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Kevin Cash: AL Manager of the Year

November 11, 2020 By Schmitty Leave a Comment

After being named an AL Manager of the Year finalist for a third consecutive season, the Tampa Bay Rays skipper Kevin Cash finally received the honor many felt he was due on Tuesday. It’s the first time Cash has won the award, and he becomes the second manager to be honored in franchise history.

Cleveland manager, and long time friend, Terry Francona, made the announcement on MLB Network.

https://twitter.com/RaysBaseball/status/1326316989976031232?s=20

That was pretty cool. For me personally, if you’re going to get an award and you’re going to receive it from somebody, I don’t know if you could pick somebody better for everything he’s meant to me and my family. Just a pretty special person.

— Kevin Cash

Cash led the Rays to a 40-20 record in the truncated season — the best mark in the American League — despite starting the 2020 campaign with a 5-7 record. Tampa Bay really turned it on from that point though, going 35-13 across the final 48 games. Their .667 winning percentage was the top mark in franchise history. Still, a slow start wasn’t the only hurdle Cash and the team had to overcome, as the Rays lost a half dozen pitchers for the season due to injury, and they also had six players sidelined during summer camp due to COVID-19.

Cash credited the organization for allowing him and the team to weather the storm.

It’s a really special group, it’s a special place to work. I think it’s our job as staff to do everything we can with what’s being afforded to us.

— Kevin Cash

And while Cash had been pilloried for pulling Blake Snell in Game 6 of the World Series (cough, it was the right decision although he leaned on the wrong hurler in relief of Snell), he guided Tampa Bay to — and through — every level of the postseason; the Rays swept Toronto in the first round of the playoffs before heading to the final games of set in each of the next two series — outlasting the Yankees in the Division Series and the Astros in the Championship Series to win the pennant.

When asked by Tricia Whitaker (Fox Sports Sun) what helped him stay so even-keeled and consistent as a manager, Cash gave a self-deprecating response, which is par for the course.

Well, my daughters were the first to ask ‘Why did you take Snell out in game 6?!’ So when you’re getting it from your daughters, you can handle it from anyone. They keep me grounded.

— Kevin Cash

Cash beat out Charlie Montoyo, who guided the Blue Jays to the postseason, and (now) former White Sox Manager Rick Renteria for the award. Cash told Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) it was great to be on TV with Montoyo for the announcement as Cash says he’s learned a great deal from the team’s former third base coach and bench coach.

The Rays manager received 22 (of 30) first-place votes, five second-place votes, and one third-place vote to finish with a total of 126 points. He was left off two ballots. Renteria finished second with 61 points, while Montoyo finished third with 47 votes. All votes were submitted prior to the start of the postseason.

In south Florida, Don Mattingly of the Marlins won honors in the NL, beating out Jayce Tingler of San Diego and Dave Ross of the Cubs. It is the first time Mattingly has won the Manager of the Year award.

Looking back on the contentious decision to pull Snell in Game 6 of the World Series

November 4, 2020 By Schmitty Leave a Comment

Blake Snell was pulled in favor of Nick Anderson after 5-1/3 innings of shutout ball in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series.

Seven days have passed since Kevin Cash made the contentious decision that many viewed as the death knell of the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series — pulling Blake Snell after 5-1/3 scoreless innings. Hell, even I called it a bad move at the time, and in the heat of the moment. Since then though, many analytics-driven sites like FanGraphs, the Athletic, and Baseball Prospectus have come out generally in favor of Cash’s decision, while other more traditional outlets have turned Cash into a pariah. I’ve heard both sides of the discussion, and I have finally at peace with the decision. However, I will say that Cash did make a costly error: he called upon Nick Anderson instead of Diego Castillo or Ryan Thompson.

As a general rule, the performance of a pitcher across the first few innings predicts nothing as it relates to how he will perform across subsequent frames. True, Snell was dominant against the Dodgers through 5-1/3 innings, however, there was no guarantee that he would carry that forward. As Mitchel Lichtman (MGL Baseball) noted, it improved his expected ERA by 1/4 of a run, give or take. Yet that improvement would be negated the third time through the order.

Snell, like most other pitchers, faces some trouble the third time through the order. Over his career, his wOBA jumps dramatically from .263 the first time through the order to .321, while his SLG tops out at .413. In 2020, his .913 OPS allowed the third time through the order is far worse than what a fresh reliever should have been able to hurl.

