This baseball manager business is not as easy as it sounds.

ST. PETERSBURG – Everyone loves to play manager. Watching baseball is one of the true joys.

Between the pace of the game and the wealth of numbers at our disposal, there are half a dozen or more key moments in every game where a home fan can announce a strategy ahead of the manager’s decision.

Do you hit and run? Is it time to pull the trigger? Do they pinch hit? Is it time for a protective replacement? We shout to the rooftops when our proven strategy works and forget about the many times it blows up in our face.

So tell me, if you were Kevin Cash, what would you do today?

Because the Rays manager is facing a perilous dance of needing to win in the regular season as we head into the postseason. He is also faced with the choice between doing what is right for the group as a whole and taking responsibility for individual work.

In short, he is stuck in impossible choices where no one else is.

I remembered this while watching Sunday’s game against the Tigers. For an injury-riddled afternoon against an unranked opponent, it was still a pivotal game in Tampa Bay’s season.

Weeks have gone by without the Rays winning a single series. So Sunday’s result will be the difference between a satisfying 3-1 series win or a 2-2 draw against the bottom-placed team.

With that background in mind, Cash decided before the game that pitcher Drew Rasmus wouldn’t throw more than three innings.

Now, you may be wondering why.

(Or what the %$#&? they shout.)

The answer is complex. Rasmussen, you see, is 27 years old and has never thrown more than 100 innings in a professional season. Midway through his senior year in college, he had Tommy John surgery, followed by a second Tommy John surgery less than two years later.

Both Brewers (drafted in 2018) and Rays (acquired in 2021) have been mindful of his medical history. That’s why, before Sunday, Rasmussen had never gone more than 90 innings in any pro season. After the third round against the Tigers, he was at 91.1 innings for 2022.

Now, it’s not like the Rays aren’t willing to push him to new heights. He’ll almost certainly surpass 100 innings in the next couple of months, and could surpass 130 innings by the end of the postseason.

But the Rays don’t like the idea of ​​Rasmussen jumping from 89.1 innings last season to 150 innings this season, and so they’re now managing his workload so they don’t shut him out during a potentially shutout streak.

And Cash is hot on the heels of a wild-card race with the Mariners, Orioles and Indians in a crucial key game against the Tigers.

As it turned out, the bullpen expanded dramatically and the offense came alive in the 9th inning and the Rays beat the Tigers 7-0 to win the series.

But the decisions don’t end there, and they don’t just decide Rasmussen.

Jeffrey Springs and Corey Kluber have thrown more innings than in any season since 2018, and Sean McClanahan is one inning away from a new career-high.

All three of those starters have seen their ERAs jump significantly in recent outings, which could be a sign that the flu or their arms are getting tired.

And so Money and pitching coach Kyle Snyder must try to keep the rotation intact over the next eight weeks as they try to secure the wild card and also make sure their starters don’t run on fumes if the Rays reach the postseason. October.

There may be help on the way from the injured list. Yoni Chirinos is throwing again. So does Tyler Glasnow. Those guys aren’t likely to be seen throwing six innings at Tropicana Field, but they can give the rotation a break while working as a starter.

Luis Patino is pitching again to Triple-A Durham and could provide rotation depth if he keeps the order under control.

And, oh by the way, the Rays need to pull off all this jig without burning out the bullpen, which has proven to be a problem in the 2020 postseason.

It worked in Detroit on Sunday, but who knows what will happen in Milwaukee on Tuesday.

Do you still enjoy being a big league manager?

John Romano can be reached at jromano@tampabay.com. Follow @romano_tbtimes.

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