There might not be a single person on the planet who would blame Blake Snell if he got up to the podium Tuesday night and took his manager to the woodshed.
But he didn’t, and his restraint was impressive.
Snell was rolling during Game 6 of the World Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers. He took a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning, and after recording an out, the southpaw allowed a single to Austin Barnes.
Although it was only the second hit allowed by Snell — who had punched out nine over 5 1/3 innings — Rays manager Kevin Cash took out Snell so that he wouldn’t face the top of the Dodgers’ order again (even though they were 0-for-6 with six strikeouts against him in the game).
Of course, the decision backfired, as reliever Nick Anderson allowed a pair of runs that inning. A Mookie Betts solo shot in the eighth added some insurance, and the Dodgers won 3-1 to secure the World Series.
Somehow, Snell expressed disappointment without lambasting his manager.
“I am definitely disappointed and upset,” Snell said, via ESPN. “I just want the ball. I felt good. I did everything I could to prove my case to stay out there, and then for us to lose, it sucks. I want to win, and I want to win the World Series, and for us to lose, it just sucks.
“I am not going to question him. He’s a helluva manager, so I am not going to question him. And I can only look forward to what I am going to accomplish this offseason. But we came up short, and the only thing I can focus on is what I can be better at next year.”
Snell was one of very few Rays players who didn’t urinate down their leg in the World Series. So that was a pretty classy response from a guy who twice got undeservedly hosed by his manager this postseason.
