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Maddon: No 'Crying' About Rays' Situation

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 29, 2008

PHILADELPHIA There seems to be a great deal of interest in whether the Rays knew that they weren't actually in danger of losing a rain-shortened Game 5 on Monday. The short answer is no, they weren't.

As the World Series was preparing to start back up here Wednesday, Rays manager Joe Maddon was quizzed by reporters on exactly what he knew and how much he shared with his team.

Most of the Rays apparently believed that if they didn't score in the sixth inning Monday to tie the score 2-2 before it was stopped, they could have lost the Series right then and there on a rainout. Commissioner Bud Selig said he will never allow a Series to conclude that way, but in the regular season the Rays would have been in danger of being declared losers.

Maddon said he was told before the game that it would be suspended, not called, if the weather didn't cooperate. There was a lot of confusion in the clubhouse, though, with many players apparently believing they were in danger of losing a shortened game.

"I didn't see it as being that big of a deal, I really didn't. Maybe I'm missing something. It was a game to be played and I just wanted our guys to go out there, unencumbered, play our game, play our game, etc., no added extra thoughts, just play the game like we play it," Maddon said.

"I realize post (game) everybody was kind of caught up with the whole thing, but from my perspective, again, I just wanted our guys to do their thing."

They'll need to do their thing in a sprint tonight if they want to continue. A strong wind is expected to supercool Citizens Bank Ballpark, dropping wind-chill temperatures into the high 20s by the 8:37 p.m. first pitch. The game will resume in the bottom of the sixth with a pinch-hitter for Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels, with reliever Grant Balfour still on the mound for the Rays.

Even though the Phillies have an advantage with 12 remaining outs to only nine for the Rays, Maddon says he doesn't want to even to think about whether the game should have been replayed from the start. It's time to move on and accept whatever outcome occurs.

"This is the way it has been set up," he said. "There is no crying in baseball. That's been stated several years ago, and so we're not going to be a bunch of crybabies, if we don't win this game tonight you're not going to hear me one time say, 'I wish we had gone back to the beginning', not once."

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