Kevin Boles, Manager of the Montgomery Biscuits, Developing Talent for the Majors

296 Kevin Boles Montgomery Biscuits RaysUp

[00:00:00] Mark Corbett: Welcome to BaseballBiz Deck. I am Mark, and of course we have Mr. Mat today, but we're very fortunate to have a special guest and that my friends is Mr. Kevin Boles, the manager of the Montgomery Biscuits , the AA team for the Tampa Bay Rays Organization to Rays, I should say, and we're, we're glad to have here.

[00:00:21] How you doing today, Kevin. ? Good, mark. How you doing? I'm doing well.

[00:00:24] You know, I, I'll just say something real quick. The other day you, I live here in the Tampa Bay area and I was driving down to Sarasota to go to St.

[00:00:32] Armond's, uh, circle down there. And I, and I couldn't help but realize I'm passing Cardinal Mooney High School and I'm thinking, Hmm, I think I remember somebody who went there and went to USF and that, that's you, isn't 

[00:00:43] Kevin Boles: it, sir? Long time ago. Long, long time ago. Yeah. But, uh, I'm sure the area's changed quite a bit.

[00:00:49] Uh, but I had some great memories there. It was a great place to grow up. 

[00:00:53] Mark Corbett: Well, I, I wanna thank you for, like I said, being with us here today. And Mat, I know we're gonna talk about a few things and I'm [00:01:00] looking to, uh, Kevin, with , your time here, , you've actually been managing for like around 25 years at this point, haven't you?

[00:01:06] Yes. 

[00:01:06] Kevin Boles: Wow. Yeah, it's been a long time. A lot, a lot of games, a lot of interesting baseball, a lot of things that you see on the field and, , very lucky. It's, , you have a dream career and, uh, be able to last this long. It's, especially with the way the game's changed, it's definitely a blessing. 

[00:01:20] Mark Corbett: Well, Mat, I'm gonna let you go ahead and get started with some of this.

[00:01:24] Mat Germain: So one of the first questions we had, like you, you went through a long baseball career like we were talking about, and uh, and I have to ask, like, I can only imagine what that first game of managing was like. Like when you first are in charge, you're the man, you're the one everybody looks to. How did that first game managing feel and and what do you remember about it?

[00:01:45] Kevin Boles: Well, I knew that, uh, going into I was lucky because we did instruction ball. When I was a player coach with the Cubs, Carmelo Martinez gave me the responsibility for about 20 games to coach third base. And so, and he would let me run the [00:02:00] offense at times. And so I had had some experience in that regard.

[00:02:03] But once you're in charge of the team, I. It's a little bit different animal. And the first team that, uh, I was ever fortunate enough to manage had two special players. One's, uh, definitely gonna be a Hall of Fame type player, and the other one was a gold glover and an All star. And they were betting three and four in the lineup with Miguel Cabrera and Adrian Gonzalez.

[00:02:23] So you're looking at these guys and you're not that much older than them. I think I was 24 at the time. And, , but I realized how hard it was 'cause my professional career was short and, , I just, I, it helped me develop a lot of patience. But, , filling out that first lineup and seeing those, those guys in that lineup, it was, uh, you could just dream about the future.

[00:02:45] Mat Germain: Right. , , and there's a difference between being a part of personalities, right? A wide variety of per personalities as a player, and then having to manage those wide array of personalities as a manager. Mm-hmm. So, so what was, what were the tools that you didn't have that you had to learn on the [00:03:00] fly as you first started digging into more of the.

[00:03:03] You know, the personal personnel issues, I guess. 

[00:03:06] Kevin Boles: I think it's, well, it's changed so much now. There's so many different aspects that you really have to, , study on. But back then I think it was patience, even though that I, I wasn't a good player. Uh, at first when you come out, you want to make sure that you're organized and disciplined and firm with the guys because, uh, again, they're looking for somebody to lead 'em.

[00:03:27] And, uh, a lot of players. You know, it's, it's tough because they come from different backgrounds and, , the standards that they had. Once you get to pro ball, it's a little bit different than amateur ball, right? And so just establishing the standards of what the organization wants as far as teaching, and also to make sure that you're loyal, that you follow through on everything because, uh, you know, you see a lot of young staff members, they try to get close with the players.

[00:03:51] And that's not a good thing. It, it's there, you can get close to a degree, but there has to be some separation and you always gotta keep the organization at first. And I think that, uh, [00:04:00] growing up in the background that I had, that was an easier thing than, than most coaches go through. 

[00:04:05] Mark Corbett: Well, you talk about the background because you, you had a mentor in the house, didn't you?

[00:04:10] Kevin Boles: Yeah, my father, John Boles, uh, he was terrific and, uh, still to this day, he is, you know, one of the best baseball men, if not the best. I, I call him every day. We talk every day. And, uh, he's retired now. Uh, but I always bounce things off of him, even though that I've had some experience now. Um, just his wisdom and the way that he went about his business and.

[00:04:32] How he was always just direct with players and, uh, you know, I, every, it seems like every week I run into somebody that, , says, Hey, tell your father hello. He's the one that, , helped me out with my career. And I always appreciated his honesty and I just try to follow suit with that. 

[00:04:47] Mark Corbett: Well, that's something I know what all he did with, with the Marlins.

[00:04:50] And then I think also with you with the, uh, the Gulf League. I can't even remember. What is the Florida Gulf League? Gulf? What's the Correct, yeah. Gulf league. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. I can never get it right. 'cause there's [00:05:00] the complex league Gulf, the Florida Complex League and Gulf. Yeah, Gulf. They've 

[00:05:03] Kevin Boles: got 'em all now.

[00:05:04] Yeah. 

[00:05:06] Mark Corbett: But that must have been something I, I can only imagine working with, with some of those youngsters then too. And I know you've given us a little bit of, of what that vision like was when you first started within the Cubs organization with coaching it. One of the things I always think about with managers and players is I.

[00:05:21] You better like to travel, you better enjoy traveling because quite often, one, you're traveling with your team to different locations, but quite often in a career, you know, there's, there's different opportunities that, , you're finding. And what's, what was one of the most exciting places that you, you've, uh, the teams that you've worked with over the years?

[00:05:40] Kevin Boles: Well, I was with Boston with, uh, Boston Red Sox for 11 years. And that was a lot of fun. And, uh, you know. Pawtucket, obviously it doesn't exist anymore. The team moved to Worcester. That was a great place to develop players because it was 45 minutes to an hour outside of Boston. If, uh, the Red Sox had an off day.

[00:05:57] The media attention that the young players got [00:06:00] there. We'd have 10 to 15 people from the Boston media, and so they always called it the 31st Major League team. And that was a fun place. Even though it was in a smaller town, , the fans came out and, , we had some young players that came through that system and those five years and, uh, we're, ended up able to win a couple World Series with those players.

