Looking for inspiration and a positive spin after watching his team get no-hit for the second time this season, Rays manager Joe Maddon found an unlikely pairing in the annals of history.

The 1917 White Sox were no-hit twice in a two-day stretch, but went on to win the World Series, four games to two over the New York Giants. Maddon displayed an extensive knowledge of that club Saturday afternoon, reeling off stats and names to the media. If he has his way, the 2010 Rays will model themselves as the White Sox did nearly a century ago.

“I’m looking for that positive vine, and there it was. I liked it, actually,” Maddon said. “This [Chicago] team led the league that year, I think, in runs scored and a lot of big departments. But a very interesting group, it’s an interesting stat.

“I looked them up. Quite a team. A hundred wins, 54 losses. [Eddie] Cicotte, [Ray] Schalk — the catcher, he’s a Hall of Famer, Shoeless Joe [Jackson], Eddie Collins.”

The Tampa Bay skipper noted how impressive it was that Cicotte threw 346 2/3 innings and how the team’s top home run hitter, Happy Felsch, had only six long balls, recounting from memory Felsch’s stats:

“[Felsch had] six homers, 102 RBIs, hit .308, the top hitter on the team, the Triple Crown winner of the team, and he was one of the few guys who struck out a couple more times than he walked, which I thought was OK, based on his numbers,” Maddon said.

The manager of that White Sox team was Clarence Henry “Pants” Rowland. Given the way Maddon has insisted on wearing long, blue-striped socks with his uniform lately, he might even be on his way to a similar nickname.

“‘Socks’ Maddon,” he said.

Source: [Tampa Bay Rays]