In 1785, a Scottish poet named Robert Burns penned what has become a very famous passage:

The best-laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men

Gang aft agley

Every baseball manager should have that particular couplet framed and displayed in a prominent spot in his office, even if he’s puzzled about the meaning of gang aft agley.

It comes from an 18th Century Scottish dialect. In 21st Century American it means things won’t always go the way you planned for them to go.

Isn’t that right, Kevin Cash?

Cash manages the Tampa Bay Rays and just before the World Series he developed a brilliant scheme. He knew that his rival, the Milwaukee Brewers, possessed a very deep and talented bullpen. He also knew the Brewers had an amazing starting pitcher named Jacob Misiorowski, who could throw a baseball harder than 100 miles per hour and still control where it went. He knew his team couldn’t match either of those assets.

But his team did have some pluses of its own. It had an ace pitcher named Drew Rasmussen, who had already cranked up three gems in the postseason. And it had Tropicana Field, a domed monstrosity that inspires hatred and frustration from visiting teams, as its home. The Rays were 55-26 at The Trop during the regular season and 4-1, so far, in the postseason.

The first two games of the Series were scheduled to be played in Milwaukee, so Cash evidently calculated that, realistically, his team needed to win just one of those two games. If the Series stood 1-1 with the next three events slated for Tropicana Field, the Rays would probably have the upper hand. He knew the Brewers would pitch Misiorowski in the opener, so he figured that his best chance of winning a game in Milwaukee would be to save Rasmussen for Game Two.

Nothing wrong with that thinking. But …

Sure enough, Misiorowski and three relievers throttled the Rays in Game One. Then, in Game Two the Rays scored four runs in the top of the first inning — before Rasmussen even took the mound. The pitcher who had allowed only three runs in 21 postseason innings now had a 4-0 lead to work with. If Cash wasn’t a little bit proud of himself at that moment he isn’t human.

Did someone just whisper gang aft agley?

Rasmussen didn’t pitch like an ace. The man who had been positively brilliant once against the Yankees and twice against the Guardians couldn’t hold that lead. He was driven to the showers before the fourth inning was over.

What in the world happened? I only have a theory.

I watched all four of Rasmussen’s postseason outings and the only difference I noticed in his fourth start was the results. The Brewers didn’t get lucky hits. They swung the bats aggressively and scalded the ball. It appeared to me that they knew what pitch was coming. I can’t help but suspect that some eagle-eyed observer in the Brewers dugout noticed something about his delivery. Rasmussen might have been unwittingly tipping one or more of his pitches.

Things only got worse for the Rays. Much worse.

In the fifth inning of Gane Three they trailed, 2-0, when Milwaukee loaded the bases with two out. Cash was compelled to dip into his bullpen, but he had to dig deep. It was too early to call on a late-inning reliever. He had to take a middle man and hope for the best. He chose Cam Booser, who, up to that point, had pitched well in the postseason.

Not this time. Especially not this time. Booser was lit up like he was made of phosphorous. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it. I was keeping a scorebook, and things began happening so quickly I could barely keep up with them.

Booser threw only 12 pitches — seven for strikes. Two of those strikes were hit for singles and two for doubles. The Rays’ two-run deficit became a seven-run deficit in only a few seconds. Booser was followed by Ian Seymour, who was also ineffective. When the inning ended the Brewers had a 10-run lead and could coast the rest of the way. They didn’t have to use any of their better relievers — which meant all of them were available for Game Four.

Not surprisingly, all of them were used in Game Four.

The Brewers made a valiant bid to complete a sweep while the Rays scrambled to match their bullpen. Nick Martinez, who had been projected to start Game Five, pitched two innings in relief. Closer, Bryan Baker, who typically works only one inning at a time, pitched both the eighth and ninth innings.

It wasn’t until the twelfth inning that Brewers manager Pat Murphy found that gang aft agley can cut both ways.

Murphy was probably feeling smug when his shortstop, Cooper Pratt put the Brewers in the lead with a home run. But then he ran out of seasoned pitchers and was forced to call on rookie Shane Drohan to get the final three outs. Instead, he gave up four straight singles and the Rays denied the Brewers their bid for a sweep. The Rays had actually outlasted the Brewers and exposed a hole in Milwaukee’s bullpen.

The World Series would go on.

By the time you read this you’ll probably know the result of Game Five, which is scheduled for Wednesday night. Unfortunately, my deadline for this article is Wednesday afternoon.

All I can say at this point is gang aft agley.

WORLD SERIES STATISTICS (Through Game Four):  Pratt achieved three-quarters of a cycle when he produced a home run, a double and two singles in Game Four. No one has ever had a complete cycle in a World Series game … The Rays are 5-for-9 on stolen base attempts after going 11-for-11 in their first two playoff series … Jake Bauers of the Brewers is 2-for-17 and both hits were singles … Brandon Woodruff of the Brewers pitched the final inning of Game Three. It was his first appearance on a major league mound since July 4 … Aaron Ashby of the Brewers has given up only one hit in 5 2/3 innings. He hasn’t issued any walks at all … Jackson Chourio of the Brewers is 10-for-20. In the first two rounds of the playoff he was 6-for-35 … Brewers catcher William Contreras was 4-for-4 in ABS challenges in Game Three and 3-for-3 in Game Four … The Rays have struck out 34 times in four games and drawn only six walks.

Former Hall of Fame voter Jay Dunn has written baseball for The Trentonian for 58 years. Contact him at jaydunn8@aol.com