[00:06:21] And, , but just to see the future and how that was, that was an exciting time. 

[00:06:25] Mat Germain: Think that that extra attention and, and the extra crowds or the extra focus really helps prepare them for, you know, the extra attention they get at the major league level. 

[00:06:36] Kevin Boles: Yeah, it's necessary actually, if you, if you can get it and that in playoff experience, if you can develop winners.

[00:06:42] Um, but get them playoff experience and, uh, you know, be in the playoff hunt throughout the year. Uh, nobody wants to be, you know, I know they always talk about development, but what are you actually developing? And if you're looking to win championships, you want to develop winners and, uh, we were very successful in that regard.

[00:06:59] We [00:07:00] had some special talent that came through. The names are just off the charts and these guys have had great careers and, uh, the best is yet to come with some of 'em. Some of 'em have turned into superstars. 

[00:07:10] Mat Germain: That leads into a question though, like how do you make that balance between development? Because you want to put players in pressure situations to develop and winning.

[00:07:19] So I know there's some calls more likely, especially at your level at AA, where those players are making that transition sometimes from points where they're struggling into trying to get this them to believe in themselves and have that success, uh, in those tough situations. So how do you balance that? 

[00:07:35] Kevin Boles: I think the biggest thing from the start of this season, we always talk about the players do not be a front runner in your own careers.

[00:07:42] That you're gonna have months, you know, and hopefully it's, it's shorter term, but you're gonna have times where this is gonna be a struggle and you're gonna find out what adjustments you need to make. But every time that there's a failure out on the field, it's also an opportunity and guys need to look at that also.

[00:07:58] Nobody's gonna feel [00:08:00] sorry for these players. You know, it's, it's dog eat dog. It really is. I mean, it, it's, if you're gonna become a, a major league ball player, you've gotta have thick skin and you have to be able to con, you know, handle the media. You have to know when to deflect. And as far as not reading it, you can find anything you want, good or bad on yourself if you look hard enough.

[00:08:19] And so I think the main thing is just focusing day to day on what they're doing, uh, but to also keep the big picture in mind and, uh. You know, give themselves a little bit of credit sometimes. This stuff, this is not an easy game. And, uh, just to make sure that they understand that, uh, how they come out of the failures, that's how they're gonna get to the big leagues.

[00:08:39] Mark Corbett: I know I always think of double A. Is kinda like the cutting block. Mm-hmm. This you, you're coming in here, man. You're either gonna make it or not. I mean, uh, I, I think a AA is sometimes just the, the way station to the majors and people coming up and down in there. But in order to even get in to that portal, to get in that pipeline, you [00:09:00] have got to make it at aa.

[00:09:01] And this is your chance to shine. This is your TA chance to. To get rid of whatever, uh, baggage or difficulties you're, you're experiencing on the field or, or, at the bat. And I don't know, do you see it that way or is that a simplification? 

[00:09:16] Kevin Boles: No, it's uh, it definitely is a separator. And now that they've cut the levels, this is where the problem has come in is that guys are getting to aa.

[00:09:25] Either we have older players that, uh, you know, 10 years ago you wouldn't see 26, 27 year olds in aa. It was very rare. And now you see quite a bit, especially out of the bullpens and the pitching staffs, you'll see some older arms. So it's kind of a modified AAA in that regard. But a lot of these young players are getting here a little bit too quick.

[00:09:44] I don't think they have enough at bats. They don't have enough innings pitched and they're getting to these levels a little bit sooner than, and, and routines. I mean, just teaching guys routines and getting those established, uh, in the first couple of years, some of that time has been shortened [00:10:00] quite a bit, professionalizing players.

[00:10:02] But AA is when it starts to separate. I always said to the players, if you can get into it yourself into AAA locker room, all bets are off. It doesn't matters about prospect status, signing bonus, none of that matterss. It is just all about Major League inventory, and if you can get yourself into AAA Clubhouse, you got a chance.

[00:10:20] And so again, that's not the end goal is just to get to the AAA clubhouse, but it's a great starting point because things happen quick up at the big leagues and you can find yourself in that position. 

[00:10:31] Mat Germain: And on that note, like what would you say that we don't see on the stat sheet that you notice in young players that tells you more about them as a player and having that potential to make the jump to aaa?

[00:10:44] Kevin Boles: Well, the biggest thing is number one, consistency. They're not gonna have it yet. They're just, they may be 50, 60% of the time there. You can't sell short intelligence if you have an intelligent player, uh, and a guy that can make [00:11:00] adjustments, A guy that's consistent coming into the ballpark every day. We have a kid here named Homer Bush Jr.

[00:11:07] And uh, obviously he's has bloodlines, but. The way this kid comes in every single day, he's a true professional. He runs out every ball. His work ethic is terrific, and you know what you're getting every day. He's reliable. And so as far as with these players, we're looking for that, that's the, the type of reliability, whether they're hitting a five, three ground out or they're chasing a double, their times are the same.

[00:11:32] They're just going after it the right way. And, uh, they're just consistent as far as their makeup and, uh. But the intelligence is a huge factor on whether or not a guy can be a big player 

[00:11:43] Mat Germain: that that's kind of an intriguing point because I know managers love predictability, right? They don't want things to be unpredictable as much as possible.

[00:11:51] And if they know what they're gonna get from a player, they're going to appreciate that. So that kind leads into the other question is you guys like the, I see you guys the Rays in [00:12:00] general. Made a lot of significant trades that impacted your team. Like, and you mentioned Homer Bush, Jr. There was a whole bunch of other ones.

[00:12:07] I'll just read 'em quickly. There's Jackson Baumeister, Ty Cummings, Jacob Waters, Will Simpson, Mathew Etzel, Brody Hopkins, like a lot of guys were brought into the organization. Mm-hmm. And I know the Ray have a lot of success in, in improving those post-trade. So what have you seen from that glu of players outside of uh, uh, Bush Jr.

[00:12:27] That that kind of stick out in your opinion? 

[00:12:30] Kevin Boles: Very talented group. Um, but you also, there's an adjustment period. Mm-hmm. You know, there's a, being a part of, you know, telling players when they're traded. Um, going to other organizations, it's a tough deal. I don't think people appreciate how mentally challenging that is.

[00:12:46] Even if you're leaving a situation maybe that you weren't, you know, too happy with your, your old organization. A lot of these guys, every one of them pretty much speaks highly of their organizations and so learning. [00:13:00] A whole fresh new set of faces, staff members, front office. It's a challenge for these players.

[00:13:06] And so you have to give them a little bit of a grace period. So some of the players that we've had, they haven't performed as well as they'd like. Others have performed very well. Um, but you gotta give 'em a little bit more time because, uh, that's settling in period. It does matters and it exists, 

[00:13:20] Mat Germain: right? And.

