UPDATE, 2:20: Manager Joe Maddon said that is indeed the slogan, though he'd prefer to say '09 is better than '08 because he doesn't like to actually use the word great, or greater. But since there was no symbol for better than, he had to go with greater than.
"Of course I wanted to re-emphasize that 9 will always equal 8 in our math, but furthermore, this year, '09 is going the be greater than '08,'' he said. "And we want it to be hopefully better by at least three games, which we missed last year. Of course we did wonderfully last year and of course it was all good, but I keep talking about building this new road and you just can't rely on 9 = 8 all the time. You have to better than we were in some areas last year.
"I'm not talking about being great. Although that phrase is greater than, and you look at the greater than sign, I'd prefer it equalled "better than" as opposed to "greater than." ... I just want us to understand that in order to build this new road we have to be better than we were last year. I did say “greater than,” but then I reduced it to “better than, and eventually I would just like to get that (the > symbol) working for us, just the symbol, "better than." There’s no “better than” symbol. I was thinking of creating my own symbol with the “greater than” sign maybe with a circle around it, equaling better than. Just a new Rays culture kind of symbol , but I didn’t want to get too nuts, so I just chose to go this way.’’
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According to a couple players coming off the field today, here's manager Joe Maddon's new motivational slogan, at least unofficially: '09 is greater than '08.
And in shorthand, we're guessing: '09 > '08.
More, as they say, when it becomes official.
Joe Maddon, Johnny Damon and Evan Longoria are only some of the Rays you'll meet through our new video interview series. Don't see your favorite player yet? Check back often, as we'll add to the series as the season progresses.
