ARLINGTON, Texas—Both B.J. Upton and Joe Maddon characterized their sitdown this afternoon as a positive one, and it seems Upton fully accepts what is expected of him.

The question is when he’ll next get a chance to put it into action. Maddon said before tonight’s game that he still hasn’t decided whether to start Upton tomorrow and indeed is weighing whether Upton should play at all tonight, should the need arise.

“We’ll see how the game plays out,” he said. “I mean, injuries occur, things happen, extra innings...”

When the idea of punishing the entire team by ruling out playing Upton was raised, Maddon said he had thought about that but still wasn’t sure what he would do.

“This is about winning, and if it comes down to winning a game, I’ve got to make a good judgment there also,” said Maddon.

Make no mistake here—personality-wise, Upton doesn’t have much in common with guys like Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes. Maddon went out of his way to express how much he thinks of Upton as a person and I believe he was sincere. I also believe that’s why Upton’s continued difficulty following this particular rule is so troubling. I think he’s a pretty conscientious guy and he does care. But he has reached the zero-tolerance point when it comes to hustle, obviously.

“Listen, I like the guy a lot,” said Maddon. “B.J.’s a wonderful young man, he’s going to be a superstar in this league, he’s a big part of our organization now and in the future. But, you have to draw the line at some point just to make sure that all the right things do occur in the years to come.

“He can be the catalyst in regard to us getting to the playoffs, he can be a catalyst for us during the playoffs, and I want him to understand that. But we have to work through some moments, some issues right now to get to that point. He listened very well, I listened to him, and we’re going to move it along.”

The bottom line from both parties was that Maddon wasn’t mad at Upton as much as he was disappointed in him. Maddon likened it to a parent’s feeling when a child doesn’t follow the agreed-upon rules, such as being home before curfew.

As they move forward from this, the onus obviously is on Upton to get it in gear, and he gets that.

“Definitely, I understand where they’re coming from,” said Upton. “It’s just something that I’ve got to pay extra attention to.”