[00:13:22] It's a great point and I, I agree with you that I don't think people, they put enough of a leeway on those players to actually make the transition. There's two guys that stand out to me this season watching the Biscuits that I think have made a significant jump or put their names a little bit, uh, higher in terms of the, the thought process of making that jump to aaa and they're Duncan David and Cooper Kinney.

[00:13:45] Can you actually talk a little bit about what they've, uh, what they've excelled in this year? 

[00:13:50] Kevin Boles: Duncan is a great example of getting comfortable. He came to us last year and things were fast for him. His stuff wasn't as good. He was probably [00:14:00] sitting 91, 92. His fastball is uptick to 94 and at times mid nineties.

[00:14:06] But the pitch ability and the way that he goes about his business, he has settled in. He throws a lot of strikes. That's another thing too, you know, you'll notice in the game today, there's a. A lot of walks and there's a lot of strikeouts and it's not a fun game to watch at times. And so when you see Duncan command the Zone the way he does and utilize a mix and he maintains a tempo, uh, he's really come a long way.

[00:14:32] He is a completely different pitcher than when he arrived here last year. And I think a lot of that is credit to his work, but also getting a chance to settle in. Cooper Kinney can hit. He can flat out hit, uh, obviously he's had some injuries in the past, so he is missed some time. But, uh, he's played some second base, third base, I don't know defensively where he ends up.

[00:14:51] Uh, health is gonna play a part in that, but this is a definitely, uh, a chance to be a. Impact bad at the major league level. He [00:15:00] has it and, uh, knowledge of the strike zone can work to all fields. He's another guy that's consistent, like Homer Bush Jr. Gonna get to the same times as the first base every time plays hard, plays the game the right way.

[00:15:12] But, uh, this is a chance he has a chance to be at offensive throughout the major league somewhere down the road. 

[00:15:17] Mat Germain: Absolutely agree. I see him a lot like in terms of how he's being used on the field. I see him a lot like Tana Murray, who's probably has a similar role in Triple-A. Mm-hmm. So it's just great to see people having great seasons after, like you mentioned, all the injuries he is, and I always heard from all the outlets and everything I've seen, you know, how great his potential was.

[00:15:35] So it's nice. He had actually come through. Now on the flip side, we know the transition from a plus to AA is often the toughest one for players, and one of your guys is going through it right now in terms of, uh, uh, Braden Taylor. Mm-hmm. So what can you tell us about his progress this year? 

[00:15:49] Kevin Boles: , He's struggling right now.

[00:15:51] , He's played pretty solid defense at third base. He's been able to separate, , but at the plate, he's not where he wants to be. And, , and he understands that it's not about work, [00:16:00] it's not about attention to detail. There's some adjustments though that he's gonna need to make, whether it's with his approach, strike zone management.

[00:16:08] There are some mechanical things too, and uh, you know, not to say that he is not open to it, but it's hard for a guy that's had as much success. That he's had, and it's worked for him this whole time to now finally starting to hit a few bumps in the road and to go, okay, where are we at and how are we gonna evaluate this thing?

[00:16:27] And, and our guys are on it, you know, our, our hitting department, they're on it, Brayden's on it. He wants to do well, he wants, he wants to get there. Uh, but there are some adjustments he's gonna need to make. But the thing that I like about him is that he is tough and he goes about his business the right way.

[00:16:43] , He's not perfect. It's hard when you go through something like this, but, uh, I think he'll be better off down the road. I, I'd rather see him struggle here than struggle his first time at the big leagues. Yeah. And then he doesn't, you know, he doesn't have anything to fall back on where he is, never gone through it.

[00:16:58] So this has actually been a good thing for [00:17:00] him. 

[00:17:01] Mat Germain: Agreed. I think Paul Goldschmidt is a good example of somebody that's had to reinvent, uh, his entire approach at the plate and, and really had a lot of success from it. And you've seen other guys do it, Mat Carpenter, a whole bunch of other players that have had to, to make those adjustments.

[00:17:15] 'cause the league will always adjust to you and expose your weaknesses. So, yeah, 

[00:17:19] Kevin Boles: I, with him, I don't think he needs to reinvent. I don't want to, you know, describe it that way. Um, there are adjustments though, that need to be made. I'd love to see him. You know, eventually get a little bit taller in his stance.

[00:17:29] I think he gets a little wide, gets a little spread out. Not to um, get into the mechanics of the hitting stuff, but I'm going there. Um, love to see him get a little taller, love to see him create a little bit more leverage and get on playing with the ball. And, uh, our guys are working on it though, and we have all the tools and Paul Rozzelle does a great job with the hitting the patience he shows and the way he goes about it.

[00:17:50] He's been terrific here. Our hitting department's been great and, uh, he's one of the guys that, uh, we're definitely target. We're looking for better things coming forward. So 

[00:17:58] Mat Germain: what would you say? [00:18:00] Like, and I know the Rays from what I can tell, as somebody that monitors the Rays very closely, it, it seems like in 2021 they made a, a, a decision draft wise to draft a lot of, of hitters early in the draft.

[00:18:12] Mm-hmm. Sit back and draft a lot of pitchers later on. So. In your opinion, has that had an impact in terms, 'cause you're dealing with a lot of the players that have come from that now. Um, has it made a difference in terms of the pitching staffs you're using and like the quality of players that you're seeing on the field in an and in a lineup?

[00:18:30] Kevin Boles: We've seen, we've seen some quality hitters come through, and uh, it's been fun. You know, last year it was Chandler Simpson, Carson Williams, those type of players that you watch, Trey Morgan came through, you know, and now we've got Xavier, Isaac, Brayden Taylor, we've got this Cooper Kenny, you know, we've, it's, it's before my time as far as where they were drafting hitters.

[00:18:52] But also, you know, I hate to say it and sound like a mercenary, but you know, we've traded for a lot of these guys and we've got guys that, again, [00:19:00] I'm not playing mini gm, but when you have this many bats, potential bats, and people are gonna want those guys. And so they are, they do have major league value.

[00:19:10] And so I think that they've targeted the right guys, the makeup of these guys, the talent level, um, on the pitching side. Again, we've acquired some guys in trades. Hopkins is one of the guys that, uh, you know, that he's really stood out here. And again, he hasn't been pitching very long, but if we get this one right, he's got a chance to be pretty special.

[00:19:29] So there's a lot to work on. But the raw stuff that he has and the athleticism, you know, that's one of the guys that, uh, really stands out from the pitching side. 

[00:19:37] Mat Germain: I'll ask you just about one more player, because I know he's on IL this year and, and we're not gonna get to enjoy him early on hoping that at some point he does return healthy, but Yoniel Curet.

[00:19:48] Mm-hmm. Well, what can you tell us about his electricity? 'cause to me, stuff wise, he may have the best stuff of, of the minors in terms of the Rays system. 

[00:19:56] Kevin Boles: Yeah. He has a power arm, there's no doubt about it. I don't know what his [00:20:00] role is though. Um, you know, it's, it's tricky because, you know, with the health issues.