(Credit: FanGraphs)
(Credit: FanGraphs)

Furthermore, there is evidence that Snell was tiring. Both Snell’s fastball and curveball velocity dropped precipitously. For reference, a pitcher with a fastball at 94 mph, instead of 96 mph, is about a half-run of ERA worse. And once his velocity started to fall, it was likly to continue until he ran into trouble.

As Eno Sarris (the Athletic) detailed, “His last fastball against Austin Barnes was his slowest fastball of the night, and a full tick below where he’d been sitting so far in the game. And Snell has been, in his career, 23 percent worse than league average when it comes to third-time through the order. If his personal splits in that might not matter (we’re still only talking about 432 regular-season plate appearances in which he’s seen a lineup a third time), the league has established third-time through the order splits that matter. Snell had not finished the sixth inning all season.”

Snell’s fastball to Barnes was two miles per hour off his average during the contest. Craig Edwards (FanGraphs) noted that when Snell’s fastball was at least 95 mph during the regular season, he coaxed swings-and-misses on 13% of pitches. However, when his fastball velocity fell under 95 mph, his whiff rate was just 9%. That was on display during Game 6. Snell got four swings and misses on his seven hardest fastballs of the night, and six on his hardest 13. Yet on the 16 pitches below 96.5 mph? The left-hander induced just two whiffs.

Put simply, Snell did his job quite effectively but he was getting tired and he was set to face the top of the Dodgers’ order for the third time.

Cash was in control of arguably the best bullpen in baseball — the stable as it were — with a good number of arms that had proven fairly successful against Los Angeles up to that point. And staked to a 1-0 lead against a team that hadn’t been shutout all season, the choice was about who would be the most effective hurler to replace Snell. This is where I believe Cash made the wrong decision.

Cash went with Anderson, who held opponents to a .091 BA/.138 OBP/.182 SLG/.320 OPS line during the regular, which was better than even Snell’s first time through the order stat line. However, Anderson had struggled in the postseason.

The vertical movement on his fastball had dropped by almost two inches since the start of 2019, while his heater was down almost two full ticks from 2019 to now. Anderson, who regularly lives at the top of the zone, wasn’t able to get his fastball above hitter’s bats, or with the velocity that would make the pitch effective. As Sarris put it, “All year he’d had less movement and velo, and as that trend worsened, so did his results.”

After the game, Anderson conceded that he didn’t feel great.

Workload, 2020 season, the whole thing is just crazy, honestly. Not having a normal routine, lifting, the season, everything — it’s been crazy. I didn’t feel as good as I would have liked to, but it’s the big leagues; you’re not going to feel good every time. I was still confident. It wasn’t the situation, it wasn’t being in the World Series or anything like that. Not a lot of gas.

— Nick Anderson

Cash probably should have gone with Castillo or Thompson (and his 59% ground ball rate) to get the outs and use Anderson against the softer back end of the order before handing the ball over to Pete Fairbanks. Or, the Rays offense could have scored more than one run, rendering all of this back-and-forth moot.

At the end of the day, an unpopular decision was made and no amount of prognostication will change the outcome. Cash had made similar decisions all season long, and those moves got the Rays to the World Series with the best record in the American League. Should he have been pilloried for being consistent? In my opinion, probably not.

BBWAA Awards finalists announced; Kevin Cash named as an MOY finalist in the AL

November 3, 2020 By Schmitty Leave a Comment

For the third consecutive year, Kevin Cash has been recognized as a finalist for the BBWAA AL Manager of the year.

On Monday, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) announced the three finalists for each of the 2020 BBWAA Awards representing each league for the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, Cy Young, and Most Valuable Player awards. And for the third consecutive year, Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash has been recognized as a finalist for the AL Manager of the year.

The schedule for the awards follows, while the MLB Network will exclusively televise the live announcements of the winners of each award during BBWAA Awards Week from November 9-12.

The complete list of award finalists is below.

