Sure, I still might be clinging on to the tiniest sliver of a grudge over the last game of the World Series. If you watched the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, you too might have been baffled by the fact that Blake Snell, the pitcher for the Rays, was prematurely taken out of the game at the bottom of the sixth inning. The Rays’ manager, Kevin Cash, pulled the starting left-handed pitcher after the Dodgers hit a mere two balls off of him. At this point, the Rays were still up 1-0 and Snell had thrown 73 pitches.

The act truly caused me to question Cash’s reasoning, though I am quite positive that he has a logical explanation.

Tampa had been remarkably successful in the athletic department between the recent Stanley Cup victory by the Bolts and the Buccaneers’ newfound fortune. Tampa had high expectations of their baseball team as well, and everything had seemed to be going in their favor until the infamous pulling of Blake Snell. Out of all his pitches, only two opposing players had gotten a hit off of him, he had struck out nine, and had not walked anyone.

Article upon article has been published questioning Cash’s authority and skill in some of the most popular news outlets such as Washington Post, USA Today and The New York Times. They call the act “disastrous” and the loss “gut-wrenching.” The decision to yank Snell out of the game was ill-thought-out, upsetting both fans and the team as the Dodgers ended up coming back and beating the Rays 3-1, effectively putting an end to this year’s season.

To keep the pitcher from seeing the next few of the Dodgers’ batters, Mookie Betts and Corey Seager, in the line-up for the third time, Cash pulled Snell. He uses the argument that Snell was running out of luck as an excuse for his poor judgment.

Of course, Kevin Cash might just be our scapegoat. Who’s to say that the game wouldn’t have gone south even if Snell had the opportunity to continue playing in the game? Still, the loss does sting.