As we voiced earlier in the week, nobody seems to like Tropicana Field. When you have a professional baseball stadium that allows things like this to happen, how can you appreciate it? There is no reason a ballpark should affect games the way The Trop does, and no one knows more about that than Joe Maddon.
“(John Kruk) is right,” Maddon told the St. Petersburg Times before Tuesday’s game when asked about comments Kruk made made bashing the Rays’ venue. “We do need a new ballpark. He’s absolutely right. And he’s right, this ballpark is improper for Major League Baseball. He’s right. I can’t deny that.
“You shouldn’t play with all these obstructions, and all these caveats. Of course not. It’s run it’s course. It was here for a moment. It served it’s purpose. And now it’s time to move on. Absolutely it is. And to deny that, everybody has just got their head in the sand, period.”
His opinion changed in a hurry. With the Rays behind the Yankees, 2-1, in the seventh and runners on first and second, Justin Ruggiano hit a fly ball to center field. Curtis Granderson camped under it and then threw his hands up in the air as he had lost it against the white background that is The Trop’s crummy roof. The ball fell in front of him for a single to load the bases. An error on the following play allowed the Rays to tie the game and they went on to win.
“I’ve made good with The Trop — I did last year, and we’re buddies again,” Maddon joked after the game. “It worked in our favor tonight.”
Yes, the park still needs to go.
