Rays might say au revoir to Tampa

The surprise departure of Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon could be a worst-case scenario for area business and economic development leaders.

Bill Madden, a well-connected baseball columnist for the New York Daily News, says Maddon's exit might be step one toward the end of baseball in Tampa. The team, speculates Madden, could even end up in what many consider a baseball outpost: Montreal.

Madden, in an Oct. 24 column, also gets in a dig on the Tampa economy. “Rays owner Stuart Sternberg has been frustrated in his efforts to get out of Tropicana Field in St. Pete and move to a new stadium in Tampa, but there is growing belief that the economically depressed Tampa Bay area won't support the Rays no matter where they play,” Madden writes. “And according to sources, Sternberg has had discussions with wealthy Wall Street associates about moving the Rays to Montreal, which has been without a major league franchise since the Expos were transferred to Washington in 2005.”