General manager Andrew Friedman has left St. Petersburg.

Skipper Joe Maddon has left St. Petersburg.

Is the entire Rays franchise now leaving St. Petersburg?

And to Montréal, of all places?

In his Sunday New York Daily News column, Bill Madden wrote:

According to sources, [Rays owner Stuart] 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.

Just curious: Does Sternberg have middle-class Wall Street associates too?

Anyway, does it matter whether Madden’s “sources” are accurate? After all, 13 years remain on the lease with Tropicana Field and there’s no sign yet that a new ballpark in Montréal is in the works — let’s be clear: Olympic Stadium is a worse venue than the Trop . . . and it’s not even close — so it’s highly unlikely Evan Longoria and Chris Archer need to parlez français anytime soon.

Nonetheless, Field of Schemes author Neil deMause observes that it hasn’t stopped outgoing commissioner Bud Selig from weighing in on the situation one last time, once more implying that the politicos and the voters of the Tampa–St. Pete region ought to pony up the funds for a spanking new facility: “We’re going to miss you, Bud. Nobody does passive-aggressive threatmongering like you.”

More here and here.