Orestes Destrade Q&A: Cash's style, rebounding from injuries will determine Rays' success
Change. Injuries. New plans needed on the fly.
All were part of the Tampa Bay Rays' spring, and doesn't it feel like it's beyond time for Opening Day? After months of trying to figure out what the future holds, the moment for discovery has arrived. See ya, speculation.
Thank goodness.
There are so many story lines to follow as the Rays approach their 162-game marathon. There's Kevin Cash's acclimation as manager. There's tracking a rotation that must survive without key faces in the opening weeks. There's a lineup that looks much different than last year's version during an era now gone.
Let's learn about these new Rays, shall we?
Recently, Sun Sports analyst Orestes Destrade gave his thoughts on the Rays as they approach their opener against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday at Tropicana Field.
FOX SPORTS FLORIDA: Heading into Opening Day, what are you initial impressions of Cash as the Rays' new manager?
DESTRADE: "I talked to him a couple times during spring. Pretty pleased as to the way they're running camp, the protocols. It's very on point. Spring training can be crazy. You're trying to get everybody in and your pitchers right and get some guys looks at the plate that maybe are trying to make the team, and then there's the veterans. I know he's getting a lot of help from the likes of a former manager like Charlie Montoyo and the veteran Tom Foley, and obviously, the pitching coach, Jim Hickey. But I think he's a doing a real comfortable, collected type of approach and staying very positive. His sound bites are on point. The real test will be the regular season and the challenges thereof, but spring training still is part of the test. And so far, so good."
FSF: Cash has faced some unexpected tests with injuries to Alex Cobb (right forearm tendinitis), Drew Smyly (left shoulder tendinitis) and Alex Colome (pneumonia). How will those developments affect the Rays in the season's opening weeks?
DESTRADE: "Of the 30 major-league teams, surprisingly, the biggest opponent is major injury and an inconsistent roster of the main guys that you expect to be there, especially pitching. So health is totally wealth, man, more so than even depth. ... I think (bad) health can be so detrimental. We saw it last April. We saw it in 2012, when it was really bad for the Rays with multiple key guys going down. And this year, what I'm hoping -- and I'm sure he is and the organization is -- they were bumps in the road. Because when you really look at it, you're talking about Cobb feeling pretty good, and it's just a little tendinitis. ... Health is a major player. I think they've handled it properly. ... So far, we're talking about minor setbacks, and if they can stay minor, this is OK."
FSF: What do you think of this new-look lineup, and what do you look forward to the most with this group?
DESTRADE: "You're still going to get some flexibility and changes in the lineup, but I think it's going to be more around the realm of an average team's usage of a lineup, where they have 80 different lineups in a season as opposed to the average of (those within) Joe Maddon's tenure, which was 137. I looked it up. He averaged 137 different lineups in a 162-game season. That's dramatic, man. So there are so many good things I could say about Joe that outweigh that, but that was definitely one of the things that I think was way overdone and I think at times collared the offense a little bit. So what I expect is a consistent, let's say, 3-4-5-6 and some flexibility at the 1-2, 7-8-9 or something thereabouts. But a fairly consistent 3 through 6 would be great. And again, if they stay healthy, then all of the sudden you have an offense that if you look at it, the three starting outfielders can flat-out run. Two of them can really fly and are capable of 40 stolen bases each in (Desmond) Jennings and (Kevin) Kiermaier. So right off the bat, you have two guys that can immediately surpass your total stolen bases of last year of 63. With two guys. So that would be outstanding. Then you've got another guy who could probably steal 15 to 20 in Souza.
"You have what I call are overlapping offensive players, a guy like Jennings, Souza, (Asdrubal) Cabrera are overlapping guys that run the bases well and can score a lot of runs and can be table setters. They can also be RBI guys, guys that can each hit 10 to 15 to 20 home runs and drive in 60 to 70 runs. Man, there's some serious damage going on. And not to mention the real guys that you count on: (James) Loney, (Evan) Longoria. (John) Jaso I think is going to be a very interesting bat. I'm not expecting (Rene) Rivera to hit 15 jacks, but dude, if he goes out and hits 10 and then catches the way he can catch and hits close to .250, then 'Wow,' that's great for us. ... You've got an offense now that has greater speed, greater athleticism and potentially, surprisingly, more overall pop. I'm looking to them to try to score."
FSF: Last year, Kiermaier was an unknown who came on strong to make an impression. Do you see anyone with that kind of potential this season?
DESTRADE: "I really feel it could be Nick Franklin. I really do. I think the kid, Franklin, is really primed and set up for a come-out-type thing, especially because they're going to protect him. And by that I mean, they're not going to have him out there starting against some nasty lefties, of which there are several in Major League Baseball. So you're going to sit him against those guys, and you'll put in a Logan Forsythe, who I think is going to get more steady playing time because of the lefty-righty thing. Last year, Joe had him in very inconsistently."
FSF: With all the adjustments necessary within the rotation to start the season, how do you envision April going for the Rays?
DESTRADE: "We're going to go, I think, as the bullpen goes. ... Think about it, inevitably, you're going to have a lot of five (innings) and done type of games (from the starters), especially if you're going with (Matt) Andriese and (Erasmo) Ramirez. So we're going to go as far as the bullpen goes, and then we've got to hope that speed and diversity and athleticism, that has to show from April 6. I mean, run, run, run, run, run. Press, press, press, press, press. ... I'm not counting on dramatic, great starting pitching right off the bat. But that's OK, because I'm counting on that later on."
You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.
