Regarding the posts on Upton not hustling and his punishment

Let me preface this by saying that I am a fan of the Rays.  Not just the team as a whole, but the individuals that make up the team.  I support each player, and I want to see each player perform well and to the best of their ability.  I want them to be successful in all that they do on the field because their individual successes can lead to the team's success.  If a player is not successful, I'm not the guy who is going to come unglued and spew negative comments aimed at him.  I'm not above being pissed at poor performance, but constantly being negative towards specific players or the manager is pointless, unless of course you enjoy the negativity.  I see people at games do this all the time, and I just don't get it.  Why do they even bother going to the games if all they end up doing is getting pissed off at every mistake a player makes?  If a guy repeatedly fails in one fashion or another, the team will deal with him accordingly.  They don't need or care for the fans input.  That being said, I have a couple of questions and some commentary on the recent posts regarding BJ specifically.  I'm not foolish enough to think I'm going to change anyone's mind regarding Maddon's decisions regarding BJ or the double standard or BJ's performance, but maybe some will at least think objectively about this post.

Does anyone recall if the media has questioned Maddon on the widely held opinion that he has a double standard by punishing Upton while "other players do it too without reprimand"?  If so, what was Maddon's response?

My commentary: This not only applies to baseball, but life in general.  If you, the player, have been spoken to along with your teammates by the manager about the expectation to ALWAYS give every play your best effort, you should expect some sort of reprimand when you do not give your best effort.  There is no gray area.  If you screw up, you should be prepared to suffer the consequences, whatever they may be.  The first action taken by the manager is most likely a warning given in private.  As grown men being paid to do a job, these players should not have to be told twice what the rules are, but nevertheless, sometimes they need to be reminded when they don't follow them.  After the first occurrence, the manager has to increase the punishment to deter it from happening again.  Every manager is different in how they handle disciplining players, and I don't believe we know how many times Maddon warns a player in private before resorting to calling out a player in front of the team or in public during a game.  Upton has obviously made it to the being-called-out-in-public stage.  However many times it took breaking the "hustle rule" to get to that point, I don't know.  Once a player reaches this stage, the manager is likely hoping that the player will be embarrassed to the point that he will think twice before repeating the behavior that caused him to be called out in public.  He hopes it will drive home the point that if you don't follow the rules of the team, you will not get playing time.  He hopes that the player will have enough pride in what he does to want to do better and put an end to the mistakes because he wants to play and he wants to be there for his teammates.  

With that said, Upton knows what is expected of him, and it's now Upton's responsibilty to correct his mistakes the best he can, starting with running hard to first every time because that is what his manager wants him to do.  It's not about what other players do and whether or not they get punished the same or not for breaking a team rule.  Each player is responsible for what he does and he should not worry about what goes on between other players and the manager.  For all we know, other players have been spoken to behind closed doors about infractions, and their rule-breaking may have not gotten to the point of public reprimand.  If an obvious double standard is present, it won't go on for long.  It will be noticed by the players, and they should deal with it by not taking advantage of it themselves(read:stop breaking the rule) out of respect for the player(s) being hurt by it, or they should collectively take the issue to the manager, though the latter is less likely going to happen if the players aren't comfortable doing so.

From what I've seen of Upton in particular, he is a stand-up guy who plays the game very well at this stage of his career, but he just needs some polish.  His defense is awesome even though this is his first full season as an outfielder.  Though his offense may not be pleasing to some or many, he is not a bad hitter. He performs his job in front of tens of  thousands of people each night and millions of people each year.  He's about to turn 24.  He seems to be handling the pressure of being a major leaguer and having the spotlight on his every move quite well.  He doesn't have the luxury of making mistakes on a small scale as most all of us who do not perform our jobs in the public spotlight.  He doesn't get rattled.  He is a professional. 

To all those who feel the need to prolong the conversation of the double standard or BJ being singled out, let it go.  Whatever happens to BJ is a direct result of his actions.  He broke Maddon's golden rule at least twice after being warned.