Rays face test for the aged in Game Three

Oct 25, 2008 - 10:27 AM By PA SportsTicker

A battle of age versus youth is on tap in Game Three of the World Series when the Philadelphia Phillies play host to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.

Nine players on the Rays' roster were either in diapers or getting ready to tackle one of their first challenges in life when Jamie Moyer made his major league debut for the Chicago Cubs in 1986.

Their paths will cross with the 45-year-old lefthander as each team looks to grab a two-games-to-one advantage in the series.

The wisdom Moyer's experience brings isn't lost on the Rays.

"Well, we've got to approach him the same way we approach a finesse pitcher," first baseman Carlos Pena said. "We're just going to try to wait as long as we can before we commit, before we swing. Easier said than done, obviously, but that will be our goal, just to wait as long as possible."

The game presents lineup questions for Rays manager Joe Maddon, who is debating what player will start in right field. The Rays had nine different players start in right field during the regular season.

"I'm not 100 percent sure, I'm honestly not," Maddon said. "With Jamie, you might want to start a lefty possibly. If it's a righty, you're going to have to be aware of the soft pitches. He does pitch inside with two strikes, I know that. I'm still mulling it over a bit."

The lack of a DH in the National League park creates another issue.

"It matters. The pitcher's got to hit, obviously. And the No. 8 hitter becomes a different kind of guy, and what the pitcher does and what you want to do with him becomes different," Maddon said. "And not just having that potential extra offensive force.

"And furthermore, just thinking the lineup through and the game gets deeper, and the potential for a double-switch, and because you might want to have one of your pitchers go more than just one inning. There's so many more different things to think about. And believe me, I do sit down in advance and really try to play the game prior to it happening."

The game represents a homecoming of sorts for the 54-year-old native of Hazelton, Pennsylvania, a town of 25,000 about 80 miles outside of Philadelphia. In fact, Maddon's 75-year-old mother Albina still is a waitress at the Third Base Luncheonette, opened in 1949 by Maddon's aunt and uncle. He also attended college at Lafayette in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Maddon was asked if he ever attended one of Bruce Springsteen's legendary concerts at the Tower Theatre in Upper Darby or at the Spectrum while in school. He switched his pregame choice of music to The Boss from The Rolling Stones prior to Game Seven of the ALCS.

"I did not. I never got to see him down there," Maddon said. "I got to see him at Lafayette, eventually had to see him out west in both in Phoenix and at The Pond in Anaheim. I never really made the trek down here. I probably did not have enough gas money at that time."

In Game Three, he's counting on the Rays to rock Moyer and the Phils.