It’ll Be a Devil of a Line

Tampa Bay officials might want to set up a receiving line near the Tropicana Field cage during batting practice tonight to control all the congestion around Devil Rays Manager Joe Maddon, the former Angels bench coach.

“There’s going to be a long line of people waiting to shake his hand and give him a hug,” said second baseman Adam Kennedy of the Angels, who begin a three-game series tonight against the Devil Rays at St. Petersburg, Fla. “We’re all pretty excited to see him.”

That excitement is a reflection of Maddon’s popularity in Anaheim, where he spent 31 years in the organization, the last 10 as bench coach, before landing his first big league managing job in November. As is the case with most popular and respected coaches, Maddon has been difficult to replace.

“Joe’s the best,” said Ron Roenicke, who moved to bench coach after six years as the Angels’ third base coach. “Not just because of his computer and organizational skills, but all the other stuff. Players gravitate toward him because he knows they care about him, so for him to get what we want from that player is very easy....

“Joe is very knowledgeable, but he also has great common sense, and that allows him to get to players I might not be able to get to. I don’t know if people realize how important that is.... There’s no way to replace that. It’s going to take me a little while to get to where I’m on top of everything I should be.”

With Roenicke and new third base coach Dino Ebel, Manager Mike Scioscia says he believes he has filled Maddon’s void as far as preparation and game strategy. But it’s the more subtle areas, such as clubhouse chemistry and the bench coach’s role as conduit between players and manager, where Maddon may have had the most impact.

It’s not that Maddon would have been able to head off the May 18 dugout confrontation involving Kennedy and Chone Figgins or the postgame confrontation that night involving Figgins and Brendan Donnelly -- and the Darin Erstad tirade that followed.

“But he has a knack for knowing when guys are down and need to be picked up, when guys are on edge a bit,” Roenicke said of Maddon. “Maybe a conversation would have taken place before that, or after it to prevent it from happening again.”

Said Tim Salmon, who spent all but two of his 14 big league seasons with Maddon: “Joe was always a very positive person. Not that we don’t have that here, but he was able to keep things light, upbeat.”

Salmon says it will be interesting facing the Devil Rays because “every move they make over there, it will be like, ‘That’s Joe, what is he thinking?’ Or, ‘How is he going to be able to exploit me?’ ”

As strange as it will be for the Angels to see Maddon in a Devil Rays uniform, seeing the Angels in the opposite dugout will be just as odd for Maddon.

“It’s going to be extremely strange seeing that uniform on the other side,” Maddon said. “I’m sure after the first night I’ll be fine. I think after the first game it will settle down mentally for me. But that first night is going to be kind of awkward.”

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Reliever J.C. Romero, possessor of an 8.69 earned-run average, met for 30 minutes Sunday with Scioscia, pitching coach Bud Black, catchers Jose Molina and Mike Napoli, bullpen coach Orlando Mercado and bullpen catcher Steve Soliz.

“We just talked about things they see, things I should do,” Romero said. “Everything was positive. That’s what I like about this team; no matter how much you’re struggling, they keep a positive attitude, and that helps, as a player.”

Asked to expand on the advice he was given, Romero said, “Be aggressive, work the counts, get ahead of hitters ... just common sense, basic stuff.”