AL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year:

  • Cristian Javier (Houston Astros), Kyle Lewis (Seattle Mariners), Luis Robert (Chicago White Sox)

NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year:

  • Alec Bohm (Philadelphia Phillies), Jake Cronenworth (San Diego Padres), Devin Williams (Milwaukee Brewers)

AL Manager of the Year:

  • Kevin Cash (Tampa Bay Rays), Charlie Montoyo (Toronto Blue Jays), Rick Renteria (Chicago White Sox)

NL Manager of the Year:

  • Don Mattingly (Miami Marlins), David Ross (Chicago Cubs), Jayce Tingler (San Diego Padres)

AL Cy Young Award:

  • Shane Bieber (Cleveland Indians), Kenta Maeda (Minnesota Twins), Hyun Jin Ryu (Toronto Blue Jays)

NL Cy Young Award:

  • Trevor Bauer (Cincinnati Reds), Yu Darvish (Chicago Cubs), Jacob deGrom (New York Mets)

AL Most Valuable Player:

  • José Abreu (Chicago White Sox), DJ LeMahieu (New York Yankees), José Ramírez (Cleveland Indians)

NL Most Valuable Player:

  • Mookie Betts (Los Angeles Dodgers), Freddie Freeman (Atlanta Braves), Manny Machado (San Diego Padres)

Cash was nominated for the Manager of the Year award in each of the last two seasons, yet he finished third after leading Tampa Bay to consecutive 90+ win seasons in 2018 (90) and 2019 (96 and a playoff berth). Votes are made by the national BBWAA writers at the end of the regular season.

This season, Cash led the Rays to the best record in the American League, while they won the AL East for just the third time in franchise history. At 40-20 on the season, it was just the second time Tampa Bay had the best mark in the AL in spite of season-ending injuries to six pitchers, and more than a dozen injured list stints overall, not to mention six other players that were shelved during the regular season or summer camp due to COVID-19.

Bloom to be hired by the Red Sox, Cash and Neander earn hardware, Kiermaier nominated for a Gold Glove

October 26, 2019 By Schmitty Leave a Comment

Rays VP of baseball operations Chaim Bloom is “likely” to be hired by the Red Sox.

In a few days, once the World Series comes to pass, the Tampa Bay Rays interesting offseason plans will begin to take shape ⁠— we’ll have more on that starting next week. Unfortunately for a front office tasked with adding to the young core of players which won 96 games in 2019, the Rays will likely be without VP of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, who will be coronated as Boston’s head of baseball operations.

Bloom interviewed for the Red Sox GM opening, according to Chad Jennings and Ken Rosenthal (both of The Athletic). Jennings noted the process “seems to be coming to an end,” while Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) added, “Bloom is “likely” to be hired by the Red Sox.”

Bloom, 36, had been in the mix for several high-profile executive jobs in recent years, most notably he was the runner-up to Brodie Van Wagenen in the Mets search for a new GM last season. The Twins and Phillies were also said to have considered Bloom for a GM role in recent years.

Bloom is a front office veteran with 15+ seasons of experience in the Rays front office. After starting his career as an intern in 2005, Bloom was promoted to the role of VP of baseball operations in 2014, with a “senior” title being attached to that role in 2016 when the club also promoted Erik Neander to GM.

Bloom doesn’t just have intimate knowledge of the Rays front office, he’s added his own ingredients to their secret sauce over the years. He now will bring some of those cutting edge concepts to Boston, one of the Tampa Bay’s fiercest opponents.

Even so, the Rays should be able to absorb his departure.

Based on the talent on the roster, as well as the clubhouse culture that’s been cultivated, there’s more than enough evidence that Tampa Bay will still be a threat in the American League for the foreseeable future. The problem is whether that will be enough with a Boston franchise that’s about to get a serious boost in Bloom.

Kevin Cash and Erik Neander are the recipients of a pair of awards

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‪Congrats are in order for #Rays skipper Kevin Cash, who was named AL manager of the year by Sporting News. Meanwhile, Erik Neander was named MLB executive of the year. The BBWAA awards will be announced in November.‬ #KevinCash #ErikNeander #RaysUp #XRaysSpex

A post shared by X-Rays Spex (@xraysspex) on Oct 23, 2019 at 4:03pm PDT

Speaking of the front office, Kevin Cash was honored as one of Sporting News’ award recipients, naming the Rays skipper American League Manager of the Year. Meanwhile, Erik Neander was named MLB Executive of the Year by the same publication. Cash and Neander were tasked with a roster chock-full of trade acquisitions and overlooked players, and ultimately led Tampa Bay to a 96-win season and an American League Division Series berth. Cash also deserves credit for guiding through an injury-plagued campaign — just two Rays appeared in over 140 games.

