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Can the Rays keep it up in the 2nd half?
Topic Started: Sun Jul 13, 2008 11:04 pm (48 Views)
Xx Yankee xX


The Rays lost today to make there losing streak at 7 games going into the allstar break and they now stand in 2nd place in the AL East. The Rays have gone beyond expectations so far this year. With a young and talented team they have managed to do wonders. Evan Longoria has been spectacular for them so far with a .275 BA, 16 HR's, 53 RBI's, .348 OBP and .513 SLG. Lets not forget he plays great defense and he has a .973 FPCT. He also made the allstar game in his rookie season. Guys like Crawford, Iwamura, Upton and Navarro have gelled to make this offense work. They dont really have any allstar type players besides Crawford and Longoria. They are really missing a big power hitter to make this offense complete. Maybe someone like a Jason Bay or Matt Holliday. They should definently make a trade for a bat at the deadline.

Lets not forget their spectacular pitching performances thus far from that rotation. Andy Sonnanstine, James Sheilds, Scott Kazmir, and Matt Garza have all pitched well this year. They also have a great bullpen with guys like J.P. Howell, Grant Balfour, Dan Wheeler and the veteran in the back of the bullpen Troy Percival. The starting pitching has struggled a bit lately, but the allstar break should give them time to settle down and be fresh when they return.

So can they keep this up in the 2nd half? They ended this 1st half on a terrible offensive and pitching slump. This may have some questioning whether or not they can repeat this performance in the 2nd half of the season. I think they can keep it up. They start the 2nd half off against the Blue Jays. A series win should get this team out of this funk. They have a fairly easy schedule in July and it gets harder in August as they take on the Angels, White Sox, Rangers, and Tigers. In September they take on the Yankees twice, Red Sox twice and end the season against the Tigers on the road. Its going to be tough especially with the Tigers and Twins also battling for a wild card spot if they cant win the AL Central.
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Mariners in 2009
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My predictions, not that they matter much, but oh well... :whistle:

AL

Boston will win the East, Tampa will take the Wildcard assuming New York doesn't trade the farm for stars.

Minnesota will fade in the Central, Detroit will make a late run at the division, but won't pass Chicago.

Anaheim will take the West, even though Oakland plays insane in second halves.


NL

Mets win the East now that Willie is gone. Philly comes up just short, they need to get a big name. Florida fades.

Chicago takes the Central. Milwaukee takes the Wildcard thanks to Sabathia.

I still think Los Angeles takes the West, however they do it with an 80-82 record. :eek:


Bold Perdictions

Pittsburgh still wins at least 78 games, almost enough to win the West

Cleveland and Colorado still finish under .500

(I said that in March and stand by it)
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Infamous


I think those are pretty good predictions, M's.

As for my opinion I think the Rays are going to fade a little during the second half. I still think they are capable of finishing in second place in the AL East. This losing streak is the team catching up with itself. Not necessarily more indicative of the teams ability; they're definitely slumping. I say they play .500 ball the rest of the way.
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sportslover
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They're not going to slow down any. It's just a random slump. I haven't watched ESPN or anything in 3 days, but I'm guessing the stupid fucking words like "inexperience" and need more "veteran leadership" have come up. They really need Crawford and Pena to hit.

Crawford's eBABIP is .318 when his BABIP is .298 (career .330). That smells a lot like bad luck. Basically, he's hit the same amount of LD, GB, and FB....they just haven't been falling. Pena has slowly gotten going.
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