ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Devil Rays manager Larry Rothschild thinks Tampa Bay's losing record might have contributed to an umpire making a wrong call that cost his team a game.

	Larry Rothschild guided the Devil Rays to a 69-92 record this season.

"I think the human element comes in play," Rothschild said Sunday before Tampa Bay's game against the Chicago White Sox. "Umpires are human. I think when you get into pennant races, I think there is a little bit of a difference in getting the benefit of doubt.

"I'm not saying it's something personal or anything else. I don't believe it is. There's a human element there, umpires as well players on the field know which team has a better record. It's almost like a benefit-of-a-doubt thing, and too many times we're on the wrong end of that."

Umpire Rick Reed admitted after the Devil Rays' 5-4 loss to the White Sox on Saturday night that he should not have called a balk on Tampa Bay closer Roberto Hernandez in the 10th inning.

Magglio Ordonez led off the 10th with a single off Hernandez, took second on Mike DiFelice's passed ball, moved to third on the balk and scored on Carlos Lee's sacrifice fly.

"My credibility is on the line every game," Reed said Sunday. "It doesn't make any difference whether I'm doing a first-place team or a last-place team. To be honest with you, I'm not even aware of what the standings are, although I know the White Sox are having a pretty good year and Tampa had won five in a row coming in (to the homestand)."

Reed and Rothschild talked briefly when lineup cards were presented before the game.

"I think it's a statement that a lot of guys, maybe in that position, make," Reed said. "I told him what my feelings were when I reviewed the play (on videotape) and I told him that the last thing I want to do is affect the outcome of a game. He said "I know that. It's forgotten."'

"I enjoy working this club because they're fair and they allow you a chance to umpire. They don't pick on little things. Even though we may have our disagreements, they accept it as professionals and we go on and do our job."

The balk was the first called against Hernandez in his major league career -- a span of 563 games.

"That's what happens when you're in last place," Hernandez said. "When you're in last place, I don't think they give a damn about what we do. This is probably the toughest call I've had to swallow in my career. I could understand if I did it, but to give a team a run like that without even earning it. They blew it."

At 50-65, Tampa Bay has the American League's worst record. Chicago (70-46) has its best.

"We lost the game, so I don't take much solace in that," Rothschild said of Reed's apology. "I understand what he's saying. It takes a lot on his part to admit it, but from my (viewpoint) we lost the game and that played into it."