The Sporting News Manager of the Year award is not to be confused with the BBWAA awards which receive more coverage and recognition.

Kevin Kiermaier is a finalist for Gold Glove award

On Thursday, centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier was named a finalist for the AL Gold Glove award for American League centerfielders. He will compete against Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mike Trout.

Kiermiaer previously won the Gold Glove twice, in 2015 and 2016.

Having a shot at winning another Gold Glove is one of the best feelings for me from a personal standpoint. I always say I feel like I can control a game from centerfield as well as anyone in the game. Being a nominee gives me a shot at winning and I hope I’m fortunate enough to win a third Gold Glove.

— Kevin Kiermaier

Kiermaier appeared in 125 games this season (117 starts), and made just four errors in 260 chances, while also collecting six assists.

The SABR defensive index (SDI) has Kiermaier ranked highest of the three candidates at 6.3, with Trout at 4.4 and Bradley at -6.2. He also ranks first in defensive runs saved (DRS) with an AL most 13; Trout and Bradley were both -1.

Tampa Bay did not have any other finalists. While deserving, shortstop Willy Adames was overshadowed by Francisco Lindor, Marcus Semien, Andrelton Simmons. Adames was the top-ranked shortstop per the SDI at 9.9, with Semien following at 7.8, and Lindor at 2.9. Simmons was not ranked.

Tampa Bay Rays Spring Training, day four

February 15, 2019 By Schmitty Leave a Comment

Daniel Robertson (pictured), Brandon Lowe, and Kevin Kiermaier arrived at camp on Thursday and Friday (respectively). (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Daniel Robertson, Brandon Lowe, and Kevin Kiermaier arrived in Tampa Bay Rays camp on Thursday and Friday (respectively), as 61 of 66 players are now present. Still to arrive are Ji-Man Choi, Yandy Diaz, Lucius Fox, Tommy Pham, and Jesus Sanchez.

Meanwhile, Ryne Stanek, Austin Pruitt, Oliver Drake, and Ian Gibaut threw their regularly scheduled bullpen sessions on the fourth day of Spring Training.

.@KKiermaier39’s arrived and swinging’ it! #SpringRays pic.twitter.com/aa4pbRiRW8

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) February 15, 2019

Kiermaier, who entered camp even more in shape than usual, was eager to get on the field.

Last year, we look at it, it was a broken year for KK in the fact that it’s not easy to come out of spring training, get banged up, miss time, try to re-start everything. It was like he was playing catchup, swimming uphill the entire time.

— Rays manager Kevin Cash

Last season, Kiermaier tore a right thumb ligament in what was called freak injury — his third in as many years

As Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) wrote, the challenge for the team is keeping him there.

We’re a different team when KK is on the field. When he’s not, we miss him. Obviously, our defense is different. Our offense, when he’s going right, he’s got the ability to really ignite us.

— Kevin Cash

Robertson arrived yesterday but spoke with the media this morning. The utility player was one of the more consistent position players last season before he missed the final two months of 2018 with a thumb injury.

Before his injury, Robertson was arguably Tampa Bay’s most consistent position player last year. The infielder reportedly had no issues or limitations during the offseason and is excited to get back on the field.

Obviously the injury was a bummer but I got a solid foundation and feel I’m even more equipped for this year. Just got to stay healthy.

— Daniel Robertson

Cash will look at Lowe and Ji-Man Choi, both southpaw swingers, to see who will pair best with Yandy Diaz at first base. The Rays skipper expects the infielder/outfielder to be a quick study based on the athleticism he exhibited last season.

We’ve got to give him a little bit of time to work on the little nuances, the footwork and stuff like that.

— Kevin Cash

Because of it, Lowe prepared to play on the right side of the infield (first and second base) as well as both corner outfield spots. He ordered his own first baseman glove, sought advice from Justin Smoak — who shares the same representation — and studied the fundamentals of playing at first.

Lowe, who last played first base in youth baseball, welcomed the opportunity to expand on his expertise.

If it gets me on the field and it gets me at-bats, I’m all for it.

— Brandon Lowe

Chaz Roe, who had been delayed after suffering through a tweaked back, played catch and is expected to start throwing with the other pitchers soon.

No concern whatsoever.


— Kevin Cash
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