Joe Maddon helped Mike Scioscia become the best manager in the big leagues. But Maddon, the longtime Angels organization man, is having an even bigger impact on the American League this season than Scioscia, whose team has the best record in baseball.
Maddon guided the renamed Tampa Bay Rays out of the gates with a 35-22 start, demonstrating they were no longer a laughingstock. But he has been doing the nearly impossible since the All-Star break, staring down the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees as the competition gets serious.
Maddon sat center fielder B.J. Upton on Wednesday against Cleveland because he had failed to run out a grounder to the mound Tuesday. Maddon did this even though the Rays were missing Carl Crawford, using the light-hitting Jason Bartlett at designated hitter and facing a left-hander, the pitchers Upton hits best.
Maddon had warned players about the need to play hard every day after a victory July 26 at Kansas City when he felt many were going through the motions.
“You just can’t pick and choose when you’re going to put your effort out there,” Maddon said. “It has to be there all the time.”
The message hit home, and the first-place Rays went on to beat Cleveland 10-7 when they scored six runs in the ninth inning.
“It happened; it’s over with,” Upton said. “There’s no need to dwell on the negatives. … Learned a lesson.”
At this point, it’s silly not to take the Rays seriously. They lost seven games in a row heading into the All-Star break but won 13 of their first 19 after returning and entered the weekend with 68 victories, only two fewer than the high in their previous 10 seasons.
Tampa Bay could get a lift from this weekend’s return of Rocco Baldelli, a career .282 hitter who has been healthy enough to play only 127 games since 2004. He was diagnosed in spring training with a mitochondrial disorder, zapping his stamina and threatening his career.
Baldelli played 24 games between high A and Double A, hitting .257 with some power (five homers) and speed (two stolen bases). Playing off the bench, he should make the Rays deeper as he tries to get his feet back under him.
“I realize I’ve done things not many people get the chance to do,” Baldelli told the St. Petersburg Times. “Maybe greedy isn’t the right word, but it makes you want to get back. I’ve missed it so much. I get sad because I love this game. I’ve spent many nights thinking about this kind of stuff.”
Heading into mid-August, the AL has only one team comfortably positioned for the postseason — Scioscia’s Angels. The White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Rays, Red Sox and Yankees are essentially in a five-for-three fight for the remaining three playoff spots.
Entering the weekend, the Rays (13-7) and Yankees (13-7) had played the best among that group since the break. Minnesota was 10-9, Boston 9-9 and the White Sox 9-10.
Tampa Bay will play 19 of its last 36 games against those four teams, including three games in Chicago from Aug. 22-24. Home-and-away series against Boston and the Yankees in the first three weeks of September will go a long way toward determining whether Maddon, the professor, will get a chance to face his pupil, Scioscia, in the playoffs.
Replay decision soon
Look for an announcement as early as this week about the use of instant replay to determine home run calls. As the Tribune reported first, Major League Baseball wants to use instant replay in the upcoming postseason and plans to try it on an experimental basis at the end of the regular season.
Umpire Dale wouldn’t have minded having the use of replay on a call he blew Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Shane Victorino ripped a hooking line drive to left field. The ball went just left of the foul pole but caromed sharply to the right after hitting a railing. Scott, who was working third base, called it fair. Victorino had a two-run homer he didn’t deserve.
“That is what replay is going to be there for,” Scott said afterward. “And replay is coming very soon … it’s going to be this year.”
Scott says umpires haven’t been in favor of replay but understand “we’re losing that war.” He correctly pointed to the changing ballparks for making it more necessary than it was in the past.
“There are a lot of ballparks that are not umpire-friendly when it comes to [borderline] calls,” he said. “That’s how they build them. They’re fan-friendly, and they don’t want to change that.”
Uncharted territory
Texas entered the weekend 60-56 despite its AL-worst 5.24 ERA. No AL team has ever had a winning season while finishing with the highest ERA in the league. Boston came the closest, going 77-77 with the league’s worst ERA in 1944.
The Rangers’ pitching problems recently cost pitching coach Mark Connor and bullpen coach Dom Chiti their jobs. They were replaced by minor-league pitching coach Andy Hawkins and former major-league coach Jim Colborn, who will handle the bullpen.
“There was no tipping point,” general manager Jon Daniels said. “We have a number of young starters here now, and more on the way. Andy has had most of these guys in the minor leagues. He communicates well with them.”
Hawkins is the Rangers’ seventh pitching coach since the start of the 2000 season.
“Continuity is important in every aspect of the organization,” Daniels said. “I hope this is the last change we’ll make for a long time.”
Daniels might want to think about hanging on to his best pitchers. While he got Josh Hamilton from Cincinnati for Edinson Volquez, he has little to show for the deals by him and predecessor John Hart in which Texas lost Oakland All-Star right-hander Justin Duchscherer; San Diego right-hander Chris Young, an All-Star in 2007; Detroit right-hander Armando Galarraga, and White Sox left-hander John Danks.
Sour grapes
Manny Ramirez has brought badly needed swagger to the Dodgers, going 13-for-23 with four homers in his first six games. Most of his new teammates have greeted him warmly, though he has ignored orders from manager Joe Torre to get his long braids cut.
Ex-Cub Juan Pierre is worried about losing playing time.
“I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed, but they put me in a difficult position,” said Pierre, who is hitting .279 with 25 RBIs in the second year of his five-year, $44 million contract. “You go on the bench and then you work your way back in the lineup, and possibly going back to the bench. … They’re sticking it to me, for whatever reason.”
Andre Ethier, who is hitting .271 with 11 homers, has been the most crowded by Ramirez’s arrival. But he sounds pumped by the presence of Ramirez, who could put the otherwise mediocre Dodgers in the playoffs.
“We have worked hard these first few months to get into a situation where we can go where we want to go,” Ethier said. “You have to focus on that and put all the individual stuff aside.”
The last word
“I cut the grass this morning. I still have some errands to run for him.” — Mark Teixeira, who lived in agent Scott Boras’ guest house after being traded from Atlanta to the Angels.
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progers@tribune.com
