stadium was moved to the mid-county area of Pinellas referred to as the ‘Gateway.’

One consistent problem facing a new stadium is the continually mediocre attendance.

Most people polled go to a few games a season but aren’t big enough baseball fans to go more often – and moving the stadium probably wouldn’t make a difference.

Half the people polled attend one to four games in an average season. The top three reasons given for not attending games were: they weren’t baseball fans (37%), it was too expensive (23%), and thirdly, the stadium was too far to travel (18%).

About half of those polled opposed tax money going to a new stadium, even if it meant no tax increases for them personally, and were against public money going towards it.

Even if the Rays were to leave the Tampa Bay area, 67 percent said they still wouldn’t be willing to pay public money toward building a new stadium.

Thirty-eight percent said there were more important things to spend money on, followed by a new stadium wasn’t needed (10%).

Of the 24 percent who would be willing to put public money toward a new stadium, they would prefer the stadium to be in Hillsborough County (39%), followed by Pinellas County (33%), or wherever the Rays chose (24%).

Poll Information

The telephone survey of 600 Hillsborough and Pinellas County residents was conducted December 8 through 14 for the St. Petersburg Times and Bay News 9.

The poll was done by American Directions Group, a national polling firm based in Washington, D.C. with offices in Lakeland.

The margin of error was plus or minus 4.0 percentage points overall.

 

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, December 26, 2010

Now that that shopping season is over, expect the Rays to get busy sifting through the 150 or so free agents left for bargains and low-risk gambles.

Here’s a quick look at what they’ve done and what holes remain:

Bullpen: Addressing of their biggest need has been done in patchwork fashion, with the signing of Joel Peralta, trade for Adam Russell and Cesar Ramos, Rule 5 selection of Cesar Cabral and re-signing of J.P. Howell. They still need someone to pitch the ninth inning, and probably the eighth, so the bullpen should remain their focus. A few potentially interesting closer candidates remain on the market: Jon Rauch, Octavio Dotel, Kevin Gregg and Trevor Hoffman, plus two of the Rays’ own, Grant Balfour and Chad Qualls.

Infield: The trade of Jason Bartlett puts Reid Brignac at shortstop alongside 3B Evan Longoria, with Sean Rodriguez sharing time at second with Ben Zobrist. Dan Johnson seems the marker at first, a fallback if the Rays don’t find an upgrade. Little that fits — affordable, smooth glove, potent bat — is on the free-agent market (Casey Kotchman?), so a trade may be more likely. Expect clarity after Adam LaRoche and Derrek Lee sign elsewhere.

Outfield: B.J. Upton will be in center, and the most likely scenario would seem to have Matt Joyce in left and Zobrist in right. Desmond Jennings will get a long spring change to show if he’s ready, and Justin Ruggiano could emerge as a reserve/platoon partner.

DH: In a real-life version of musical chairs, it would seem the Rays could score a good deal here given the number of openings vs. free-agent candidates. Possibilities include Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome, with Johnson again a fallback option if they get a first baseman.

Rotation: Temptations may mount to make a deal if teams such as the Rangers and Cubs are willing to overwhelm as they seek a starter, but the Rays seem likely to hang on to their solid six-pack: David Price, Matt Garza, Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis, James Shields and Jeremy Hellickson.

MR. FIX-ITS: Ex-Mets GM and ESPN analyst Steve Phillips, doing fanhouse.com segments on how to “fix” each team, suggests the Rays do a massive makeover with the goal of competing again by 2013-14. His main suggestions are trading Garza (while at “peak value”) and Upton (in a “get what we can” deal because his value won’t increase). … Ex-Rays TV analyst Kevin Kennedy says on foxsports.com the Rays may have to trade Garza or Shields and he could see them “slipping” to fourth or fifth in the AL East.

RAYS RUMBLINGS: ESPN.com’s Buster Olney ranks the Rays’ rotation fourth best in the majors, behind the Phillies, Giants and A’s. … A lot of talk is coming out of the Texas media about a trade for Garza or Shields. … Chances seem to be dwindling for closer Rafael Soriano to get the big-dollar deal he sought (a rumored $48 million over four years), but even if signs for one year, it’s hard to see agent Scott Boras bringing him back to the Rays. Maybe Washington.

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By Stephen Nohlgren, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, December 26, 2010

Tampa business executive Juli Greenwald, 49, is not a sports fan and certainly opposes spending tax money on a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays.

“There are tons of more priorities for this community,” she says, like light rail and good schools.

