"Any changes we do make to our uniform, our team name, our colors, our logos, will be done and effective for the 2008 season," said Matt Silverman, team president.

Silverman said there is a lot of change taking place within the organization and that change will continue for the next couple of years.

"Some changes take long to effect and the name change is one of those," Silverman said. "We want to make sure we get it right. You don't get the opportunity very often to change the name of a team. So when you do, you want to make sure you do it right. You give the proper time and research necessary to make that decision. You also want to be able to gauge fan reaction. And it's important to get our fans' reaction as we contemplate these very important changes."

But there will definitely be a change for the 2008 season.

"It could be subtle, a change to the logo or uniforms themselves," Silverman said. "But we're going to open the possibility for more dramatic changes."

To make a change, Major League Baseball requires notice by May 31 of the preceding season.

"May 31, 2007 would be the deadline for submission to Major League Baseball [for the 2008 season], then you have finalization of any of those changes," Silverman said. "And the licensee starts producing the new product. So it would be possible that by the end of the 2007 season we would have an announcement of what the name is and what the uniforms look like. The hat, the logo, the colors and a new product would be available."

A lot of ingredients go into making a decision.

"We do a lot of work internally," Silverman said. "We employ consultants from the outside to help us and we also try to get the reaction of our fans and some of our non-fans as we try to reach out to a very broad part of the Tampa Bay marketplace.

"Our fans are very passionate about the name -- whether to change it or not to change it. And it's important to get their input into the conversation as we go forward and it's not something you can rush. You need to take your time with it and we want to take the extra time with it before we make such a dramatic change."

Negative fan feedback, specifically regarding the "Devil" portion of the name triggered the organization to begin considering a change.

"And with a name, you're not going to sell more tickets because you have a name that's the 'Hammerheads' or the 'Tarpons' or something else as opposed to the Devil Rays," Silverman said. "But if a name causes people to pause, if it somehow keeps them away from coming to the stadium, then it's something that needs investigating and that's what we'll be doing."

A short list of potential names already exists.

"But that list can get longer now that we have more time to research this," Silverman said. "It's about getting it right. This is not something you want to rush into and to do it before the 2007 season would be premature in order to roll it out properly."

And fans need not worry about the prospect of being stuck with Devil Rays merchandise when the team comes up with a new name.

"A name change would provide the opportunity for some creative promotions," Silverman said, "whether it's an exchange of old gear for new gear or it's providing some of the new gear for our season ticket holders, season ticket renewal package. There are many ways we can get the new gear out into the marketplace without the consumers necessarily purchasing it. And it's something we're going to look into."