Maddon looks to MLB for All-Star guidance

Joe Maddon met Sunday morning with MLB senior vice president Phyllis Merhige to discuss his duties as manager of the American League in next month's All-Star Game and got some much-needed guidance.

"Quite frankly, I haven't thought about it at all, so it's good to be directed a bit," Maddon said. "Obviously, I'm a novice right here and of course the game means something. As we get closer I'll start fine-tuning a bit more. To me, it's still light years away."

Maddon mostly wanted to know what kind of role he would have to play in filling out the final spots on the 32-player AL roster after the fans' and players' selections have been made. The manager, in consultation with the commissioner's office, makes only a handful of selections these days, and one or more of those picks might have to be put toward ensuring every team is represented.

After that, Maddon said, he'll use his own judgment and try to be as fair as possible to all of the deserving candidates for reserve and pitching roles.

"I'm not looking to be controversial," Maddon said. "I'm just trying to, when it comes down to it, attempt to pick the best players that deserve to be on that team."

Scary moment

The game was delayed 14 minutes in the second inning after home plate umpire Jerry Crawford had to be helped off the field following a Jeff Niemann wild pitch that scored a run.

It wasn't immediately clear what was wrong with Crawford, who didn't get hit by the ball but had to steady himself before leaving the field gingerly. It turned out to be a recurrence of lower back pain that has bothered the crew chief in the past.

"We really had no idea what was going on," Niemann said. "We thought it was something serious because it seemed like he was having trouble standing up, but we heard it was just back spasms, so that's good it was something not as serious."

First base umpire Scott Barry replaced Crawford behind the plate.

Friendly showdown

Andy Sonnanstine once again had a chance to bat Sunday, but this one came with a new twist.

Maddon sent the pitcher to the plate to hit for Grant Balfour in the ninth, and he had to stare down his former Tampa Bay teammate, Mets reliever Jon Switzer. The southpaw made quick work of the lefty-swinging Sonnanstine, getting him on a called third strike to drop his season average to .273.

"His ball was pretty tough to pick up, I'll tell you that," Sonnanstine said. "That never really happened before, as far as facing a friend. It was pretty cool."

Rehab watch

LHP Scott Kazmir is scheduled to throw about 85 pitches in his rehab start for Durham tonight, according to Maddon. ... RHP Chad Bradford, coming off two scoreless innings Saturday, is slated for back-to-back appearances for Durham on Tuesday and Wednesday, then one more outing Saturday before potentially coming off the disabled list when the Rays head to Toronto next week.

Odds and ends

Jason Bartlett's hitting streak now stands at 16 games, tying Aaron Ledesma (Sept. 15, 1998-May 14, 1999) for the third-longest in team history. Quinton McCracken's 18-game streak in 1998 still is the record. ... The Rays tied a team record with three hits by pinch-hitters as Willy Aybar, Pat Burrell and Gabe Kapler did the honors.

Marc Lancaster