Vote Curveball at the Crossroads for Best Book of Tampa Bay

 

I am super excited to announce that my debut novel Curveball at the Crossroads was nominated for Best Book by a Local Author on the Creative Loafing Tampa Bay contest. Creative Loafing holds this contest every year and winning it is a big deal.

There is some stiff competition for Best Book of Tampa Bay but I am sure I can gather the votes to win. After all, how many of the books on the ballot have to do with a pitcher from a St Petersburg baseball team making a deal with the Devil?

One. Mine

So please take a moment and vote Curveball at the Crossroads for Best Book by a Local Author. Thank you and I appreciate your support!

Selling Curveball at the Crossroads at Fergs Sports Bar

Last Saturday, 7/31/2021, I had the opportunity to set up shop and sell some books outside Ferg's Sports Bar in St. Petersburg, FL. I have set up there before, but have never had the success I had last Saturday.

I walked away with over $150 and sold over 10 books. I sold 6 copies of Curveball at the Crossroads and 7 copies of my previous joke book, The Man Makes You Work, written under the alias Jordi Scrubbings (Long story. See my creative blog The Serious Tip for an explanation.)

Saturday was a long day. I started by chatting on the radio with my friend Mike Rickard on the St Pete Sports Connection. I followed former Major League pitcher Anthony Telford on air, which was really cool. Mike and I talked baseball current events and of course Curveball at the Crossroads.

After I get off the air with Mike, I went to visit my friend Nick Major in his inpatient care facility. Shout out to Nick Major. Always good to visit friends who can't make it out to see you, especially for health reasons.

When I returned to Ferg's, it was slammed with people. Only an hour and a half remained before game time and people were flocking to Fergs for fermented hops and barley and fine pre-game cuisine. I slide back in my spot outside the bar and set up my book array.

I decided to bring copies of my first book, The Man Makes You Work, this time. This is the first time I brought The Man Makes You Work, but I figured I had a box of copies and for $5 each, maybe I'll make some extra money. I was right.

Marketing The Man Makes You Work as "the funniest book you've never read", more people bought my first book than bought Curveball at the Crossroads. Albeit Curveball at the Crossroads is $20 and The Man is only $5, but I thought people's interest in the latter over the former was interesting. People don't mind supporting for a few dollars, but if you get into their beer money, then you may sell less books.

Perhaps the most interesting patron I talked to during the game was a man who appeared to be homeless. He wore rough clothes and wasn't carrying himself well. He looked through my books and then dug into his pocket and gave me a dollar. Then he walked away. I can't give books away for a dollar, but he also didn't give me the opportunity to give it back to him. So appreciate the support.

Sales slowed down dramatically once the game started. From first pitch to the final out, I think I might have sold one copy of Curveball at the Crossroads and one copy of The Man Makes You Work. But that is to be expected when most baseball fans are inside the bar or inside the adjacent stadium. But this is when I had lunch, a few beers, and watched the game on an outside TV, all of which is what I would be doing anyway when the Rays game is on.

After the game ended, I knew I had to be ready. Rays fans were in a good mood, there was alcohol in many people's bloodstreams and a generally good mood was in the air.

Soon after the final out, folks started gathering at the long bar where I was stationed. I immediately made a few sales of The Man Makes You Work. Then I sold a few more copies of Curveball at the Crossroads. One group of patrons sat by me and were reading The Man Makes You Work aloud, laughing amongst themselves. Awesome advertising.

All in all, Saturday was a fantastic day for book selling. I walked away with over $150, after buying a few beers, lunch, and parking. It was the best day I have ever had for book sales. That makes me feel like this endeavor is worth it. Creative writing and selling books is so much different from my day job that it is a fun and welcome hobby. When it pays decent, it is even more fun.

Talking with the St Pete Sports Connection Again

Once again I was on the St Pete Sports Connection with my friend Mike Rickard outside of Ferg's Sports Bar in St Pete. I was on last Saturday, 7/31/2021. We talked Rays, baseball, and of course my book, Curveball at the Crossroads.

Check it out!

