ST. PETERSBURG -- As the Rays prepared to party inside the visitors' clubhouse at Yankee Stadium after finishing an American League Division Series sweep late Wednesday night, manager Kevin Cash again used the tomahawk steak that Yandy Díaz and others devoured after they clinched a spot in the postseason last month as a reference for what’s still ahead of them.
Then, the skipper set off the celebration with one more part of their plan.
“We’ve got two more bites -- two more bites on the bone!” Cash told his team. “Nobody sleeps!”
As mentally and physically draining as every postseason game may feel, and as late as Tampa Bay may have reveled into the New York night after eliminating the Yankees, the Rays actually are getting plenty of rest heading into the AL Championship Series.
The team flew back home on Thursday afternoon and took the rest of the day off. The Rays had a full pregame-type workout on Friday afternoon at Tropicana Field. They’ll play an intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday, hours before their ALCS opponent even takes the field in Cleveland for a winner-take-all Game 5. Then, Tampa Bay can go through another standard workout on Sunday ahead of Monday night’s Game 1 at the Trop.
The Rays earned the extra time down by sweeping the Yankees, much like they earned the right to rest during the AL Wild Card Series round by winning the AL East. Combine that with the off-days built into this year’s ALDS schedule, and they will actually have nearly four times as many days off (11) as gamedays (three) in the two weeks between their regular-season finale in Philadelphia on Sept. 27 and ALCS Game 1.
After a 162-game marathon, you won’t hear them complaining about it.
“I think it's a privilege. I feel like any time that you're able to catch up on your rest, it's a long regular season to begin with, and then these postseason games can get long and exhausting,” Cash said during a Zoom call on Friday from The Trop. “I think 'exhausting' is a good word. One to nine innings, everything is challenging to get through those games, and there's a lot of mental stress, physical stress that goes in[to it]. They get the rest, but they can turn it back on when needed.”
And the Rays know it’s key to capitalize on their days off rather than kick their feet up and get too comfortable. Weird stuff happens in October. The Rangers seemed like they were running on fumes when they rolled into The Trop for the AL Wild Card Series in 2023, for example, then dominated that series on their way to a championship.
“At the end of the day, we're just going to focus on us and be in the moment,” outfielder Jonny DeLuca said.
Theoretically, though, this should benefit the Rays. They can get their rotation in order and don’t have to use their starters on four days’ rest, much less short rest. They can ease their position players back into action before a best-of-seven series with only two scheduled off-days (after Games 2 and 5).
And they can create at-bats for the relievers who want to stay sharp after only three of them -- not counting starters Ian Seymour and Griffin Jax, who worked out of the bullpen -- took the mound in the ALDS: closer Bryan Baker (three innings in three games), lefty Cam Booser (three outs in two games) and right-hander Kevin Kelly (one out in Game 3).
“It's all about balancing the two, like throwing too much or having too much time off. I think we've done a good job with these [days] like today, coming in on an 'off-day,’” Kelly said. “But at the same time, it has been good to get a little bit of downtime in between. You see how the other teams have been using their bullpens, and it can add up. So the usage has been good.”
Around the horn
• Cash said the Rays “have some pretty good ideas” for their ALCS pitching plan, but they won’t finalize anything until their matchup is set late Saturday night. Drew Rasmussen is in line to start Game 1, as he did in the ALDS, but even that is not yet official.
“We’ve got a lot of conversations to talk through,” Cash said.
• One thing Cash did say, after their five starters played such a pivotal role throughout the ALDS: “I would feel confident that we’re going to continue to lean heavily on those guys.”
• Clubs can reset their roster between postseason series. The Rays haven’t yet determined what they will do with their ALCS roster, but Cash noted he would “expect it to be very similar” to their ALDS squad.