The Best 3-8 Team In Baseball?

To gain a new perspective on the Reds' 3-8 start.

Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon was asked about slow starts and how to deal with them.

The Rays started the 2011 season 0-6.

Maddon bought the best whiskey, Charbay from the Napa Valley.

"We left Tropicana Field to go on the road.  I bought some great whiskey, not good whiskey, great whiskey," Maddon said. "I bought Charbay at the airport.  I took it on the plane.  We had a toast to the best 0-6 team in the history of baseball."

The Rays beat the White Sox the next day. Then lost two in a row before a five game winning streak settled things down enroute to a 91-71 record and a playoff appearance.

"You take one game at a time, man," Maddon said.  "It is Baseball Psych 101. It is. It is all about the moment. You don't want to analyze yourself or make crazy moves just because you had a bad start.  You will only hurt yourself. It would happen at some point anyway but if you're in a 4-8 stretch and you record is 40-23 you wouldn't feel it."

Maddon has a connection with Reds' first-year manager Bryan Price.  When Maddon managed Midland in the Texas league in 1985 and 1986, Price was one of his pitchers in the Texas organization.

"The only talks I had with him was the third or fourth inning on his second trip to the mound to take me out," Price said.  "I pitched my way back to the California League.  We didn't have a very good team but what I remember about him is that he always came to the park in a good mood and was always positive."

Maddon remembers Price.

"He was very intelligent," Maddon said. "You could tell even at that age that he would be in the game in some form for a long time."

Maddon likes the "vibe" in Cincinnati.

"Just be patient," Maddon advises Reds' fans. "I like this team. Once Hamilton gets his feet on the ground, he will be an absolute pain in the butt. You have a nice pitching staff."