 

The Disrespected Rays Fans

(This was submitted to the Tampa Bay Times Editorial page on July 7th, 2021. After 3 weeks of no response, I decided to publish it here. I don't have 1% of the Times reach. I do like to think I have an informed opinion on these matters. After all, I have been writing about the Rays and baseball in Tampa Bay for over 10 years. But for whatever reason, the Tampa Bay Times didn't feel the need to print this.)

Over the last two years, all Tampa Bay sports has done is win. No matter the sport, we’ve made championships, won trophies, and been the talk of the sports world. And our fans have enjoyed every minute of it. Most of them.

 

While Lightning fans get boat parades and Bucs fans get the glory of the greatest of all time, Rays fans are living with the idea that they won’t have a team to see in the summer and fall of 2027. Or maybe sooner if Rays owner Stu Sternberg gets his way. 

And while outgoing St Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman pushes back on the Rays and calls their plan a non-starter, several St Pete mayoral candidates as well as Tampa Mayor Jane Castor support this plan. Who do you think the Rays will want to negotiate with? 

The Rays need a new stadium. That is unequivocally true. The where and how to pay for it has been debated for over 10 years and it is wearing down the fanbase. It is hard for more than diehards to care when the finger pointing and relocation rumors take more headlines than the team’s success. 

The Rays’ Sister City plan of “sharing” a team with Montreal makes no sense for the people of Tampa Bay. It is disrespectful to our fanbase and will lead to the team eventually moving to Montreal for good when Stu Sternberg sells the team. Despite front office claims they want the Rays here for generations, there is no doubt selling the team is Sternberg’s final goal. He wants to maximize his profits first. Two new stadiums in two markets would do that. And when he does sell, what is preventing the new owner from completing the move, leaving Tampa Bay with a useless stadium, too small for a new full-time team and too big for another Minor League team? 

“Never trade with the Rays” is an axiom well known in baseball. They have one of the smartest front offices ever. With over 10 years to prepare and a staff working night and day on metrics, our politicians have no chance negotiating a winning deal for taxpayers unless they play hardball. The current proposal of 40 games of Rays baseball, Spring Training, and a new home of the Rowdies if Tampa Bay builds a new stadium is like trading an all-star pitcher for two benchwarmers and a punter. Local baseball fans know the late season pennant race is the best part of the season, Spring Training is for tourists, and Rowdies soccer, while fun, isn’t baseball. 

Not only will this deal turn off what remains of the Rays fanbase – why support a team that moves midseason? – it will also foster unhealthy debate as to which city supports the team more. Not to mention moments in which the fanbase shows appreciation to players such as jersey retiring ceremonies, statues, or other banners. Will they be held in both locations? Or just the most deserving location? 

Prior to the Stanley Cup Championship, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said she would discuss sharing a baseball team with the Mayor of Montreal, but she wouldn’t discuss sharing the Stanley Cup. If this was a joke, it wasn’t funny. Tampa Bay area baseball fans were disrespected and blasted the mayor on social media. Unfortunately, Jane Castor has yet to apologize. She has no reason to, even if the Rays leave town, she can still wear a Yankees hat. 

We hope our politicians don’t bend to the whimsical desires of billionaire sports owners. We should not “share” a baseball team. What the Rays need is a centralized stadium and a monopoly of baseball interest in Tampa Bay, even if that means getting rid of regional Spring Training. The Rays are right, no other Major League market has the difficulties of Tampa Bay. But disrespecting the fans is not a step in the right direction.

Curveball at the Crossroads on the LockedOnMLB podcast

I had the pleasure of talking with my longtime friend Sully on his podcast on the LockedOn network. Comedian, TV producer and creator of the Sully Baseball Podcast Paul Francis "Sully" Sullivan is the host of LockedOnMLB, a podcast that covers all of Major League Baseball. 

Of course, we talked about Curveball at the Crossroads, then we discussed the Tampa Bay Rays, both on the field and off the field statuses.

I highly recommend Sully's podcast. He has a passion for the game and such a wide array of interests - check out how our conversation veered to Star Wars - and amazing knowledge of baseball. 

Here is the link: Locked On MLB - Daily Podcast On Major League Baseball

Curveball at the Crossroads on the Spike on the Mic Show

Spike on the Mic is a longtime radio show in Tampa and Spike has been around the radio scene for years. A few weeks ago, I ran into Spike at a local sports bar and we talked about me being on his show. After weeks of scheduling, I made my first appearance.

