PHILADELPHIA -- Yes, those are ear flaps on the caps that some of the Rays are wearing for the games in Philadelphia.
If you watched Game 3 Saturday, you no doubt saw that manager Joe Maddon was wearing one of the specially-made caps with flaps, although he never had reason to pull the flaps down over his ears. It didn't get that cold Saturday night and it's not that cold yet tonight.
But temperatures could be in the mid-40s by the start of Game 5 on Monday. The Rays are prepared.
"We call it the Elmer Fudd," Rays home clubhouse manager Chris Westmoreland said. "New Era came out with them last year, and we got them in spring training. This is the first time we've used them. I don't' know what the actual name for them is, but we call them the Elmer Fudd.
"I think the players are hoping it'll get cold enough so they can wear them."
A couple of other World Series items of interest:
-- While some people questioned Evan Longoria's decision to try to make a play on Carlos Ruiz's game-winning hit in Game 3, the Rays knew that the ball was unlikely to roll foul. In their World Series scouting report, the Rays read that the way the baselines at Citizens Bank Park play, balls very rarely roll foul.
-- White Sox designated hitter Jim Thome flew to Philadelphia to visit his former teammates and former manager before Game 4. Thome played for the Phillies from 2003-05, and also played for Phils manager Charlie Manuel in Cleveland.
"When I left Cleveland to come here, this is why I came here, to get to the World Series," Thome said. "And now it's almost like I'm living it. I wish we were here playing against them, but it didn't work out that way."
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