Upton benching will extend until Saturday

B.J. Upton was pulled off the field and removed from Friday's game for not hustling to first base on a double-play grounder, and will be benched for at least Saturday's game as well.

Manager Joe Maddon said he planned to talk to Upton on Saturday, after deciding he was too upset Friday night and might say something he didn't want to.

What Maddon did say was clear enough, especially since had benched Upton on Aug. 6 for a similar infraction: "I can’t make it any more plain, simple, obvious, black and white. There are no gray areas. I can’t have Aki (Iwamura) run like he is and (Carlos) Pena and Cliff (Floyd), who has two bad knees, etc., and permit that. I can’t permit it.”

Upton, who said he didn’t hustle because he mistakenly thought there were two outs, didn’t take kindly to how he was removed from the game.

“Obviously it stung a little bit, especially like that,” he said. “There ain’t much I can say about it. He made the move when he wanted to make the move.”

The incident marred a magnificent pitching performance by RHP Matt Garza in the Rays 7-0 win.

“Joe has my full support,” executive vice president Andrew Friedman said. “I’m confident that the situation will be taken care of and we’ll continue to handle it internally. The shame of this is that the emphasis of the night should be on the game Matt pitched.”

While Maddon planned to talk, Upton said there was no need to: “It’s an understanding. It’s understood. Hopefully it’s over with and this is the last time we have to deal with it.”

Upton said he didn’t feel he was being singled out but that he would obviously have to run out every ball from now on.

“I’m going to have to, or he’s going to keep doing it and making me the example,” Upton said. “So I guess I can’t let him make me the example anymore.”

Comments

[Ron]

Upton didn't like the way Maddon pulled him from the game? He's lucky someone Pinella or Leyland is not his manager.If so, Upton would've spent the rest of the game trying to remove a shoe out of his a**!!

[Gary]

Not hustling, forgetting how many outs there are,missing 2nd base on the way back to first. This is a pattern that must stop with BJ and now!

[Rays News]

Upton keeps saying he is sorry but keeps doing the same thing , I over him

[RaysWin]

Anybody else notice that they didn't/wouldn't show a replay of BJ running down the line on TV? They kept talking about it, but didn't show it again. Odd....

this is absolutely rediculous.we won 7-0. big deal

[Mark]

Joe Maddon is the greatest skipper we've ever had. he knows how to keep our players in line and punishes the bad guys when they screw up. he keeping everyone in order and making everyone not give up

[MD]

& if he didn't know how many outs there were, that's not very good either. Ben can hit from both sides of the plate & wants to hustle.

[Ray]

Hopefully this is the last time we have to talk about this and he learned a lesson. Hope the whole team learned a lesson from it as well.

Joe's doing the right thing, you bust it out or you sit, doesn't matter who it is. BJ's just needs to grow up and don't think he's God's gift to baseball players. Like he probably has been his entire life. This is the Majors, not little-league.

[9equals8.com]

Honestly, this is getting a little ridiculous. I like BJ Upton a lot, but he's just got to understand how things work (run out EVERY SINGLE BALL YOU HIT). Does he not value the respect of his team mates? Because if you watch the rest of the team, everyone is busting it on every play except BJ. And, he almost cost Matt Garza a no-hitter because he certainly would have made that catch that Justin did not make. The Rays are winning because of team effort and BJ needs to wake up and get with the program. I want to see BJ hustle HARDER than his team mates to make this right. Come on BJ. We are all pulling for you to get this together. Your team needs you!