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Rays Looking Ahead To Spring

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 14, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - The Rays' ascendance in 2008 has opened plenty of doors for the franchise and its most prominent members. Joe Maddon figures he might as well do his best to take full advantage of it.

Already an invited guest to the White House for a dinner in January, Maddon mused over lunch last week in Las Vegas about who he might be able to lure as a guest motivational speaker to address his charges in the coming season. In 2008, he turned to the likes of Monte Kiffin, Lee Roy Selmon and Angelo Dundee.

No offense to those fine gentlemen, but Maddon is aiming higher-profile this time around. He envisioned the entire might of the Rays' organization, major-league players and coaches joined by minor-league players and coaches, assembled at their new facility in Port Charlotte soaking up words of wisdom from Colin Powell.

Apparently Maddon was chatting with Harold Reynolds at the winter meetings and it came up that the former second baseman is acquainted with the statesman and Maddon's wheels started turning at a furious pace.

Though Maddon's schedule has hardly allowed him time to sit down and think about anything since the end of the World Series and won't let up in the foreseeable future, the AL Manager of the Year has found time to obsess over what awaits his squad when it reports to spring training a mere two months from today.

His primary talking point emerged even as the Rays were fighting through the playoffs, and it hasn't changed upon reflection.

"The thing I've been thinking about primarily going into spring training is fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals," Maddon said last week. "I think what we did and how late we played last year really magnifies to everybody within our organization, player-wise, how important it is to have a good secondary lead or to go first to third when you can or to hit the cutoff man or to back up first base when we need to.

"I'd like to believe you don't have to sell those perceived minor points anymore because to play at that time of the year and win, you have to do all those things."

It's clear those little things are on everyone's mind as the Rays look to take that final step that eluded them this fall. Andrew Friedman cited new acquisition Matt Joyce's reputation for attention to detail as one of the reasons the Rays were interested in him.

Maddon already has announced his intention to ease his regulars into a spring training that will last a week longer than normal - allowing more time for instruction - and the manager is thrilled that the minor-leaguers will be on-site for the first time in his Tampa Bay tenure.

"I just think it's perfect for us to get our program out there," Maddon said.

SEASON'S FEEDINGS: Several times during last week's winter meetings, discussions with Maddon strayed from the business of baseball and to the state of the economy - and, by extension, his plans for this week.

Maddon will host his "Thanks-mas" once again this week, teaming with volunteers to prepare a holiday meal at four area Salvation Army shelters. He has organized the effort each year he has been Tampa Bay's manager and hopes to expand its reach in the future. Particularly with the way the economy is going, Maddon said, demand for this kind of outreach figures to be higher now than at any time in the recent past.

This year's "Thanks-mas" will stop at the Salvation Army center in Bradenton at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and the Tampa center at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Thursday will bring a doubleheader, beginning with Port Charlotte at noon and concluding with St. Petersburg at 5 p.m.

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