The Hearld-Tribune’s Chris Anderson interviews Mike Farnham, creator of Vince Must Go.com.
“The fans deserve something better, something they enjoy, and it’s not going to happen unless Vince spends more money,” Farnham said.
That is unlikely to happen. Devil Rays owner Vince Naimoli has stated that payroll is directly related to attendance.
And since the Devil Rays continue to have the lowest payroll in baseball, how is attendance ever supposed to increase? Farnham, a 36-year-old Bradenton resident, came up with the idea for the Web site last week. It was up and running Tuesday morning.
On the first day, the site had 500 hits and 60 people weighed in with comments, all of which begged Naimoli to step aside.
Farnham moved to Manatee County in 1978 from New York. He was a Mets fan until the baseball strike of 1994.
He stopped following the game, but picked it up again when the Rays began playing in 1998. It didn’t take long before he was disgusted again.
“The team’s going to go away if they’re not careful,” Farnham said.
There is also a similar site created by a Tampa businessman up and running. Fans can voice their displeasure with Naimoli at www.oustnaimoli.com.
As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, that site had received 13,162 hits and 506 people had signed a petition.
Perhaps enough signatures on a Web site will convince Naimoli to walk away, to go to a place where no one will use his bathroom ever again?