we take our sunshine seriously here in The Sunshine State, don't ya know

the other day, i admitted to being curious about the unveiling of the "new" Tampa baseball team. they are no longer the Devil Rays, but the Rays. not the sea creature though. rays. as in, catchin' some. you know... "ok fans, give it up for your Tampa Bay Sunbeams!!" yep, the Tampa Bay Rays. and i was worried i would be losing my chance to poke fun at them... ::snicker::

so... instead of "sting 'em Rays," the new chant will be "burn 'em Rays," do ya think?

i am sad to announce that they gave up their dorky vest-style jerseys when they traded in teal & grey for navy blue & white with powder blue accents. well, mostly sad. those vest tops are vile. they really ought to be banned entirely. it just means I have one less piece of ammunition for making fun of them now that they're gone, that's all.

i do think that it is pretty cool that they aren't completely disowning their (ten year) team heritage though. the new jerseys will sport a patch of a Ray (of the aquatic variety) on the sleeve.


other changes not yet revealed will take place at The Trop, including a new & improved Raymond the Unidentifiable Mascot. i am not sure if this means he will be some new creation of beast or if he'll just get a new wardrobe. i'm almost a little sad about the thought that he might be traded in for something different. as freakish as Raymond was in all his hairy blue glory, his antics were very amusing. we're probably going to get stuck with a pair of walking sunglasses now or something. and by "we," i mean the fans that attend to see the visiting team. ;-)

unfortunately my one wish didn't come true: i can't seem to find any mention whatsoever that they are replacing the tv broadcast crew. ::sigh::