A quick check of the tote board this morning finds the Rays in sole possession of 2nd place in the big bad AL East. To get there, all they had to do was get back to .500. That seems to beg the question, is the AL East really as tough as we all think it is or predicted it would be?
- I did a Google Image Search for “Beast of the East” and found this guy. Apparently, he is some Russian boxer. I am terrified of him. I am going to spend a month training in Siberia just in case I ever run into him in a dark alley.
Sure it’s easy to point to the money New York and Boston spent this winter as proof that it is a tough division. But Boston scuffled out of the game and New York looks less than invincible. Plus, the “new and improved” Blue Jays looked very pedestrian this weekend and the “new and improved” Orioles haven’t done much of anything since leaving the Trop after opening week.
Looking deeper, the teams in the East are a combined 21-21 against other teams in the division, which is identical to their 17-17 record against the Central but better than their 12-14 record against the West. More importantly, it looks like all the teams in the East are getting fat against bad early season schedules. They are a combined 35-28 against teams under .500 but only a combined 15-24 against teams at or over .500. (Most shocking is that the Rays have played 20 of their 22 games against sub-.500 teams, and their overall record is just 11-11. Yikes!).
In the end, I think Boston is going to get a little better and New York is going to get a little worse. But, looking at the early returns and factoring in the unbalanced schedule (there are still 318 inter-division games to be played — the Rays still have 64 more games against the East) I think it is safe to say this is a pretty average division that is going to hover right around .500 all year.
Maybe that means the eventual AL East champ will only need 85-88 wins instead of the 99 wins the AL East champ has averaged since 2008 (97, 103, 96).
Wait, is it supposed to be some kind of revelation that AL East teams play .500 ball against EACH OTHER?
Well. No. But I see that it reads like that. My apologies. I was more concerned how they were playing outside the division. It’s one thing to say that the East is so good, the best you can hope for is .500. But, if they are playing .500 ball outside the division as well, that makes it look more like they are all just mediocre teams, not like they are a bunch of good teams squeezed into one division.
But, just for the hell of it, I looked it up. In 2010, the Rays were the best in the division at 42-30, the Orioles were worst at 24-48. The rest hovered right at .500. In 2009, the Yankees and Sox tied for the best inter-East record at 45-27 with the Rays right behind at 40-32. Toronto and Baltimore were well under .500 at 26-46 and 24-48 respectively.
So, I think it is pretty noteworthy that all 5 teams are right at, or near, .500 in the division. Generally, I think the teams in the East gravitate to the top or bottom. Looks like more parity than in year’s past. But, it’s early.
Mark,
You may want to read the Lakeland Ledger today, there is an article about the Rays finances…again. They are talking about the possibility of the other owners forcing the team to leave, or prove they can increase revenue. This is one horse, that if not yet beaten to death, is certainly mortally wounded. Even our local media is on the bandwagon now!
I heard. My in-laws live in Winter Haven and my father-in-law put me onto the story. I haven’t read it but, based on his description, it sounded like more lazy, unsupportable, hackneyed reporting. I think, at this point, I am just going to ignore it. The Rays are not going to be contracted or moved. Stu is not buying the Mets or the Dodges. That is the official Ray Area position.
I figured as much, none of it makes sense. The team is under contract with St. Petersburg. One of the points they make actually works against the story, they talk about attendance not being the deciding factor anymore. It is more about television and merchandise. They go so far as to mention that the Rangers just landed a 1.6 billion dollar TV deal. In 2016, provided the Rays viewership remains as high as it has, the Rays should be in line for a big payday. Enough to build a new stadium if they choose to, I am getting tired of Stu posturing though. He has a few quotes in the story that don’t endear him to the fans. I think everyone believes that Selig is going to strong arm the city into either building a new stadium, or allowing the team to move. Where exactly could they go?! There are no proven markets available, and as everyone has mentioned on here, the Rays are just going on 13 years old! They haven’t even had time to drum up a fan base. Their success has thrust them in the spotlight early, and it’s almost like they are shunned for being an expansion team that bloomed too soon. Patience is required in situations like this, and the media has none.