ST. PETERSBURG – The Rays went quietly into the night Monday inside Tropicana Field, letting a chance to clinch a playoff berth fall by the wayside for a second straight game.
Yet while Tampa Bay bats fell silent in a 4-0 loss to Baltimore and its hotshot rookie hurler Brian Matusz, All-Star third baseman and team leader Evan Longoria was anything but.
Longoria, standing calmly in front of his locker, spoke out at length about the small crowd – officially 12,446 -- on hand for the chance to see the Rays reach the post-season for the second time in three years.
“We’re playing really good baseball, and it’s kind of like, ‘What else do we have to do to draw fans into this place?” he said. “It’s actually embarrassing for us.”
Longoria was quick to point out that he didn’t intend his comments to be a low blow at fans, but more of a rallying cry to get spectators in the seats going forward. The Rays were unable to get the job done Monday night on their own – and then watched Boston defeat the White Sox 6-1 on clubhouse TVs about an hour later, preventing them from backing into the post-season with a Red Sox defeat.
That leaves the magic number for nailing down a playoff spot at one – any combination of a Tampa Bay victory or Boston loss will do it.
The sting of falling short once again was lessened a bit by New York’s 7-5 loss in Toronto, leaving the Yankees still a half-game behind the Rays in the AL East division race. And Minnesota also lost for the second straight day, this time 10-8 to the Royals, keeping the Rays in possession of the best record in the American League at 93-63 – and with a leg up for homefield advantage.
But there was still the sting of Longoria’s words in the post-game clubhouse, where only a few players lingered.
“It’s a tough situation,” he said. “We want to go out there and win every game. We come into a game like today where we have an opportunity to clinch a post-season berth, and there’s only eight teams that get an opportunity to do that. We feel like we should be out there and have a packed house. And it’s tough to see and it’s actually sometimes disheartening for us.
“Again, on a positive note, we’re in the driver’s seat. And we have an opportunity tomorrow to clinch a spot.”
Longoria stressed that the smaller crowd sizes don’t make the players perform with any less energy or effort. “We’re going to go out there and play the same, and we’ve pretty much been doing that from Day One here,” he said. “…but you would like to think that for a team in a playoff hunt, with the opportunity to clinch, that you could at least get 30,000 in here to cheer you on.
“Again, it’s disheartening and it’s something I’ve been wanting to say for a long time. It’s not a jab at the fans. It’s not a kick below the belt. But it’s something that we’d like to see, because obviously we want to bring a championship to (Tampa Bay). And we’d like more than 12-to-15,000 to know about it.”
Longoria has been out of action since last Thursday due to a left quadricep muscle strain sustained late in a 10-3 win over the Yankees. He’s making steady progress and could be ready to return to the field when the team begins a four-game, season-ending series in Kansas City on Thursday. That’s been an additional frustration for him.
“It’s tough for me because when we had the chance (to clinch) and when we did in ’08, I had the opportunity to be on the field for it,” he said.
But his greater concern Monday night clearly was about low attendance – a topic that earlier this season prompted owner Stuart Sternberg to hold a press conference on the topic of the pressing need for a new stadium to be built in the Tampa Bay area.
Longoria is traditionally one of the last Rays players to return to his locker from the showers at the end of the game. But this time he appeared to be waiting for the large media contingent – on hand for a potential post-game celebration.
“Like I said, we’ve been playing great baseball all year, and since I’ve been here in ’06, the fans have wanted a good baseball team,” he said. “They’ve wanted to watch a contender. And for us to play good baseball for three years now, and to be in a spot to clinch again and go to the playoffs, I think we’re all confused as to why there’s only 15-to-20,000 in the building.”
He says the team no longer tries to rationalize it. “I don’t think there’s any more time for rationalizations,” he said. “We figured if we had a chance at the beginning of September, maybe the fans would come. Now it’s the end of September and it’s almost October and we’re still kind of looking up in the seats and going, ‘Where is everybody?’
“Again, we’ve still got some more time. So hopefully it starts to fill up. And if no other time, at least the post-season.”
Is he concerned that the playoff games might not?
“I would hope so,” he said. “It’s a tough situation for us, because a lot of the visiting teams come in and wonder where are all the fans. It’s actually a little bit embarrassing for us. Again, we’re one game away from clinching a post-season spot and we have enough guys in this room to celebrate with. But we’d love to celebrate with the fans, too.”
Longoria wasn’t alone in his stance Monday night. Following his session with the media, All-Star pitcher David Price – who’ll bring his 18-6 mark to the mound tonight in hopes of clinching the elusive playoff spot – sent out a tweet on his Twitter account following Longoria’s lead. It read:
“Had a chance to clinch a post-season spot tonight with about 10,000 fans in the stands…embarrassing.”
Longoria, meanwhile, stressed that his comments were intended to have a positive impact. “Again, I’ve thought about this for a long time and I’m not trying to take a low-blow at the fans,” he said. “I’m actually just trying to rally the troops and get more people in here. I’m not trying to say we have bad fans or any of that. Believe me, I’ve been here since ’06 and I love the Tampa Bay community.