[00:20:05] You may want to keep 'em on a starting rotation because it's a schedule, um, instead of throwing 'em in the bullpen. I think that with his profile though, he has versatility where he could do both. You know, obviously we're looking to develop starters, number one, every organization's trying to do that. But, uh, at the very least, this could be a power arm out of the bullpen.

[00:20:24] Um, he needs to command better. Another thing too, when we saw him come up last year, uh, after a couple of innings, he'd lose command and, uh, and the stamina would go down a little bit. So I don't know if that's a precursor to what's going forward, but, uh, number one, we need to get him healthy. But it is a power arm with power stuff and, uh, when he's healthy, it's pretty exciting.

[00:20:47] Mat Germain: Thank you very much. 

[00:20:48] Kevin Boles: Yeah. 

[00:20:50] Mark Corbett: I wanna bring up a question you, uh, posted to, to me earlier today. Uh, I wanted to hear more about it, and that was with the rule changes that often like double A, have to contend with or deal with or [00:21:00] should say, be introduced to. And one of those was the, uh, the new Stickier Ball.

[00:21:05] Can you address that or some of the other changes?

[00:21:10] Kevin Boles: Uh, as far as a stickier ball, we don't really. We don't have that. Nope. 

[00:21:15] Mark Corbett: My bad. Yeah, 

[00:21:16] Kevin Boles: we, we don't have that. Um, the balls that we get, they get rubbed up just regular, so, and if there's a sticky substance on 'em, we don't have that. I mean, it's, they don't feel any different at this point. So, but you gotta rub 'em up because if they're fresh outta the box Yeah, they're slick.

[00:21:31] Yeah. So you gotta, you gotta make sure that look and, and ano, everybody talks about these things, you know, the. Increase the spin rates and everything else in the grip. I'd rather, with the amount of velocity that's coming outta these guys' hand, I'd rather them get a few more RPMs or you know, and have sharper stuff.

[00:21:50] But they could command it because you see guys throwing 98 to a hundred and the ball comes outta their hand. This is, this has gotten a little bit dangerous and it always has been. I [00:22:00] mean, there's always a risk, but. I'd rather see guys be able to grip the ball a little extra. So, I, I, that stuff, as far as being able to have a little tackiness on their hand, I'm not, that doesn't bother me at all.

[00:22:10] I'd rather have that actually. Yeah. 

[00:22:12] Mark Corbett: Yeah. I like the, the safety issue of that, you know, as well. I mean, one, it's, it's great to see a pitcher who can throw that I. And still have command. 'cause sometimes you see that ball go and you go, good lord, you know, somebody got, coulda got killed with that pitch. But, uh, no, I, I hope that, uh, that's just, I misread that.

[00:22:28] Uh, Mat, I was thinking that MLB had put something new out there with that. 

[00:22:33] Mat Germain: Right. I think they might have, they might have tried it at some point, and I'm not sure if it was in both leagues. I thought it was only the Southern League that it had meant. Mm-hmm. But, um, it, it might have been erroneous in terms of information and it might be in the other league.

[00:22:46] Um, so yeah, the, well, is there a rule change though, that you, you really think has benefited or that they are looking to test in the future in aa? 

[00:22:56] Kevin Boles: Um, I don't know if they're gonna test it here, but boy, I would sure [00:23:00] love to see some automated zones, and I know that that, uh, is not a popular topic. Um, personally, I'm, you know, I deal with the catchers.

[00:23:08] Yeah. And so the art of receiving and framing and whatever you want to call it, uh, you know, getting strikes, moving the ball, that's gonna be a lost art. But, you know, the difference is now this is different with major league baseball, and nobody really talks about this with all the gambling that's going on now.

[00:23:28] There's gambling, that's, I mean, it's promoted now. It's just, it's part of our, our culture. You would think that we'd want to get it right. And so it's a tall task as far as the strike zones, guys are throwing at 98 to 102 miles an hour. And it's consistent. That's hard to judge. That's hard to, and be, you know, pretty good at it.

[00:23:49] And then you have the breaking stuff that they have, you know, they're, they're changing eye levels and. You watch the Major League hitters, they still have a real good idea of the strike zone. It's pretty impressive [00:24:00] what those guys can do, but with the amount of gambling that's going on, I, I think people that will eventually get to a point where they just want the call.

[00:24:07] Right, right. You know, and, and they just strikes or strikes balls or balls. Now that will change the catching position. It'll be a guy that can throw a little bit and, uh, block. But it's gonna be an offensive force. I think that it'll change the profile of the catching position, but I just, I think that the automated zone, I would, I just, I would rather see it right than it see it put into somebody else's hands and want the players to be the, to decide who's there, who the champions are.

[00:24:34] Mat Germain: I could not agree more. I think it's, it's, it's 

[00:24:37] Kevin Boles: not popular. I'm sure maybe I'll get a phone call, but I don't care. It's just, it is just the way it is. It needs to be correct. 

[00:24:45] Mat Germain: One of my pet peeves was watching a young player come up, or a young pitcher and going up against a veteran. The veteran gets all the calls, the young guy doesn't, and you never see the young guy again.

[00:24:54] Yeah. You're like, 

[00:24:54] Mat Germain: what happened? He got all, you know, and it just, it's mind numbing it, it doesn't make any sense to ruin [00:25:00] somebody's career. He might be the only start he ever gets, and then you're sending him down, even though he threw more strikes than it showed. Yeah. Well, and people 

[00:25:07] Kevin Boles: don't realize how hard it is for the umpires.

[00:25:10] This is hard stuff. The way that, how talented these players are, and they've always been talented, but, uh, it, it's, you know, and that's where I, you know, I've got a soft spot for the umpires a little bit on this one too, because, you know, it's important to them to have the strike zone and to, and to run a game and to, and do these things.

[00:25:27] So they've had some things taken away from 'em. But on the flip side of that, but you know, again, it's just people want it correct. People want it, right. But I don't think people realize how tough, you know, you see all these things that people get on the umpires quite a bit. Boy, get back there and see what this is like.

[00:25:44] I mean, I've stood behind our guys in bullpens and stuff. It's, it's a different animal these days. Yeah. 

[00:25:49] Mat Germain: Speaking of the umpires though, have you ever been ejected, and if so, what was the Oh, 

[00:25:54] Kevin Boles: yeah. I'm good. For five a year, absolutely. Oh yeah. And I usually have to ask to get thrown out. I don't, you know, [00:26:00] I've never made a YouTube video or anything.

[00:26:02] It's ripped a base out or thrown my hat or anything, or kicked dirt on home plate. I, I usually just say, okay. What do you have we talk about? And then I'll say, okay, you probably need to throw me out here 'cause you boxed me in and I gotta have credibility with the team. And so I don't, bel I also don't believe in getting thrown out to, to motivate your team.

