Rays wear Blackhawks jerseys

He may not be Joltin' personality-wise, but Joe knows how to make an electrifying fashion statement.

Rays manager Joe Maddon proved he was ahead of his time in hoodie-gate when MLB relented. We've had the Elmer Fudd hat, the Elvis Costello/Kurt Rambis X-ray specs. Somehow it all made him seem more cool.

But now he has committed the Mother of all Faux Pas.

The Rays wore Blackhawks jerseys on their flight to Toronto for Monday's game.

Maddon received a replica of Chicago forward John Madden's uniform.

In a photo, the Rays sported the Blackhawks jerseys, with a sprinkling of Team USA, Bruins, or other alternatives.

Maddon chose a hockey theme to honor Toronto. He grew up in Scranton as a St. Louis Blues fan and planned to go the Blues route himself.

Enter pitching coach and Chicago native Jim Hickey, USA Today explains. Hickey's nephew works in the Blackhawks' ticket department. After a couple of e-mails, a sign went up in the Rays' clubhouse that the Blackhawks would give jerseys to anyone who wanted them.

"Nothing like a little pro-Chicago, anti-Philadelphia sentiment," Hickey said, alluding to the '08 World Series loss to the Phils. "I thought we could share our mutual dislike for Philadelphia sports teams."

So a baseball team on the Gulf Coast is antagonizing Philadelphians because . . . their pitching coach's nephew sells tickets for the Blackhawks, not the Flyers?

Very well thought out, guys.

Alex Rodriguez blasted the 20th grand slam of his career in the seventh inning of Monday's 11-2 home win over the Indians. He moved past Eddie Murray and into third place all-time in grand slams, behind Lou Gehrig (23) and Manny Ramirez (21).

Los Angeles had three homers in a 7-1 pasting of the Royals on Monday to start a 14-game road trip. The Angels have won five of their last six.

Mike Napoli hit a two-run homer and Juan Rivera and Maicer Izturis each had solo shots off Luke Hochevar.