Rays manager Kevin Cash delivers threat to Yankees as AL East beef heats up

Joe Rivera

•
Rays manager Kevin Cash delivers threat to Yankees as AL East beef heats up image

The Yankees and Rays have the answer to the decades-old question, "Where's the beef?"

Monday night's 5-3 Yankees win over the Rays was more than your typical division matchup, with tempers flaring once again between those scrappy underdog Yankees and the division-leading, powerhouse Rays.

It started in the first when starter Masahiro Tanaka plunked Joey Wendle with two outs, which was, apparently, for some reason, deemed intentional by media and fans.

FAGAN: Red Sox "reset" tweet showcases fundemental flaw in baseball

A 95 mph fastball to the back seems pretty out of the ordinary for Tanaka, who usually has good control on the mound. But the reasoning behind the plunking is still unknown. It didn't end there, though.

In the ninth, Aroldis Chapman came dangerously close to nailing Michael Brosseau in the helmet with a 100-plus mph fastball, which, yeah, seems a little convenient for even the typically wild Chapman.

Intentional or not, the Rays are acting like it all was, with manager Kevin Cash delivering a not-so-veiled threat after the game.

"It was mishandled by the Yankees, certainly the pitcher on the mound, it was mishandled by the umpires," Cash said. "They hit Joey Wendle in the first inning; it was clear as day. Chapman comes in, he throws three different balls up and in. I get it, they don't like being thrown up and in, but enough's enough."

"We're talking about a 100 mph fastball over a young man's head. It just makes no sense. It's poor judgement, poor coaching, it's just poor teaching, what they're doing and what they're allowing to do. The chirping from the dugout. I mean, somebody would have to tell me — go pull the numbers, tell me who's hit who more, but I can assure you, other than three years ago, there hasn't been one pitch thrown with intent from any of our guys — period. Somebody's gotta be accountable.

"And the last thing I'll say on it is I got a whole damn stable full of guys who throw 98 miles an hour. Period."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone's response to Cash's comments was his typical California cool.

"That's pretty scary comments," Boone said. "I don't think that's right at all. But I'm not gonna get into it right now."

Really, the last thing baseball needs right now is any kind of exasperated situation brewing between both teams that results in some kind of brawl, so it would surprise no one if someone caught a suspension after the beanings (and potential attempted beanings) and comments.

That said, this is all very entertaining in a bad-action-movie kind of way, because the Rays play the perfect antithesis to the Yankees in the AL East: scrappy underdog bunch with a low payroll, leading the AL East by 3 1/2 games, while the Yankees are the powerful, decorated, big-money juggernaut still struggling to find footing in the division. It's also not the first time the Rays have taken issue with an AL East rival, with dust ups with the Red Sox and Blue Jays in recent years.

Both squads meet again Wednesday night. The suspense is terrible. I hope it'll last.

Joe Rivera

Joe Rivera Photo

Joe Rivera is in his seventh year with The Sporting News, handling NFL, MLB and some things pro wrestling. A proud-ish Rutgers University graduate, Rivera combines a new-school flair with an old-school soul. He loves dingers, wrestling, comic books, movies, music and really bad puns. He is also a card-carrying BBWAA member and teaches Multimedia Sports Reporting at his alma mater.

You can find him and tweet him @JoeRiveraSN, if you're into that sort of thing.