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Roger Mooney

Roger Mooney covers the Tampa Bay Rays for The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and News Channel 8. He has covered the Rays since their first season in 1998, including 11 years for the Bradenton Herald. Roger has also covered Florida, South Florida and Florida State football, the Bucs and the Lightning.

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Talking with Manny Stiles

Posted Mar 11, 2007 by Marc Lancaster

Updated Mar 11, 2007 at 11:44 AM

Had a chance yesterday to talk with Erik Kombol, aka Manny Stiles, the Phoenix stockbroker and prolific blogger who recently auctioned off his services for charity—the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Rays president Matt Silverman ended up with the winning $535 bid, which came as a surprise to both men.

“Especially with the charitable aspect, it was something that appealed to me,” Silverman said Friday. “I thought it might be interesting to bid on it, and thought I could at least participate in raising the proceeds for the charity. I didn’t expect to win the bid.”

It took Stiles a couple of days to figure out the identity of his winning bidder. He knew the winner had a St. Petersburg ZIP code and feared the worst.

“I got a little frustrated, because I thought, ‘Oh, damn, I got some Yankees fan that lives in Florida and is going to make me write about the Yankees,’ which was my only fear,” said Stiles.

By the time Silverman contacted Stiles, though, the blogger had put all the pieces together.

“I was kind of mad it took me so long,” he said. “I should have known it right away.”

Silverman kicked in an extra $1,000 on top of the winning bid to benefit the charity, which has resonance for both men. Stiles’ brother died of complications from AIDS last September, and Silverman lost an uncle to the disease 17 years ago.

“My family has supported AIDS-related charities for a number of years,” said Silverman, “so it was something that struck a chord with me personally.”

For his donation, Silverman gained a fan with a platform. And a unique take on any number of topics. Stiles’ stage name is literal—he uses many styles to get his point across.

“It’s a variety,” he said. “I try to do something different every time. Basically when I sit down to write, it’s kind of a brainstorming session. I have lots of ideas and I flush them all out at once, slap them together and see what I get.

“I’ll do some fiction. I’ll end up doing what’s almost a scriptwriting style for some of it, like making up things between players that never really happened.

“I use sarcasm, humor, try to be as entertaining as possible, try to find the quirkities and oddities.”

Quirkities?

“Yeah, I make words up all the time.”

Stiles has been writing seriously since he was a teen-ager, cranking out poetry and short stories.

“My mind is always going, making stuff up, fabricating things all the time,” he said. “I create a lot of stuff, whether it’s with words or materials.”

Stiles said his Rays blogging, which already has begun with 101 Reasons the Devil Rays could win the World Series, will come strictly from a fan’s perspective. He’s not interested in pontificating on steroids, for instance. Silverman has promised Stiles a bit more access than the average fan blogger gets—which is generally none at all—but assured him the organization won’t lean on him in any way.

That means the Rays are running a risk of having a blogger on their own retainer ripping them for another 100-loss season, but they don’t seem to mind.

“We assume that risk with everyone – with every fan, with every blogger,” said Silverman. “At this point, we appreciate the attention and we appreciate the input. Sometimes that input is criticism, but we take it all and listen to it. It helps provide another vantage point, another point of view.”

Stiles won’t be shy about providing his. He admits he hopes this high-profile gig will serve as a “resume” of sorts for him as he attempts to make writing a full-time pursuit. He has been with his current company for nine years, and it’s easy to understand how the daily grind of stockbroker life doesn’t do much to feed his creative side. 

“I think at this point I’m a writer that just happens to stockbroke for fun,” he said. “People at work think I’m a blogger first.”

For Rays fans, he will be.