Just days after $tu said he wouldn't whine about the stadium situation, two of his employees did just that.

ST. PETERSBURG — Rays president Matt Silverman said the stadium situation has become a distraction that now affects the team on the field and damages the reputation of the Tampa Bay area, and he made their loudest plea yet for action, saying, "Clearly, something needs to be done."

It's a crisis, Tropicana Field is literally causing the team to lose!

Silverman's comments, and similar ones earlier Tuesday from manager Joe Maddon, followed the latest wave of criticism of Tropicana Field after consecutive nationally televised games were marred by quirky stadium issues — a broken light on the catwalk Sunday, a bank of lights going out Monday — with ESPN analyst John Kruk leading the chorus.

The games were marred, just marred by these events! If only we had an open-air facility that would've allowed the lightning to strike the playing surface!

Before Tuesday's game, Maddon said he agreed with Kruk, that the Trop was "improper" for major-league baseball, that it had "served its purpose" that and it was absolutely "time to move on."

Not your job to be giving opinions on this, NEXT.

Silverman went further in a statement during the game, saying, "It's hard to combat the national media's depiction of our stadium. Our situation has become a distraction. It is affecting the clubhouse, and it spills over onto the field of play. It damages the national reputation of St. Pete and Tampa Bay, and it harms the Rays brand."

Gotta protect the brand!

"I believe it's a regional asset; it's not a city asset," Maddon said. "When you start looking at it as 'mine' and not 'everybody's,' that's where things get skewed or not work out well."

Well, it's a city lease, not a regional one, so quit complaining about mean Bill Foster expecting you to uphold the terms of your lease and not letting you go elsewhere for nothing.

While principal owner Stuart Sternberg said last week he would consider an open-air stadium — they had proposed one in 2008 with a sail-like cover — Maddon said a new stadium would need a retractable roof.

"To do otherwise would be economic suicide — it's uncomfortable, the rain, the disruptions with the games, the disruptions with your work," Maddon said. "All that stuff would be counter-productive. If you're going to do it, do it right. Do it right, man."

Good to know that you that you think your boss half-assed the plan three years ago.

So where does this leave us? Well, once again, it's actually very simple:

"I agree it's a regional asset and it requires support from the entire region," Foster said. "As I said before, I am not the regional mayor. I am the mayor of the city of St. Petersburg and I will do whatever I can to protect the interests of the people who built the stadium."

Done. Hopefully this buys us at least another two weeks before the bullpen catcher gives his two cents about the stadium in the Times.