[00:26:22] I don't, I don't believe in that. If you, if you have to motivate your team by getting thrown out, you're probably not doing a good job. You're probably, you're not, not leading properly. So if I usually ask him, and it's funny, you know, this last ejection I had, I, I said, well, you're gonna have to throw me out.

[00:26:36] And he goes, well. Don't you want to get animated or anything? I said, no. I said, no, I'm not gonna fake it. I said, you know, I said, I'm check the replay after the game. I'll check it. And I said, if you're right, I'll tell you're right tomorrow at home plate. Right? And so, uh, yeah, but sometimes you have some conversations out there that, uh, and then there's sometimes where you really, you know, it's real and you go, come on.

[00:26:58] You know, this needs to get better. But, [00:27:00] uh, I'm good for about one a month of five a year, and, uh, I. You know, it's, it's better to, you gotta keep the players in the game. 

[00:27:07] Yeah, yeah. 

[00:27:08] Kevin Boles: You know, they need to develop and so, you know, I'll jump on that one and uh, and as long as the players stay in the game, that's what's important.

[00:27:16] Agreed. I. 

[00:27:17] Mark Corbett: Wow. Yeah. You know, you, you brought up the whole thing about being able to have the zone where this, I, I was wondering more and more as we came up with the clocks and everything else, the boot, and I thought, how many more things are we gonna give the umpire to think about and still do their critical job?

[00:27:33] Yeah. And. So, yeah, I, I'm, I'm for the automated strike zone, part of me hates to see that go, 'cause I thought it's an art, it's a craft of the catcher too. Art of deception, if you will, to be a magician with the umpire behind them. But I, I think I'd rather have, I. The call is right. And as you pointed out, Mat, I hate the idea of that some, you know, youngsters coming up there and they're not getting the break that a veteran's going to.

[00:27:57] It reminds me of, you know, in, in boxing, whoever was the [00:28:00] champion, they got the edge in whatever bout was being, being fought. So anyway, yeah, I I've slowly come along. I've, I was more, it took me a while to come along with Mat on that one. 

[00:28:11] Mat Germain: It's all good. I'm new school, I guess. I don't know. Um, you say something about my age, buddy.

[00:28:18] Hey, whatever makes me feel young. That's all I'm saying. I, I'm not, uh, as young as I used to be, so too many people look at me and think old man. So, uh, I'm, I'm glad when I can feel a little younger in the room. Although I'll say Kevin doesn't look his age, he's got way too much sun compared to me. Yeah.

[00:28:36] Sunglasses. 

[00:28:37] Kevin Boles: We work outside in the heat quite a bit, so it's, uh, no, I, these guys keep me young, that's for sure. 

[00:28:43] Mat Germain: That's 

[00:28:43] Kevin Boles: awesome. 

[00:28:44] Mat Germain: So looking forward, are you looking to make the jump into Triple A managing, are you looking to MLB get back in a role of some sort? Like what, what is your, or are your goals that professionally.

[00:28:54] Kevin Boles: Um, to produce the next Chandler Simpsons. Those are the, those are, that's the goal. It's [00:29:00] about the players, you know, hopefully Carson Williams, you know, Tanner Murrays, these guys, they can help our major league club win games. Mm-hmm. Um, you know, when you're younger you think of timetables and everything else.

[00:29:11] I've done every level, including the big leagues. Mm-hmm. Been a coordinator. , And then there comes a point in time where you're like, okay. What's my role this year and just try to be, you know, this year it's the double A manager. Mm-hmm. Be the best. Double a manager in baseball and have the players the most prepared.

[00:29:26] And when you take it that way. You don't worry about yourself and, uh, I'm, I assume everybody wants to be in the big leagues. I get that. You know, it's, it's where everybody wants to be, but I just, I don't look at it that way. If somebody recognizes that I could do a good job and maybe help them on a major league staff, that's fine.

[00:29:46] But, uh, I've done aaa, like I said, I've done 'em all, so I, you know, whatever the role is, I'm just happy that, uh, I could continue to work in baseball and, uh, it's been fun. That, that answers 

[00:29:57] Mat Germain: my question. 'cause I was gonna ask what, what keeps you [00:30:00] fired up about managing That pretty much answers all of that in, in a nutshell.

[00:30:04] I know producing players is, uh, so are there, other than Chandler Simpson, which I know was a, a great success story and I love the tools that he's bringing back into Major League baseball. I'm a huge fan of his Mark's. Hear, heard me talk about him for a few years and, uh, I, I think. There's a long, bright future ahead for him.

[00:30:22] But is there anybody else from , your managing history , , that you'd look at and you're like, man, I, I didn't think that person would make it, or, um, you know, I'm, I'm really happy for this individual that he, he broke through and, and made a go of it. 

[00:30:36] Kevin Boles: Um, yeah, there's always a player or two that you might miss on because, and especially at Single-A ball.

[00:30:42] Mm-hmm. Um, when you get to AA and AAA, there's times where you, you go, okay. You know, there's a lot of guys that are fringy type guys, um, but. The first team, like I said, that I was fortunate enough to manage, had Miguel Cabrera on it. Yeah. And then seeing, , with [00:31:00] Boston, the group of players that came through, like Mookie Bets, Xander Bogaerts.

[00:31:04] Um, but you know, people see these players and they go, wow. They're just, they've been bullet proofed, you know, they're just. They've, they've been good the whole time. That's not the case. You know, these players, a lot of all of us, we have insecurities, we have doubts, you know, we have failures. And, uh, to watch a player like Mookie, who has a heart of gold and turn out to the, into the star that he's turned into, and, uh, love watching cases like that.

[00:31:32] But anytime that there's a guy that's a major leaguer, it's a victory. Hopefully it can be a sustainable career. But, uh, the guys that help you win championships, those are the ones that, those are the ones that you really love to watch, 

[00:31:45] Mat Germain: develop. I love that mention of Mookie because I've met him once, like I, not personally, but he was just a couple of feet away from me, and I was like, he is not that big.

[00:31:55] No. So when you're looking at slides, I know Jose Altuve gets pointed out in the same way or whatever, but , there's a [00:32:00] lot of, , good that comes out of those players having so much success. 'cause every kid in, in, you know, playing ball in the fields now knows that it's possible and is, you know, if you put the hard work in, you have the talents and you get lucky enough, then you're, you're going to get found and, and your talent will be, , evident and, and show up in the game.

[00:32:18] So that's great. Uh, that pretty much answers all my questions. Uh, I think Mark and I have talked to a lot of Raysd individuals over the years and, uh, players alike. They always, always, always rave about the managers, the coaches that they have.

[00:32:34] It doesn't matters who it was. Um. You know, I, I might have talked to maybe 40 or 50 different prospects that have come through the Rays system and, and there isn't one that hasn't had the glowing pRays of, of the guys that the Rays put in charge of their system. So, you know. I think that the way that this, this interview has gone today is just highlights all of that in a nutshell, is that it just comes across as high quality [00:33:00] individuals that want to make higher quality players.

