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Maddon's Home Getting Noticed

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 26, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - Managing a World Series team has brought Joe Maddon into the national spotlight, and his hometown has gained notice along the way.

Hazleton, Pa., about 95 miles northwest of Philadelphia, has seen plenty of reporters from news organizations in Pennsylvania and elsewhere descend during the last few weeks, looking for the inside story on Maddon's blue-collar background. The town's mayor, Lou Barletta, has been interviewed by ESPN and Maddon's mother, Beanie, has been featured from coast to coast along with her Third Base Luncheonette's famous hoagies.

The town's favorite son hasn't necessarily put Hazleton on the map, but at least it's being mentioned, much to Maddon's delight.

"I'm so happy for them that they're all really enjoying this," Maddon said. "It's great for the area. The area really needed a boost. You talk about the economics and what they've gone through back home for a while, it's good to get something positive going, so I'm really happy for them."

And they're happy for him. Maddon provided tickets for 14 friends and family members for Game 3 and he expected many more to make the trip down from Hazleton on their own. Many will be cheering for Maddon's Rays, but he said he understands the divided loyalties that have sprung from drawing the Phils as a World Series foe.

"Even though I haven't been there lately, I know exactly what's going on in each barroom and the luncheonette and the discussions and the fights and the arguments and the people defending me and other just not defending me," Maddon said. "And even though I'm from there they're still going to root for the Phillies because they're loyal. It's all good stuff."

As the Rays waited out the 1-hour, 31-minute rain delay that preceded Saturday's game, Joe Maddon pointed out that Citizens Bank Park wasn't such a bad place to idle for a while. The 5-year-old ballpark has a spacious visitors' clubhouse and the TVs were tuned to college football games to keep the players occupied.

Maddon said he was most worried about pitcher Matt Garza, who is particularly frenetic leading up to his starts, having to rein himself in.

"I don't know what he's going to do," Maddon said. "If there's a padded room around here, I'd really like to know about it so he can go there and bounce around for a bit."

GROSS BACK IN RIGHT

After going 1-for-16 in the postseason, including 10 hitless at-bats in the ALCS, Gabe Gross couldn't make much of an argument when he was out of the starting lineup for the final game against Boston and the first two games of the World Series.

Gross got another chance in Game 3 as Maddon put him in right field against LHP Jamie Moyer in hopes the lefty swinger would bounce back.

"Just to get away from it and just watch for a couple days might help, because he had been so effective in so many moments for us this year - and against certain lefties," Maddon said. "And here it is. We think this is that certain lefty."

Maddon characterized the decision as a toss-up between several possibilities in right.

"This one caused me as much back-and-forth as I've had to this point in the playoffs," he said.

IN THE FAMILY

You could understand if there were some mixed emotions involved, but James Shields said he's confident his cousin, Giants OF Aaron Rowand, is pulling for the Rays to win it all.

His loyalty is in question only because Rowand spent the previous two years with the Phillies. Then again, the Rays already have dispatched Rowand's other former team, the White Sox, so he might as well stick with his cousin.

"He texts me every day - he's there watching at his house out in Vegas," Shields said. "When we were playing the White Sox he was rooting for us and I believe he'll be rooting for us here in the World Series."

Marc Lancaster

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