Is There Any Bigger Surprise In Baseball Than Tampa Bay Rays Having Worst Record In American League?

[HacheMan]

Many experts picked the Rays to not only win the AL East this year, but also for Toronto to finish last.

But here we are with Toronto pretty much leading the division all year so far, and the Rays not only in last place in the East, but the entire American League, and next to last in the entire league...

 

[carlspackler]

Pretty much lost their starting rotation to injuries. Same with the Yanks. It will be a war of attrition in the AL East this year.

 

[bigtendominator]

I will probably get ripped for this, but Oakland and Tampa are two teams that have very good pitching, but their offenses are so awful at being consistent. Tampa, just like Oakland, manages timely hits more than other teams. When see Detroit currently or NYY/Boston of the past, you just know their lineups can rake consistently. Their pitching carries them, but they aren't consistent and I have been waiting for the same to happen to Oakland for long-time. You figure at some point, I would believe they both are pretty good.

 

[5teamparlay]

The Cubs are 40-54 at least they are not the worst now and the being better than the Cubs is no surprise

Tampa Bay's 44 wins at the break are the club's fewest since winning 34 in 2007. The Rays (44-53) are eight games out of a wild-card spot and 9 1/2 back in the AL East, though their 13-5 record since June 25 is the second-best in the majors.

 

[Betallsports]

Boston being 43-52 is a little of a Shock

 

[JoeFalls]

the astros ahead of the rangers in the standings at the break.

 

[5teamparlay]

RAYS BATTLING BACK 6.5 out of a WC

Pushing the Tampa Bay Rays back toward .500 might be David Price's way of dampening trade rumors.[h=3]Pitching Details[/h]

• Win
  David Price
  #14,
  <abbr title="Wins: 10">10</abbr><abbr title="Losses: 7">-7</abbr>
  
• Loss
  Phil Hughes
  #45,
  <abbr title="Wins: 10">10</abbr><abbr title="Losses: 6">-6</abbr>
  
• Save
  Jake McGee
  #57,
  <abbr title="Saves: 8">SV: 8</abbr>

The All-Star left-hander (DP) pitched eight scoreless innings to win five straight starts for the first time in his major league career, and the Rays beat the Minnesota Twins 5-1 Saturday night for their fourth consecutive victory.

 

[5teamparlay]

6.5 out of a WC as I write

The Rays, who went on an 11-4 tear going into the All-Star break, matched their longest winning streak of the season against the punchless Twins, who scored six runs in the three-game series. At 47-53, Tampa Bay hasn't been this close to .500 since May 25, when they were five games under, and went on a 10-game losing streak.

 

[5teamparlay]

6.0 OUT OF A WC as i write--

It was the Rays' season-high sixth straight win. They have outscored the opposition 36-11 during the run.

 

[neverbend]

They'll win the pennant because I did not bet on them to win the pennant this year like I did the previous 3 years

 

[MikeB]

the astros ahead of the rangers in the standings at the break.

This is a surprise. It's amazing how awful the Rangers are this year

 

[5teamparlay]

Looking to win nine straight for the first time in 10 years, the Rays can do so by handing the visiting Boston Red Sox a fifth consecutive defeat Saturday night.

 

[5teamparlay]

The Rays-- who improved to a major league-best 15-6 since July 12. They will try to complete the three-game sweep on Sunday