[00:33:02] And, uh, that's great to see. So thanks for joining us today. I, uh, I appreciate your time a lot. 

[00:33:07] Kevin Boles: No, thank you. Thanks for having me. It's been good. 

[00:33:10] Mark Corbett: It's been a pleasure having you, Kevin. Thank you very much, buddy. And keep doing what you're doing, my friend. 

[00:33:15] Kevin Boles: I appreciate it. Thanks for having me on, guys. All righty.

[00:33:17] Mark Corbett: Take care. 

[00:33:18] Kevin Boles: Have a good one. 

[00:33:23] Mark Corbett: Alright, well that was a great interview with Mr. Kevin Boles, the manager of the Montgomery Biscuits, the AA team of the Rayss organization.

[00:33:31] And as you heard what Mat was asking, Germain was asking a lot of good questions here and uh, we've got some good answers. We hope you enjoyed that. I. I can't let it pass. I gotta tell you, Mat, this week has been amazing. You know, I wrote down a note that I looked out at the outfield the other day, and I think it was three of the outfielders, or at least three people on the team had come from the Biscuits.

[00:33:52] Is it, uh, Misner and Aranda and, oh, what's the other guy's name? Simpson? Is that right? [00:34:00] 

[00:34:01] Mat Germain: We're gonna have to come up with a nickname for Chandler at some point. And you know, even the other guys, we'll get to work on nicknaming these guys 'cause they're a lot of fun to watch. 

[00:34:11] Mark Corbett: They, they are indeed. It's, and it has been a great week.

[00:34:14] You know, we, we dug outta that 500 hole and we moving back up in the AL East and we've been back home. I gotta tell you. I'm, I'm waiting for a day game every day time they're playing here in town because the other teams haven't figured out the sun. 

[00:34:30] Hmm. 

[00:34:31] Mark Corbett: The, the Rays takes on a whole other concept for when the visitors come in town.

[00:34:35] I. 

[00:34:36] Mat Germain: I've heard a lot about this swirling wind at Steinbrenner Field, and I don't know, like I, you have to see it to believe it, but it seems like there's never a comfortable pop out. They're always shifting around and, and you know, as I think it's more of a Rays, fan centric thing because we're not used to watching the rays play outdoor games, so we're Trop.

[00:34:57] Vent centric, right? [00:35:00] Everything goes up and then comes down linear, right? It's, yeah. 

[00:35:05] Mark Corbett: So well, and then the George Steinbrenner field, not having a a second tier back there allows the wind to come in even more at a closer range. But yeah, going from no wind, from the Trop to what they've got there is a whole different thing.

[00:35:18] And it was interesting, I guess probably, maybe a little bit more than a week ago, about the whole deal of rolling out the tarps for the first time in, in Tampa Bay Ray's history, and I thought. Okay, DeWayne. We, we've got all the rest of them. I said make the most of it. Sure, go ahead. I know we've got time to kill since it's going on, but geez, man.

[00:35:35] Ease. But it's, it's been exciting. The, the wind, I don't know if you saw the game the last couple games, but when it was really windy, I don't think it was last night, the night before or day before they had. I love graphics on, on the screen about where the balls are going, but it wasn't a ball they were measuring.

[00:35:52] They were measuring the amount of wind coming in from left field and right field and center field. And if you went to right field, it might have been 41 miles per [00:36:00] hour coming back at you. If you hit it to left field, there's only winds against you about one mile per hour. And it was like, oh my gosh, is that a whole metric we're add adding to the stat cast.

[00:36:11] Mat Germain: So, so I think what Kevin Cash should do then is before he hands in the lineup card, you know, get one of those, you know, the direction twirling things. Yeah. 

[00:36:21] Mark Corbett: Weather vane 

[00:36:22] Mat Germain: with the rooster at the top. Get one of those set up in, in center field, and then just look at the wind direction. And then a couple of wind socks from the airport.

[00:36:32] And then just say, okay, well strategically based on what the winds are doing, I'm gonna set my lineup up like this. Uh, no, it it's, it's kind of crazy when you do have to wonder. A lot of times, you know, statistically speaking, if somebody could come up with a metric that calculated how many weather impact events a player had to his benefit or against his benefit, that would be an outstanding statin.

[00:36:58] I don't know how you would measure [00:37:00] it, but today. With technology being what it is? Yeah, maybe it's possible. FanGraphs should get on that. I think we'll call it the, you know, the statcast, WX like weather. Uh. It'll be, 

[00:37:15] Mark Corbett: it'll be another thing. FanDuel, draft Kings, Caesars, whatever it can, can put into the betting.

[00:37:19] I mean, you can bet on so many different things in a game these days. It's like, good gravy. 

[00:37:25] Mat Germain: Isn't that an interesting comment he made about the betting? 

[00:37:27] Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

[00:37:28] Mat Germain: And that's somebody that, you know, if you're involved in Double A and, and you, you make that kind of comment, it means that people are talking about it, it's on people's minds and, uh.

[00:37:37] I have to believe that some of the players are mentioning that to the managers and the coaches and saying, you know, there's, there's things going on here that, that may not be kosher. And it's, um, it's an intriguing question. I thought of you right away. 'cause I know the betting is your favorite sport.

[00:37:53] Yeah. But every day, uh, thousands of, of Mark's dollars are floating around on games and, uh, [00:38:00] uh, I thought it was a really interesting comment. 

[00:38:03] Mark Corbett: It was, and you know, it does. It bothers me because, I dunno if you heard about Lance McCullers Jr. Who's from here. Yeah, he was, his father was in the game and then Lance Jr.

[00:38:14] Was playing for the Astros and Arm problems and he's been out for two years. He came back and had a terrible first game. And what came after that? Threats to his family, threats to him. And that's because probably somebody had money on the game and how could you this, that, the other, and. If that is part of the evil that can come from gambling of this game, get rid of it, or at least find those people in something like that With, with Lance McCullers Jr.

[00:38:45] That should never, ever, ever happen. I. 

[00:38:47] Mat Germain: How do you control it? Like this isn't something new. We've seen this in ncaa, I know it wasn't legal, but it was, you know, done for years. Like they had bookies, you had a whole, you know, industry, you [00:39:00] know, subterranean industry, uh, built around it, uh, with a lot of people losing their livelihoods and losing their families and losing.

[00:39:08] This isn't anything new. So you're right, the pressure does build on people to actually. Get everything perfect. So in order to not have umpire's lives threatened and players' lives threatened and all, like all this nonsense, it's, it, it begs the question at some point, will there need to be an adjustment made to gambling in general on sports?

