Royals' Cadahia has Major League first

ST. PETERSBURG -- Bench coach Chino Cadahia was seated in the visitors' dugout at Tropicana Field, talking to reporters about managing the Royals against the Rays on Thursday. He got the assignment because manager Ned Yost was in Georgia for his daughter's wedding.

Cadahia had managed in the Minor Leagues and in Puerto Rico and had taken over for Bobby Cox from 2007-10 in Atlanta whenever Cox was ejected from a game, which happened rather frequently. But Cadahia had never managed a big league game from the first pitch.

"This is my first," Cadahia said before the game. "I got a chance to manage in a few games with Bobby, but I never started one."

What if Cadahia were to be ejected in this game? Who would manage then?

"Well, we'll have a coin flip," Cadahia said. "It'll either be George or..."

"Get thrown out!" came a voice from the dugout rail. "Get thrown out!"

Yes, it was that George -- George Brett, the Royals' interim hitting coach.

Brett would be the acting bench coach Thursday.

"I've never been thrown out of a Major League game," Cadahia said. "So I don't expect that to happen today, but you never know."