St. Petersburg resident Craig Bauer, 56, likes riding the bus to Tropicana Field for day games. But his affection for the team stops short of public outlays.

“They are a money-making operation. They are big business. They should pay for their own stadium,” he says. “Concession prices are unreasonable — a hot dog for $6, $7 for a soda. It’s crazy.”

As divisive as the stadium debate can be, taxes are the one issue that binds Pinellas and Hillsborough county residents, fans and nonfans.

A recent St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9 telephone survey showed that two-thirds of Tampa Bay area residents oppose paying taxes for a new stadium — even if that means the team would leave the area. Only a quarter of residents would open their wallets to keep the Rays in town.

This antitax sentiment, coming on the heels of light rail flameout in Hillsborough, presents a stiff challenge to the Rays, who want to replace the Trop, and to business leaders and politicians looking for ways to finance a new venue.

Though huge markets like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco have supported privately financed stadiums, new ballparks in mid-level markets usually can’t generate enough new revenue to cover construction costs.

The Tampa Bay area, where unemployment tops 12 percent, is in no mood for subsidies. Half of residents polled said they would be opposed to committing public money to a stadium even if their individual taxes did not rise — such as the city of St. Petersburg supporting a new stadium by renewing Tropicana Field’s bonds after they expire in 2015.

The survey, taken of 300 Pinellas and 300 Hillsborough residents, also shed light on other aspects of the area’s relationship with Major League Baseball:

• Seventy-seven percent of Pinellas residents said they have attended at least one Rays game, as well as 62 percent of Hillsborough residents. Men attended more than women, and people under 55 were more likely to go more than those 55 or older.

• The main reason people cited for not going is that they aren’t baseball fans. The next most common reason given by Hillsborough residents was the Trop’s location. Twenty-six percent said they would attend more games if the stadium were closer. In Pinellas, 30 percent of fans said they would attend more often if games cost less.

• Thirty seven percent of Hills­borough residents said they would prefer a Tampa stadium location, though 32 percent liked the Trop site, perhaps reflecting a reluctance to fund a new stadium.

The poll’s overall margin of error was 4. The margin for county breakdowns was 5.7 percent.

Interviews with individual respondents showed a rich diversity of circumstance and belief.

William Faedo, 63, grew up in west Tampa with former New York Yankees player Tino Martinez. He’s not keen on higher taxes for a stadium, but would at least consider a referendum if that’s what it took to keep the Rays in the area.

“You look at cities that lost NFL franchises and all of them either got them back or have gotten a new team,” Faedo says. “That tells me that sports can contribute to the economic health of the community, not to mention the pride that goes with it.

Faedo would be delighted to see a stadium in downtown Tampa, which is 8 to 10 minutes from his home.

Robert Shaffer, 45, a retired stock broker in north St. Petersburg, sees a publicly financed stadium as “an investment in the community. Tampa and St. Petersburg, to move forward, to have a big city mentality, need a train, need a stadium.”

Without a stadium, “the Rays will be gone in five years,” Shaffer says. “Everybody thinks they are making money hand over fist, but they actually are not. If you can’t have a decent place and attract a lot of people and increase TV viewership and charge a lot for hot dogs, you are going to leave and go somewhere you can.”

Attendance at the Trop suffers, he says, because many fans don’t feel safe in the neighborhood. The Pinellas Gateway, on the west end of the Howard Frankland Bridge, or somewhere else in St. Petersburg would be a better location.

Vonda Andrade, 45, is disabled and can ill afford Rays tickets or the hour-plus drive to the Trop from her home in the Lithia area of east Hillsborough. But she would be willing to tax herself to keep the team in town.

The reason?

“I have a 24-year-old son, a 9-year-old, and a 10-year-old son and they idolize the Rays,” she says.

The family watches on television every night and makes a few games a year, she says.

“They talk about certain players and they light up. It’s important for kids to have something like that.”

Carl Moesching, 63, a risk analyst who lives in northwest Hills­borough, loves the Trop and its air conditioning. The drive from his home takes about 45 minutes, which he doesn’t see as substantially longer than contending with rush hour traffic to downtown Tampa and navigating clogged streets for a parking spot.

But it sticks in his craw that taxpayers funded a new football stadium for the Glazer family, “with all their money,” and he wouldn’t want to feel the same about the Rays.

“I don’t know that sports teams need to be subsidized,” he said. “Especially now with the economy the way it is.”

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By Stephen Nohlgren, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, December 26, 2010

Tampa business executive Juli Greenwald, 49, is not a sports fan and certainly opposes spending tax money on a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays.

