The World Series didn’t end the way the Tampa Bay Rays would have liked, and the decision manager Kevin Cash made to pull pitcher Blake Snell early against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 created a buzz on social media.
It also had Giants’ broadcaster Mike Krukow pretty upset.
“With one out, a guy gets a base hit, Austin Barnes the ninth hitter, here comes Kevin Cash walking out and I went ‘No, he’s not going to do this,'” Krukow said Thursday on KNBR. “He goes out there and he calls for the bullpen. I got up from my chair, I walked outside, I was so pissed off. I came back in about five minutes later and looked at my wife Jennifer and said ‘Sweetheart, I’m rooting for the National League. I want this to end. I can’t stomach this anymore.’
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In fact, Krukow, who has been associated with the Giants for decades, was so upset that he was willing to cheer on the Dodgers ... the Dodgers. That's how crappy of a decision this was to him.
“When a guy is commanding a game like Snell is commanding a game. There is not one stat, there is not one spreadsheet, that can support the decision to take that man out of a ballgame. And when Cash went to the bullpen, I thought to myself ‘You’re an idiot.'”
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So, what had happened was … Snell was cruising in Game 6: He had nine strikeouts and allowed just one hit through five innings. The Rays looked in command. Once Snell gave up a Cody Bellinger line-drive single to center field, Cash removed Snell.
Snell had thrown only 73 pitches up to that point, and he wasn’t happy about the removal.
It appeared Krukow wasn’t either.
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“How do you turn your back on what you’re seeing? To me, it’s a manager that doesn’t have the balls to do what should be done. To let that guy have it.”
The Dodgers, of course, would go on to win the game 3-1 to claim the championship, while the Rays’ decision still has many of us, Krukow included, in disbelief.