[00:39:31] And some caps put in place just to protect everybody and also to protect the industry. 'cause at some point, you know, you're gonna get a crazy fan, do something extremely stupid, , and it's going to, close Pandora's box basically. Yeah. 

[00:39:46] Mark Corbett: . It's definitely something I didn't wanna see or hear and that's for sure.

[00:39:49] And that sort of behavior, like I said, it has to be punished quickly, immediately, and thoroughly. And so that there's no incentive for anybody to even think about doing that sort of thing. Again, [00:40:00] I'm a, like I said, do you know my, you know where I'm at on this brother, I'm a I know gambling kinda guy. So pitch pennies, $2 ticket to the Derby.

[00:40:09] That's it. 

[00:40:11] Mat Germain: Back to the rays though. 

[00:40:12] Mark Corbett: Yeah, 

[00:40:13] Mat Germain: They are second place in the division. How did, didn't we talk like two weeks ago where we were like, all right, sell everybody. Yeah. 

[00:40:22] Mark Corbett: Yeah. My gosh. You know. Well, let's, let's face it. I mean, a few things changed. Josh Lowe came back. I, I don't think he was necessarily fully back at that point, and.

[00:40:33] My gosh, it has been hot. I, I think last night everybody got a hit. If I'm, I looked on that list on the box. I said, wow, 

[00:40:42] Mat Germain: I got on base twice safely. So had either two hits or a hit and a walk. 

[00:40:48] Mark Corbett: So very productive. And then, you know, the, the day before Taylor Walls has a hit, Rortvedt gets two rbis. Yeah. 

[00:40:58] Mat Germain: Blew my [00:41:00] mind.

[00:41:02] No, it was great to see. I'm happy for him. Very happy. 

[00:41:06] Mark Corbett: But it was interesting, as much as we talked about the wind and out in right field and left field, the difference to me, I, I had forgotten how limited the foul area is still inside the park there. I mean, you've got a line and you got maybe a foot before you're outside of the fair play range and.

[00:41:26] Oh my gosh. Between the sun and everything else. And you see these torsos in the opposition trying to catch the ball or shifting back and forth. 'cause the wind's moving it, it was, it was a different kinda game. It was a bit of a circus. 

[00:41:38] Mat Germain: Should there be a minimum to the foul lines? Like should there be like, you know, a, I don't know, let's say eight feet.

[00:41:46] Eight foot minimum. So at least the guys, you know, have have to make the play and get a safe chance of making it. 'cause it seems to me like it's a career ending scenario in some cases where, you know, they're, they're, they're looking to get [00:42:00] crushed at, at the fence sometimes. 

[00:42:02] Mark Corbett: I mean, we need to get OSHA out there and, and put this thing together.

[00:42:05] There's no doubt about it. But I, I, I keep thinking back, my mind goes now and then into that image. Of Derek Jeter running over to catch the fly ball. But he's, I think they still, I don't know if there was a tarp there, he had just as he's running over to, and half of his body's out of the field to catch that ball.

[00:42:25] It's like, well, if you had truly well designated lines and you had eight, 10 feet, eh, I, I think that's reasonable. 

[00:42:35] Mat Germain: What if we put all the outfield fences at five feet and allowed them to leap up from the top after they jump onto the top of the fence? Right? The spectacular plays that would come from that mark.

[00:42:47] All the players landing like full body, like body surfing into the crowd, like that would be amazing. 

[00:42:56] Mark Corbett: It's, listen again, put it all in a letter. We're [00:43:00] sending it to Rob Manfred. You know the man we love so much, and.

[00:43:06] But no, it, it has been an exciting week, uh, for the Rays and for all of us as fans to see, you know, the kind of performance they had. Like I said, I, I don't know if everybody on, uh, I know, like I said yesterday, everybody had a hit and I think most everybody had a hit or a walk the day before, and it's just been.

[00:43:24] Amazing to watch that much activity offensively with the team. They seem to be gelling more and more every day, and I'm not, I don't have it in front of me, Mat, but the, the lineup we had yesterday, I don't know if we had more than just the nine players for the whole time, or if there was actually a 10th who came in sometime for a substitution, but they stayed with a solid group of people on the field yesterday.

[00:43:50] Mat Germain: Yeah. And, and the consistent playing time, I think is benefiting those that are still there. And it's, it begs the question, so now we're getting into that [00:44:00] uncomfortable conversation. Right? So the other thing that happened yesterday is you had Ha-Seong Kim playing in aaa. Mm-hmm. He managed a hit and a stone base.

[00:44:09] He looked really solid on the field. So you've got him there. You've got Jake Mangum also in aaa. So two guys right. Looking to get their roster spots. Then you have, uh, Johnny DeLuca, who's still in the FCL, but shouldn't be too much longer before he goes to Triple-A. So three position players looking to get the roster spots back.

[00:44:29] So when you look at the lineup in general from yesterday, and you're wondering, okay, well who spots are they taking? First of all, we know Ha-Seong Kim is getting paid $29 million over two years, they're not gonna hold back on sending somebody down. So he's getting a spot no matters what. The other two, however, have options.

[00:44:48] So. I don't know, like Kam Meisner has looked extremely comfortable in the outfield Jose, , Caballero has a lot of, , versatility that's useful. And he is also a right-handed bat for the EL field, you [00:45:00] know, how do they view him compared to Johnny DeLuca? Uh, it's, it's a question. So, uh, then you have, you know, if, if Ha-Seong Kim is gonna be there and taking up a lot of infield time, is there enough room for.

[00:45:13] Curtis Mead, is there enough room for Taylor Walls? Is there, and all of them have options. So you're in that position where you have flexibility at least to send people down. You don't have to pass 'em through waivers, which is great, but there's gonna, there's gonna be some broken hearts and, and you know, some guys looking to earn it back.

[00:45:31] And Durham is gonna have an excellent team coming up in the next couple of weeks, at least. 

[00:45:37] Mark Corbett: Uh. Yeah, it is interesting and you know, as you're saying, so my mind keeps going back to the Biscuits and what, what Kevin is seeing with those young people, you know, fighting to get up and, and they're seeing all this activity.

[00:45:50] If you're AA and you're seeing all this activity between the major league and the Triple A, it's gotta say, man, I gotta work harder. I gotta do something to establish myself. 'cause [00:46:00] wow. 

[00:46:01] Mat Germain: That dog eat dog thing comes into play, right? 

[00:46:03] Mark Corbett: Oh, yeah. 

[00:46:04] Mat Germain: Doesn't matters how hot your start is or how hot you think you are and how well you're doing.

[00:46:09] You've gotta keep being consistent. 'cause you never know when that little opening in that hole, in that position is going to come up and you're gonna be able to make that leap because they're not, I think the ra, the rays are not alone in this, but they hate sending guys to AAA and then sending them back to aa.

[00:46:27] Like if they can avoid that. So that you're always progressing forward. They love it. I think there's only a few players I can think of recently that have made that jump back and forth, and that's Drew Baker in the outfield and a couple of catchers that have kind of made the jump up and back.

