Bud ... Can you spare a few $$ for the Rays?

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig made $ 14.5 million last year.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays payroll is $ 22 million this year.

What's wrong with this?

I'm totally cool with Bud's salary. It's the Ray's that seems outrageous! They are a larger television market than Milwaukee, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Denver - just to name a few.

I have friends in Tampa who LOVE MLB and they don't understand why they got dealt such a loser. For years, the gold coast tried to steal teams. My buddy has a TAMPA BAY WHITE SOX shirt that the Chi-Sox printed up years ago when the called Chicago's bluff. The SF Giants threatened to move there too.

Could the Ray's be the biggest disaster since the Seattle Pilots? (... and if you don't know what happened to the Pilots ... you need to learn your Milwaukee Brewers history!).

Maybe it's the Florida thing. The Marlin's are arguably the 2nd most successful franchises in respect to years in service and World Championships. Yet they survive with a small fan base and always the threat of moving to Vegas (which is a much smaller TV market than Tampa).

When on vacation last month in Florida - I kept asking for info on the Rays and what the natives thought. The first guy I talked with immediately mentioned the Marlins (2 rings) and the D-Backs who came into the sport on the same date - and have a ring.

Most didn't buy the old "nobody is from here" excuse that the Braves use in Atlanta - quickly pointing to the Buccaneer's and their solid fan base (which the Atlanta Falcons still need).

In a division against the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles and Blue Jays - the Rays almost look like a triple A team.

Tampa - St Pete and the Gulf Coast deserve better.