Tip of the cap to Maddon: Rays are anything but conventional

Anybody catch the move Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon made on Saturday night? Few would have the guts to try this, especially with a team in a pennant race.

Bases loaded, two outs, bottom of the ninth, and a four-run lead. RBI leader Josh Hamilton comes to the plate for the Rangers. Maddon lets Hamilton, a former Rays' top draft pick, drive in one with an intentional walk.

Now Hamilton isn't in the kind of groove he showed at the home run derby in Yankee Stadium last month, but Maddon didn't want to see another shot for the highlight reel. And it worked. Dan Wheeler then struck out Marlon Byrd to end the game, 7-4 Rays.

"I just thought it was prudent," Maddon told MLB.com. "I could very easily see [Hamilton] hitting a grand slam. He's having -- I don't want to say spectacular -- but he's having a pretty good year. I didn't like Wheeler against him, either."

Maddon said that if Milton Bradley had been up next, he wouldn't have ordered the walk. But with Bradley out with a back injury, he made the unconventional move.

According to ESPN's Rob Neyer, it was the fifth time in major-league history that a batter was intentionally walked with the bases loaded, and the first in 10 years. Barry Bonds was the last, in 1998. The others who struck as much fear into an opponent? Napoleon Lajoie in 1901, Mel Ott in 1929 and Bill Nicholson in 1944.

And everybody seems to be waiting for the Rays to fade, but it's not happening so far. Injuries have creeped up on them, but Tampa Bay still leads the Red Sox by 4.5 games, and even if Boston goes on a streak, the Rays would also lead by five in the wild-card race. Keep in mind that the Rays have one of the most rugged September schedules, with only 10 games at home in the final month, and all are against either the Red Sox, Yankees or Twins.

The first-place Angels visit this week in a series that could be disrupted by Tropical Storm Fay, which is likely to become a hurricane later today and is is on a path to strike the Gulf coast of Florida. The Angels and Rays will play Monday evening indoors at Tropicana Field, but games Tuesday and Wednesday automatically would be postponed if there is a hurricane warning, as Tropicana Field is a staging area for hurricane relief. If that happens, the only common off day for both teams is Monday, Sept. 1.