“It’s just tough to see and I feel like I was the right guy to be able to say that.”
Yet while Tampa Bay bats fell silent in a 4-0 loss to Baltimore and its hotshot rookie hurler Brian Matusz, All-Star third baseman and team leader Evan Longoria was anything but.
Longoria, standing calmly in front of his locker, spoke out at length about the small crowd – officially 12,446 -- on hand for the chance to see the Rays reach the post-season for the second time in three years.
“We’re playing really good baseball, and it’s kind of like, ‘What else do we have to do to draw fans into this place?” he said. “It’s actually embarrassing for us.”
Longoria was quick to point out that he didn’t intend his comments to be a low blow at fans, but more of a rallying cry to get spectators in the seats going forward. The Rays were unable to get the job done Monday night on their own – and then watched Boston defeat the White Sox 6-1 on clubhouse TVs about an hour later, preventing them from backing into the post-season with a Red Sox defeat.
That leaves the magic number for nailing down a playoff spot at one – any combination of a Tampa Bay victory or Boston loss will do it.
The sting of falling short once again was lessened a bit by New York’s 7-5 loss in Toronto, leaving the Yankees still a half-game behind the Rays in the AL East division race. And Minnesota also lost for the second straight day, this time 10-8 to the Royals, keeping the Rays in possession of the best record in the American League at 93-63 – and with a leg up for homefield advantage.
But there was still the sting of Longoria’s words in the post-game clubhouse, where only a few players lingered.
“It’s a tough situation,” he said. “We want to go out there and win every game. We come into a game like today where we have an opportunity to clinch a post-season berth, and there’s only eight teams that get an opportunity to do that. We feel like we should be out there and have a packed house. And it’s tough to see and it’s actually sometimes disheartening for us.
“Again, on a positive note, we’re in the driver’s seat. And we have an opportunity tomorrow to clinch a spot.”
Longoria stressed that the smaller crowd sizes don’t make the players perform with any less energy or effort. “We’re going to go out there and play the same, and we’ve pretty much been doing that from Day One here,” he said. “…but you would like to think that for a team in a playoff hunt, with the opportunity to clinch, that you could at least get 30,000 in here to cheer you on.
“Again, it’s disheartening and it’s something I’ve been wanting to say for a long time. It’s not a jab at the fans. It’s not a kick below the belt. But it’s something that we’d like to see, because obviously we want to bring a championship to (Tampa Bay). And we’d like more than 12-to-15,000 to know about it.”
Longoria has been out of action since last Thursday due to a left quadricep muscle strain sustained late in a 10-3 win over the Yankees. He’s making steady progress and could be ready to return to the field when the team begins a four-game, season-ending series in Kansas City on Thursday. That’s been an additional frustration for him.
“It’s tough for me because when we had the chance (to clinch) and when we did in ’08, I had the opportunity to be on the field for it,” he said.
But his greater concern Monday night clearly was about low attendance – a topic that earlier this season prompted owner Stuart Sternberg to hold a press conference on the topic of the pressing need for a new stadium to be built in the Tampa Bay area.
Longoria is traditionally one of the last Rays players to return to his locker from the showers at the end of the game. But this time he appeared to be waiting for the large media contingent – on hand for a potential post-game celebration.
“Like I said, we’ve been playing great baseball all year, and since I’ve been here in ’06, the fans have wanted a good baseball team,” he said. “They’ve wanted to watch a contender. And for us to play good baseball for three years now, and to be in a spot to clinch again and go to the playoffs, I think we’re all confused as to why there’s only 15-to-20,000 in the building.”
He says the team no longer tries to rationalize it. “I don’t think there’s any more time for rationalizations,” he said. “We figured if we had a chance at the beginning of September, maybe the fans would come. Now it’s the end of September and it’s almost October and we’re still kind of looking up in the seats and going, ‘Where is everybody?’
“Again, we’ve still got some more time. So hopefully it starts to fill up. And if no other time, at least the post-season.”
Is he concerned that the playoff games might not?
“I would hope so,” he said. “It’s a tough situation for us, because a lot of the visiting teams come in and wonder where are all the fans. It’s actually a little bit embarrassing for us. Again, we’re one game away from clinching a post-season spot and we have enough guys in this room to celebrate with. But we’d love to celebrate with the fans, too.”
Longoria wasn’t alone in his stance Monday night. Following his session with the media, All-Star pitcher David Price – who’ll bring his 18-6 mark to the mound tonight in hopes of clinching the elusive playoff spot – sent out a tweet on his Twitter account following Longoria’s lead. It read:
“Had a chance to clinch a post-season spot tonight with about 10,000 fans in the stands…embarrassing.”
Longoria, meanwhile, stressed that his comments were intended to have a positive impact. “Again, I’ve thought about this for a long time and I’m not trying to take a low-blow at the fans,” he said. “I’m actually just trying to rally the troops and get more people in here. I’m not trying to say we have bad fans or any of that. Believe me, I’ve been here since ’06 and I love the Tampa Bay community.
“It’s just tough to see and I feel like I was the right guy to be able to say that.”