Spike on the Mic is a fun show that covers weird and unusual headlines and has humorous banter between a bevy of hosts. I felt right at home talking with them. In the final minutes, I told them about my book, which most of the hosts were excited to hear about.

Thanks again to Spike for having me on and I hope to be on again soon!

Here is the link to the Spike on the Mic Show featuring Curveball at the Crossroads.

Rays Fans Betrayed by Mayor Castor

Hockey is a big deal in Tampa Bay. The Lightning are quite possibly the second most popular team in Tampa Bay behind the Bucs. And during the NHL playoffs, and especially the Stanley Cup Finals, no other sport in Tampa Bay matters. It is deservedly the Bolts time in the spotlight.

This Stanley Cup quest unfortunately comes with the baggage of pitting Tampa Bay versus Montreal, the city Rays owner Stu Sternberg has courted and threatened to move the Rays to. The jokes and jabs on twitter from Montreal fans and ignorant media have been annoying, albeit tolerable. The Rays ownership put us in this mess, so we have to live with it for as long as Sternberg continues with his shenanigans.

However, we should not have elected officials in the Tampa Bay area jesting, joking, or joshing about losing our baseball team. And that is exactly what Tampa Mayor Jane Castor did in a tweet video before Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

To quote Castor:

"Alright, I had a great conversation with the Mayor of Montreal. Told her we could discuss sharing a baseball team, but we are not sharing the Stanley Cup! Go Bolts!"

Why would Mayor Castor even joke about this? Apparently she has no finger on the pulse of baseball fans in Tampa Bay. While she has thrown out the first pitch at Rays games, she has also thrown out the first pitch at Yankees spring training games. So baseball loyalty doesn't matter to her. Having a team in Tampa, whether it be the Rays, the Yankees, or both, is transactional to her. There is no emotional attachment to any of them. As long as she gets fans' votes.

The problem with Jane Castor undermining Mayor Kriseman in St Pete and throwing Tampa area Rays fans under the bus is that she has has nothing to lose by supporting the Sister City plan. If she gains 40 games and the Rays in Tampa, she wins. If the Rays stay in St Pete, she has no gain and no loss. If the Rays go to Montreal, she still has the Yankees.

Fortunately, Mayor Castor's tweet was not well received by Rays fans on twitter. As of 1am, July 1st, there was not one positive comment associated with her tweet and over 40 tweets from Tampa Bay sports fans objecting to it. Although twitter is far from public opinion, when the ratio is that bad, it is clear Mayor Castor struck a nerve.

Curveball at the Crossroads is at Mojo Books and Records

Distribution is a huge part of book selling. I am trying to get my book in as many places as possible, of course this includes as many small and independent book stores as possible. So therefore, I am happy to announce:

Signed copies of Curveball at the Crossroads are now available at Tampa's Mojo Books and Music in the local authors section!

Mojo Books and Music is located at 2540 E Fowler Ave, University Center Shopping Plaza, Tampa, FL 33612-6271.

Talking with the St Pete Sports Connection at Fergs Sports Bar and Grill

The St Pete Sports Connection is a weekly sports radio show on Radio St Pete 96.7 FM hosted by longtime sports radio host Mike Rickord. Mike has been kind enough to have me on his show a few times over the last few months. Mike is awesome to talk with and it is a lot of fun. We talk sports - mostly baseball - and he gives me the opportunity to pitch my novel, Curveball at the Crossroads.

Last week I was on Mike's show for approximately 30 minutes. Also on the show was a representative from Coppertail Brewing in Tampa, FL, which happens to be one of, if not my number one favorite brewery in the Tampa area.

In this show, I talk about Rays attendance, the stadium issue, as well as the 2021 baseball season. I should be back on the St Pete Sports Connection again soon!

My letter to the St Pete City Council

Last week, the St Pete City Council approved a notion to consider the Rays "sister-city" concept. I have been a huge opponent of the sister-city plan since Day 1. Once I heard the City Council not disapprove the plan, I decided to email a letter to all members of the St Pete City Council.

I took a screen shot of the letter and posted it on twitter. To date, it has nearly 100 retweets, over 400 likes, and over 40,000 impressions. I hope the City Council sees it and takes it into consideration the next time they talk to the Rays.