Several veteran free agents have signed with the Rays this offseason and the common thread among several of them was that they were . [Adam Kennedy] could have gone with a team that had some uncertainty at second base, or one that trained close to his California home. But it was the Rays who were at the top of his list, even though they meet neither of those criteria…The reason? Joe Maddon…”One hundred percent,” Kennedy said. “It was pretty much all of it. Knowing how he goes about it and the relationship we’ve had, hopefully he was up for it, and they were.” Marc Lancaster’s piece goes on to mention that Pat Burrell was also drawn to the Rays by Maddon. Pat Burrell, a career National Leaguer,Browns finale, like season, just plain sad The Chronicle-Telegram - Lorain Countys leading news sou, had no firsthand knowledge of Maddon when he began exploring potential landing spots as a free agent this winter,cheap 49ers jerseys. But the more he asked around, the more he found everyone – “Everyone,julio jones jersey,The Hangover Dioner Navarro Should Stop Swinging From Both Sides Rays Index,” Burrell emphasized – who had dealt with Maddon recommending him,Cheap Colin Kaepernick Jersey. It was not that long ago that the Rays would have needed to outbid other teams for free agents, which just assured that they would not sign any free agents of importance. Even Bob Dylan couldn’t have seen times achangin’ this much. There are those that will contend that a baseball manager is the least important leadership position in sports, arguing that a team’ manager has little affect on the outcome of a game. For those people, we counter with exhibit A: Joe Maddon. Kennedy Made Positive Move [] DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…