ST. PETERSBURG — Rodney Linares understood the assignment when he excitedly was named manager for the Dominican Republic team considered the favorite to win the World Baseball Classic.
And, after an extremely disappointing showing in which the team failed to advance from pool play, the Rays bench coach is understandably taking the heat, with Dominican fans and media questioning his decisions and credentials.
“Opinions are opinions. Everybody has their opinion, I have my opinion. I can go back home with my head high and knowing that I did what I thought was the best for the team,” he said Sunday after rejoining the Rays.
“Like I told (the players after Wednesday’s elimination game), ultimately it’s gonna fall on me. And when I addressed the media I said the same thing: I said I take the blame for it; if you want to point a finger at somebody, point a finger at the guy that’s making the lineup."
That would have seemed to be the least likely concern given the immense talent Linares had to work with.
The Dominican roster included, in his opinion, four of the game’s 10-best position players — Boston’s Rafael Devers, Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez, San Diego’s Manny Machado and Juan Soto — and a handful of other really good ones, including the Rays’ Wander Franco.
But there were multiple issues Linares had to deal with, besides the pre-tournament loss of Vlad Guerrero Jr. to injury.
Some involved creating a functional lineup, as the highly talented players didn’t necessarily fit together well. For example, they carried three shortstops in Willy Adames, Jeremy Pena and Franco, and only two catchers, one of whom, Gary Sanchez, was weak defensively and not up to game speed as he was an unsigned free agent and not in a spring camp.
Others stemmed from restrictions by teams on how players could be used. Boston wouldn’t allow Rafael Devers to play first (where he would have replaced Guerrero and freed up the DH spot), and Arizona wanted Ketel Marte to play only second base and not centerfield (as he did in 2019 and 2021), leaving the Dominican team short a planned outfielder.
“A lot of the things that happened during the Classic were where we were handcuffed from the beginning," Linares said.
But the biggest problem in losing two of their four games — an issue Linares was familiar with from coaching third base for the Rays last year — was a paucity of key hits and a lack of overall offense, even with the star-studded lineup.
Devers went 2-for-16 in the four games, Machado 4-for-17, Rodriguez 5-for-18. Franco and Pena were a combined 3-for-15, Sanchez and Rays catcher Francisco Mejia 1-for-12. The Dominicans scored just 19 runs in four games, three total in narrow losses to Venezuela and Puerto Rico, which advanced.
“We did everything that we thought that we needed to do," Linares said. “I stuck with Julio, I stuck with Devers, I stuck with Machado and all those guys. And I would do it again if I had to.
“So the media wants to say, people want to say, what they want to say. I could care less. I’m good with it and guys that were in there know that we were trying to do what’s best to win the games. We just didn’t hit."
Linares got credit from Franco and Mejia, who both said he did well under the circumstances.
And counsel from Rays manager Kevin Cash, friends around the game and most importantly from his 82-year-old father, Julio, who has had a long and well-respected career in the game and was watching intently from his home.
“He said, ‘Keep your head high. If you know baseball, that’s the way it goes. We know what happened, and I don’t see one spot in the games that you could have done anything differently, or that I would have done,’ " Linares relayed.
“I appreciated that. We had a long talk on the drive back. … He was really supportive. And we’re at peace with it. It wasn’t the result that we wanted. But the experience was unbelievable."
More than the second thoughts he had about leaving in starter Sandy Alcantara in the opener against Venezuela (as he gave up two runs and didn’t get out of the fourth) and the skewering for letting Mejia hit with two on and two out in the sixth inning against Puerto Rico (as he flied out), Linares will remember the pride of wearing the uniform and the passion from the players and incredibly loud fans.
“I would probably do it again if asked," Linares said. “But I’m happy I’m back."
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