Rays optimistic about playing meaningful games in September

Last year Kevin Cash could do no wrong even when he did.

He was the hometown guy who had never managed a game, but was named to replace Joe Maddon.

Everyone wanted Cash to succeed, especially Tampa Bay Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman, who appointed him.

The honeymoon lasted a season as the Rays hung in though their pitching staff started looking like a Red Cross disaster.

Honeymoons don't last forever and sports fans can be incredibly fickle.

So it makes you wonder if Cash received the kiss of death when Baseball Prospectus projected the Rays to capture the 2016 American League East en route to a 91-win season.

However, Cash lauded the computer's finding and Silverman talked about a season of high hopes in the Rays precamp media session on Thursday.

"I think it's a great computer," Cash declared.

You have to like Cash's moxie. He doesn't scare easy and doesn't mind putting himself on the firing line.

The Rays made some offseason moves, but their fortunes come down to the big H as in Health.

If the franchise can't keep the injury bug from assaulting its pitching staff, that optimism will evaporate.

Silverman offered more than a glimmer of hope when he declared pitchers Matt Moore and Drew Smyly are ready for spring training and Alex Cobb might not be far behind.

"The injury bug really got us, especially when we had three of our

starting pitchers out. We had a real rough time getting through that," Silverman said. "But I look at the club this year and feel like the overall talent level is higher. The belief is there in the clubhouse."

There were even uplifting words for outfielder Desmond Jennings.

He received a clean bill of health after missing nearly all of last season with knee problems and maybe this is the year all his talent manifests itself.

Moore missed nearly all of the 2014 and 15 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery, and Smyly missed most of last year with a tear in his rotator cuff. Both came back at the end of last season and showed promise.

If these guys can stay healthy enough to join Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi and Erasmo Ramirez in the rotation, Cash might be smiling in September. If Cobb, another Tommy John casualty, joins the staff in midseason, the odds improve on the Rays' chances.

And expect lefty Blake Snell to be an integral part of that rotation before the weather turns warm up north.

Silverman said he would've been brought him up at the end of last year if the Rays were in contention.

What the 23-year-old did last year while moving from Single A Charlotte to AA Montgomery and then AAA Durham without missing a beat is one for the books. He pitched 21 scoreless innings for Charlotte, had a 1.57 ERA for Montgomery with 79 strikeouts in 69 innings and compiled a 1.83 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 44 innings for Durham.

The offseason moves left the Rays with an surplus of outfielders and perhaps a logjam at first base, so it's too early for an evaluation. But for this franchise it's always been about pitching and defense.

Silverman said the goal for the cash strapped Rays is the same every year: to play meaningful games in September.

"The guys in the clubhouse, they have the belief, they have the confidence, they have the talent to go out there and compete in the East. We feel good about our chances, as good as we can coming into a season," Silverman said,

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 10:46 PM with the headline "Rays optimistic about playing meaningful games in September ."