Really Good AL East Teams That Are Not the Rays

 

The Toronto Blue Jays have two guys with 0.9 or 1.0 WAR right now, but I bet you didn't know that because of all this mess about how the Rays are 10-0.

Forgive my continued infuriation at the Tampa squad. To me, they're like the Mr. Magoo of the MLB. They keep narrowly avoiding actual danger, but in a way that doesn't even make you think they're gonna get into danger in the first place. Just rag dolling through it and getting out the other end every time. Oh, Jose Siri's injured, I wonder if this is gonna stop 'em, noooo here they are again. 

And before I forget, the Rays have begun the year playing four straight 2022 5th place teams, of course they're 10-0. If they maybe had a few durable, formidable opponents in there, maybe they'd look a lot more like the Blue Jays. 6-4, still doing pretty well, all the right players are showing up but not blowing the doors off the place. But, y'know, that doesn't make headlines like a 10-0 start [against teams that suck balls].

Let me just check here, who do the Rays play this weekend-AH, THAT'S RIGHT, the Toronto Blue Jays. Which means if they somehow figure out how to go 13-0, it will be a lot tougher to stay undefeated once faced with an actual good team. Believe me, I know I sound like an Eagles skeptic from last season, but you have to agree that schedule-wise, the Rays got insanely lucky so far. By comparison, the Yankees are playing Cleveland right now, and the games have been close. Don't 'HOW ARE THEY WINNING BY 5 EVERY TIME AGAINST OAKLAND' me, ESPN.

Lord. Okay. The Jays. The Jays are great.

Matt Chapman's looking like his A's self again with this team, hitting .475 with 19 hits and 14 RBIs. Considering that he struggled with average last year, this is a version of Matt Chapman the Blue Jays have been waiting for a while to see. Conversely, Daulton Varsho is picking up where he left off in Arizona, with a .306 average. Even Kiermaier's hitting .400, which is nice to see. And, yes, having Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, George Springer and Kevin Gausman certainly helps. There are a few rough starts in the rotation, and Manoah, Berrios and Bassitt are all trying to bring the temperature back down, but there's enough good hitters on this team to counteract pitching struggles.

I do see the Jays factoring heavy into the main AL pennant race, and I definitely see the pitching improving as the month goes on. Eventually the Jays are gonna overtake the Rays in the standings, and if you'd told me in 2016 I'd be rooting for that to happen, I'd kill ya.

Coming Tomorrow- He took all of last year to get used to major league pitching. Judging from the first week or so of 2023 play, I'd say he's figured it out.