Kennedy Made Positive Move

Once he recovered from the shock of being unceremoniously dumped by the Cardinals just before spring training began, Adam Kennedy knew he at least had his pick of where to sign.

He could have gone with a team that had some uncertainty at second base, or one that trained close to his California home. But it was the Rays who were at the top of his list, even though they meet neither of those criteria.

The reason? Joe Maddon.

"One hundred percent," Kennedy said. "It was pretty much all of it. Knowing how he goes about it and the relationship we've had, hopefully he was up for it, and they were."

Kennedy spent six seasons with the Angels when Maddon was the bench coach there, and after essentially being rejected by St. Louis manager Tony La Russa, he was looking for a more welcoming environment. Maddon provided that, reaching out to Kennedy almost immediately after his release and seeing him become the latest ex-Angel to join the Rays.

This offseason saw former Angels catcher Todd Greene came aboard as the quality assurance coach, repeatedly citing his positive past experiences with Maddon as a prime factor in his decision. And of course there's little chance Troy Percival would have signed with the Rays last offseason if not for his longstanding ties with the Rays' manager.

"It just speaks volumes for his relationship with - it doesn't matter - pitchers, position players, catchers," Kennedy said. "Usually coaches tend to gravitate towards one group, but he just has that baseball knowledge and demeanor to really get all of us to pay attention to what he's doing. And his off-the-field relationships are just as strong with all of us."

The Rays' success last season obviously raised Maddon's profile around the game, but even without that AL Manager of the Year award he earned, the word was starting to get out. Pat Burrell, a career National Leaguer, had no firsthand knowledge of Maddon when he began exploring potential landing spots as a free agent this winter. But the more he asked around, the more he found everyone - "Everyone," Burrell emphasized - who had dealt with Maddon recommending him.

"Everybody said he's going to be different than probably anybody you've been around," Burrell said. "I don't know if that's true yet, but in the brief time I've been around him, there's no doubt this guy knows what he's doing, understands the game and has an unbelievable way to relate to the players. I think that's a gift."

SPLENDID ISOLATION: Port Charlotte isn't Tampa-St. Petersburg when it comes to an abundance of dining and nightlife options, but that change hasn't been a problem for some Rays - even if their expressions of appreciation won't be reprinted in Charlotte County tourism brochures anytime soon.

"I like being in the middle of nowhere," Ben Zobrist said upon arrival Tuesday.

Carl Crawford echoed those sentiments when asked if being a bit removed from Tampa Bay would make it easier to concentrate on baseball.

"What else do you have to concentrate on?" Crawford said. "There's nothing else here, from what I've seen so far. If you can't concentrate on baseball, your concentration level's pretty low."

NOTEWORTHY: Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA projection system has the Rays winning 91 games this season - but finishing third behind the Red Sox (98) and Yankees (96). It puts the Rays' chances of making the playoffs at 41.4 percent. ... Former Rays announcer Joe Magrane is on the TV crew for the first round of the World Baseball Classic. Magrane will call games from Toronto, where the U.S. will play its opening-round games.