Presidential dinner for Tampa Bay Rays manager Maddon
Joe Maddon's Sunday night dinner at the White House went well.
Maddon and his wife, Jaye, joined President and Laura Bush, and six other "baseball" couples, including the Dustin Pedroias and Brad Lidges, for about 2 1/2 hours of eating, touring the Oval Office and talking baseball.
"Everyone had a really good time,'' Maddon said. "And they make you feel very comfortable.''
Maddon said President Bush, a former owner of the Texas Rangers, was very impressed with the Rays, lauding their overall athleticism and talent, and noting that they had a lot of high draft picks in assembling their roster.
"He's a baseball fan, and he likes our team,'' Maddon said. "I invited him anytime to come see us, and to come address the group, so that's out there.''
The meal included shrimp (with white wine), beef medallions (with red wine) and what Maddon described as "really good" chocolate dessert. "It was just really well done,'' he said.
Other guests included Ryan Dempster, Buck Showalter, Aaron Boone, Lance Berkman and columnist George Will.
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