“There are tons of more priorities for this community,” she says, like light rail and good schools.

St. Petersburg resident Craig Bauer, 56, likes riding the bus to Tropicana Field for day games. But his affection for the team stops short of public outlays.

“They are a money-making operation. They are big business. They should pay for their own stadium,” he says. “Concession prices are unreasonable — a hot dog for $6, $7 for a soda. It’s crazy.”

As divisive as the stadium debate can be, taxes are the one issue that binds Pinellas and Hillsborough county residents, fans and nonfans.

A recent St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9 telephone survey showed that two-thirds of Tampa Bay area residents oppose paying taxes for a new stadium — even if that means the team would leave the area. Only a quarter of residents would open their wallets to keep the Rays in town.

This antitax sentiment, coming on the heels of light rail flameout in Hillsborough, presents a stiff challenge to the Rays, who want to replace the Trop, and to business leaders and politicians looking for ways to finance a new venue.

Though huge markets like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco have supported privately financed stadiums, new ballparks in mid-level markets usually can’t generate enough new revenue to cover construction costs.

The Tampa Bay area, where unemployment tops 12 percent, is in no mood for subsidies. Half of residents polled said they would be opposed to committing public money to a stadium even if their individual taxes did not rise — such as the city of St. Petersburg supporting a new stadium by renewing Tropicana Field’s bonds after they expire in 2015.

The survey, taken of 300 Pinellas and 300 Hillsborough residents, also shed light on other aspects of the area’s relationship with Major League Baseball:

• Seventy-seven percent of Pinellas residents said they have attended at least one Rays game, as well as 62 percent of Hillsborough residents. Men attended more than women, and people under 55 were more likely to go more than those 55 or older.

• The main reason people cited for not going is that they aren’t baseball fans. The next most common reason given by Hillsborough residents was the Trop’s location. Twenty-six percent said they would attend more games if the stadium were closer. In Pinellas, 30 percent of fans said they would attend more often if games cost less.

• Thirty seven percent of Hills­borough residents said they would prefer a Tampa stadium location, though 32 percent liked the Trop site, perhaps reflecting a reluctance to fund a new stadium.

The poll’s overall margin of error was 4. The margin for county breakdowns was 5.7 percent.

Interviews with individual respondents showed a rich diversity of circumstance and belief.

William Faedo, 63, grew up in west Tampa with former New York Yankees player Tino Martinez. He’s not keen on higher taxes for a stadium, but would at least consider a referendum if that’s what it took to keep the Rays in the area.

“You look at cities that lost NFL franchises and all of them either got them back or have gotten a new team,” Faedo says. “That tells me that sports can contribute to the economic health of the community, not to mention the pride that goes with it.

Faedo would be delighted to see a stadium in downtown Tampa, which is 8 to 10 minutes from his home.

Robert Shaffer, 45, a retired stock broker in north St. Petersburg, sees a publicly financed stadium as “an investment in the community. Tampa and St. Petersburg, to move forward, to have a big city mentality, need a train, need a stadium.”

Without a stadium, “the Rays will be gone in five years,” Shaffer says. “Everybody thinks they are making money hand over fist, but they actually are not. If you can’t have a decent place and attract a lot of people and increase TV viewership and charge a lot for hot dogs, you are going to leave and go somewhere you can.”

Attendance at the Trop suffers, he says, because many fans don’t feel safe in the neighborhood. The Pinellas Gateway, on the west end of the Howard Frankland Bridge, or somewhere else in St. Petersburg would be a better location.

Vonda Andrade, 45, is disabled and can ill afford Rays tickets or the hour-plus drive to the Trop from her home in the Lithia area of east Hillsborough. But she would be willing to tax herself to keep the team in town.

The reason?

“I have a 24-year-old son, a 9-year-old, and a 10-year-old son and they idolize the Rays,” she says.

The family watches on television every night and makes a few games a year, she says.

“They talk about certain players and they light up. It’s important for kids to have something like that.”

Carl Moesching, 63, a risk analyst who lives in northwest Hills­borough, loves the Trop and its air conditioning. The drive from his home takes about 45 minutes, which he doesn’t see as substantially longer than contending with rush hour traffic to downtown Tampa and navigating clogged streets for a parking spot.

But it sticks in his craw that taxpayers funded a new football stadium for the Glazer family, “with all their money,” and he wouldn’t want to feel the same about the Rays.

“I don’t know that sports teams need to be subsidized,” he said. “Especially now with the economy the way it is.”

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