ST. PETERSBURG — The exchange took place recently on the team bus as it headed to the hotel after a road game.
Kevin Cash to Joey Butler: “You’re in the lineup tomorrow. You should be excited.”
Butler: “No, you should be excited.”
When you’re hitting .327 and providing punch to a lineup that desperately needs it, you can get away with talking that way to your boss.
Except Butler, the Rays’ rookie designated hitter/left fielder, and Cash, the club’s rookie manager, have been trading barbs like that since Butler arrived for spring training in February on a minor-league contract.