[00:46:42] I. It's weird how that transition normally happens. So he is right. Once you get that AAA time, you're pretty much, I don't wanna say you're a golden boy and you'll be there forever, 'cause No you're not. But it, it, it's definitely the opening that is, might be the hardest one for a player to get. [00:47:00] 

[00:47:00] Mark Corbett: It's gonna be, again, interest to see a lot of these guys coming up.

[00:47:03] I know watching a little bit of the Biscuits. Homer Bush Jr. Oh my gosh. And he made me think of Chandler Simpson 'cause he looks like he had a lot of speed. And that's going to be somebody to watch as well. So I'm looking forward to seeing that. It's interesting where we've talked about before, I. , Families in baseball.

[00:47:25] Kevin, it's, you know, he's been a manager now for 25 years. His father was manager with the Marlins and, and others as well. And if you look at Homer Bush Jr, you see that there was Homer Bush who had played the game. And it, it's interesting seeing the families that progressed in the game, but we'll see how he does as well.

[00:47:44] Let's see, who else we got on the Rays right now? That's, uh, let's see. Ner, we talked about him. And what about Janssen? Has 

[00:47:54] Mat Germain: that bat is, is so welcome to see, you know, the, so I, I took [00:48:00] a look at the last 14 days, right? For the Rays. Yeah. Because that's really when they, they seem to have transitioned into this.

[00:48:07] Hot streak and this more productive kind of, uh, lineup and, and their isolated power is what stood out to me as finally becoming major league, you know, maybe top third. Right? Right. So I think it was somewhere over two 70. So he's a big part of that because he is done a lot of damage over the last few weeks and I think, I don't know if it's because they, they started playing the Jays and they woke him up, but, but he's definitely getting more comfortable, you're talking about that comfort factor between one another and, and both those catchers have to do a lot of homework, you know, to get the, get everything set in this place with a lot of new relievers and, and starters that they may not have worked with as often as they would've liked.

[00:48:49] Um, so it's nice to see Danny. Has some success and, and now you're talking about that consistency that Kevin was talking about before. Danny will provide that offensively going [00:49:00] forward. So that's something that, uh, the Rays have lacked so much since Mike Zunino, uh, left them from the catching position. So what we saw yesterday was a good example where the bottom of the lineup was very productive.

[00:49:13] And if they can keep doing that with Ha-Seong Kim coming in and a a lot of other guys, and be tough at bats. All the way through the lineup, they're gonna wear guys down and get to the relievers a lot quicker. So it, you know, the, that's why I kept saying if the rays hang around, mark, we don't know where they're going to end up.

[00:49:31] And somewhere behind them is Shane McClanahan just sweetening up that pot and going, Hmm, I can jump in whenever I want. Sort of like playing double Dutch and going, okay, I'm in.

[00:49:46] Mark Corbett: Oh, gosh, no. I, as Rays fans, we got a lot of things to be happy about this year. You may, you may not be happy about a game or even, uh, the record or any one point, but as far as just watching some great baseball and certainly this past week, it has [00:50:00] been fun. Uh, I, I do, I am a little concerned about where some of these guys are, wind up, Johnny DeLuca.

[00:50:06] If everybody else is already in place and they're doing well, it's gonna be harder to bring him back in. And, uh, I don't know. I 

[00:50:14] Mat Germain: Go 

[00:50:14] Mark Corbett: ahead. 

[00:50:14] Mat Germain: Two teams that are looking for outfielders. Mark I'll mention quickly is just the Padres and the Reds. Uh, they're both very thin, so I could see the rays and the rays.

[00:50:23] I've dealt with both of those teams recently. Uh, really good trading rapport with the, with the pa, uh, the Padres. But Terry Francona is in, uh, Cincinnati, so if he whispers something in Kevin's ear about a certain player. It may or may not happen. They've been honest to one another in the past, especially with when he was with the, uh, the Guardian slash Indians, and that's how we ended up with Yandy Diaz and Harold Ramirez and a bunch of other guys that, that Terry Francona had promoted to Kevin and the Rays.

[00:50:53] So, uh, I would not be surprised to see a deal come to fruition between one of those two teams and the Rays [00:51:00] 

[00:51:00] Mark Corbett: I'll be interested to watch it too. 'cause I ke I kept watching. Yeah. The Guardians over time said, well, we've done some deals with them and it wouldn't have been a surprise for another, now that Francona is there in, in Cincinnati, we'll see what comes.

[00:51:14] Anyway, well that's about all I got. Is there anything else you wanna hit, brother? 

[00:51:19] Mat Germain: Just wanna mention. Every single Rays affiliate and the rays are above 500 except for one. The Charleston RiverDogs. There are five games under 500, I think, you know, within the next two weeks they may be able to get themselves above that.

[00:51:33] Uh, but the rays are chugging on all cylinders throughout the organization. The draft is only a month and a half away, and there's, uh, there's a lot of promise. You know, like we talked to Kevin and, and all the guys that were mentioned, um, the rays have a significant amount of talent. They have some good fortunes recently, like every Rays fan should be in a very, very happy place right now, um, and enjoying this season more than [00:52:00] they probably thought they would get themselves out to the park.

[00:52:02] Start calling your counselors and telling 'em that you want them to purchase Steinbrenner Field outright and build a new stadium there. And make your voice heard. That's my, uh, recommendation to 

[00:52:13] Mark Corbett: them. Well, thank you. And I, I, I think I should put that up as a sign. What is it here to stay, put it. 

[00:52:21] Mat Germain: Well, don't do that.

[00:52:22] No, no. The Oakland A's had that slogan. No, don't that slogan again. No, no, no. Like I said, you're better off going to lick the door handle. 

[00:52:32] Mark Corbett: All right. I told you I'd do it. So anyway. Well, Mat, thanks again, brother. It's always fun chatting about the Rays with you. And special thanks too to Kevin Boles for taking some time with us today and giving us a little bit more insight about the Montgomery Biscuits and also what it's like, you know, in Double Ball overall.

[00:52:50] So a lot of fun. So thank you very much. Thank you, Mat. Not a problem. Always a pleasure, mark. All righty. Thanks again folks, and we will be talking [00:53:00] with you again real soon. 

 You have been listening to BaseballBiz On Deck with a visit from Kevin Boles, the manager of the Montgomery Biscuits, the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays

Just a reminder, if you enjoyed this show, go ahead like and subscribe to BaseballBiz On Deck. Also you can find Mat at M-A-T-G-E-R-M-A-I-N dot B Sky social. That's Mat at M-A-T-G-E-R-M-A-I-N dot B, Sky social or Mark at  Baseball Biz on Deck dot B Sky Social. You may also find Baseball Biz on Deck, at iHeart Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, and at baseball biz on deck dot com

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