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Cash's Value On The Rise

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By TONY FABRIZIO

afabrizio@tampatrib.com

Published: October 14, 2008

Updated: 10/14/2008 12:33 am

BOSTON - Kevin Cash is a lifetime .184 major-league hitter who has spent much of his professional career in the minors.

The Tampa native and Gaither High grad has found a niche with a skill that has earned him a place on a very good Boston Red Sox team.

He can catch Tim Wakefield's darting, unpredictable knuckleball.

"I look at it as just another job in the game, but it's a little different because it's Tim Wakefield, and he's made such a name for himself here," said Cash, 30, who will catch Wakefield tonight in Game 4 of the ALCS.

Wakefield gets his own catcher because he throws a pitch that's, well, evil.
Doug Mirabelli had the job for years. He got traded after the 2005 season because he didn't hit, but the Sox reacquired him in May 2006 after neither John Flaherty nor Josh Bard could handle the knuckler.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona laughs as he tells about it.

"We saw John Flaherty retire," he said Monday. "I mean, 'Flash' came over to me that first spring training game in Fort Myers and he looked like a deer in the headlights. The next day, he got me off the treadmill and said, 'I cannot imagine doing this every five days.' And he retired.

"We saw a very good backup catcher in Josh Bard get beat up. And Josh Bard was still a very good catcher. It was just hard to handle Wake. That's why Mirabelli, he had an unbelievable ability to catch that ball."

But Mirabelli hit below .200 through the rest of 2006 and only .202 in 2007. He also battled injuries both years.

Enter Cash, who spent 2005 in the Rays organization and got a call-up from the Red Sox's Triple-A affiliate last year. He caught all of Wakefield's 30 regular-season starts this year.

Offensively, the former Tampa Northside Little League star and Florida State player posted a career-high .225 batting average and drove in 15 runs in 61 games this season.

But his real value has been handling the knuckleball, something that Rays manager Joe Maddon, a former catcher, says isn't a lot of fun.

"When you're catching it, there's a lot more angst involved," Maddon said. "The knuckleball pitcher understands you're going to miss some things, so thank God that they do have some form of understanding.

"But it's not a good feeling, and especially when that thing is moving, it's very, very difficult."

Reporter Tony Fabrizio can be reached at (813) 259-7994.

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