The Dodgers Are The Rays With Money, And $365 Million Man Mookie Betts Was The Difference

Analytics isn’t going away.

And it shouldn’t. Data is valuable.

But the morning after, it remains baffling that Kevin Cash pulled Blake Snell while the southpaw was shoving in Game 6.

It was a case of numbers over feel, process over everything.

You know the stats by now: Snell had allowed only two baserunners through the first 5 1/3 innings while striking out nine and throwing just 73 pitches.

In the sixth, he got away with a hanging curveball that AJ Pollock popped up and allowed a 91.5 mph single up the middle to Austin Barnes before Cash came out of the dugout, causing Snell to curse in frustration. The four-letter word spoke for most of America.

Mookie Betts, Corey Seager and Justin Turner had gone 0-for-6 with six strikeouts against Snell, but Cash didn’t want his lefty ace to face the top of the order for a third time.

So Nick Anderson, who compiled a 0.55 ERA during the regular season but had allowed runs in his previous six postseason appearances, came in — and struggled once again. Betts doubled. Barnes scored on a wild pitch. Betts beat the throw home with his blazing speed after Seager grounded to first.

Diego Castillo, Tampa’s best high-leverage reliever, was the better option for a pitching change in that moment.

Just like that, 1-0 Rays became 2-1 Dodgers. The final was ultimately 3-1 Dodgers, after Betts added a solo shot. The World Series was ultimately 4-2 Dodgers, with Los Angeles becoming champions for the first time in 32 years.

All season, the Rays lived by analytics and died by analytics. Their process is unlikely to change because of this result. In contrast, Dave Roberts didn’t use struggling closer Kenley Jansen in the final two games of the Fall Classic. Blake Treinen closed out Game 5, and Julio Urias recorded the last seven outs in the clincher.

Tampa’s analytics staff should’ve been next to Cash answering questions about the team’s thought process, though. In this age, the manager isn’t the singular decision-maker. It’s a collaborative effort.

You wanted Cash, a former major-league catcher, to manage with feel, to recognize Snell was dealing, commanding his four plus-pitch arsenal: fastball, curveball, slider and changeup. To, at the very least, ask him how he was feeling before giving him the hook.

But no.

The Rays wouldn’t have advanced as far as they did with the third-lowest payroll in all of baseball without finding edges via their platoon-heavy, bullpen-heavy system. Without doing perfect scouting, drafting and development. It’s who they are, and – because of their ownership’s unwillingness to spend – presumably who they’ll always be.

A timely hit in the first two innings would’ve helped.

Tampa rewarded us with the Full Randy Arozarena Experience — from his 11 homers to his Game 4 fall — Manny Margot’s failed steal of home in Game 5, as well as the Stable of 98. The Rays will be back.

The Dodgers will be, too. LA does scouting, drafting and developing well, too. Its separator is money.

A big-market team with a big-market TV deal and a big-market payroll. Only the Yankees spent more on players than the Dodgers in 2020. These were luxuries Andrew Friedman didn’t have in Tampa.

Kershaw went from No. 7 overall pick to $31 million per year Hall of Famer. Turner went from non-tendered by the Mets to franchise cornerstone at the hot corner. A young core featuring Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager, Walker Buehler and Dustin May is very much in place. Betts put LA over the top.

The Red Sox received payroll flexibility and the Dodgers received a superstar right field whom they will pay $365 million over the next 12 years. The deal has already paid the ultimate dividends.

Flags fly forever.

Betts had an .871 OPS in the playoffs. He hit two homers, took away a few more. He starred in the title-clincher. He was the difference. No need for a platoon when you can plug in a star.

In the immediate future, baseball will have to deal with Turner inexplicably celebrating on the field Tuesday night after learning he had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Billionaire owners will complain about losing money. Free agents not named Trevor Bauer, JT Realmuto and DJ LeMahieu will lose money. Good people, baseball men, will continue to lose jobs. Without a vaccine, baseball will need to figure out how the following campaign will work. And a potential strike after 2021 still looms. Everyone’s least favorite commissioner, Rob Manfred, has his hands full .

Even so, a 2020 season that was disrupted and shortened by the pandemic finished somehow.

The best team spent. The best team won. Money plays.

Elite starting pitching remains the key to winning it all.

The 2017 Astros had Justin Verlander. The 2018 Red Sox had Chris Sale. The 2019 Nationals had Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer. The 2020 Dodgers had Kershaw and Buehler. The most important part is keeping those guys in when they’re rolling.

Cash and the Rays will be sticking to the process. Analytics isn’t going away. Numbers over feel to the end.

A long winter awaits.