What is it about the Rays that the Jays can't get over?

[Spoonovic]

Is it John Maddon?

Is it their no-name bullpen?

Is it the empty, energy deprived, soulless Tropicana field?

 

Records against the Rays the last few years:

2013: 4-4 (2-3 @ TB)

2012: 4-14 (1-8 @ TB)

2011: 6-12 (3-5 @ TB)

 

Haven't won a series in TB since 2007. Awful.

[Dr Negative]

I think the main problem is that the Rays are good at baseball.

[Stangstag]

I think we still win this series. Hellickson usually gives the Jays trouble, so im not surprised he beat us. However I believe we can beat a struggling Moore and Hernandez.

[TheHurl]

Is it their no-name bullpen?

 

65 seasons of major league pitching between Rodney, Peralta, McGee, Farnsworth, Torres, Ramos and Wright...maybe this is what confuses you about the Jays lack of success against Tampa, you don't watch baseball

[Wilnercibia]

It's the s*** hole they call a stadium

 

It luls you to sleep, jays are in zombie mode when they play at tropicana

[o2cui2i]

http://paulsballparks.com/wp-content/gallery/tropicana/tropicanainprogress.jpg

[Deadpool]

I think the main problem is that the Rays are good at baseball.

 

That argument can be made for the previous few seasons, but the team that was on the field last night was less good at baseball than our team. But even the less-good team wins sometimes when your sample size is one.

[Wilnercibia]

Your dumn.

 

Im about to get my masters...And you're a 50 + year old Virgin who dreams of Nailing Avril Lavigne

 

Keep chirping you waste of human life

[flafson]

Attendance: 11,407

 

It's kinda funny cause i think half of those were Blue Jays fans. If you look, the 2 bats that Edwin threw to the crowed, Blue Jays fans got them.

[Tuco]

To me its the fact there much smarter then us as a baseball team and really gameplan us well and usually expose our weakness.

[Metallijay]

To me its the fact there much smarter then us as a baseball team and really gameplan us well and usually expose our weakness.

 

this.... everyone knew hellickson would nibble with junk on the corners and throw a lot of slow junk, the jays kept chasing it all night without ever adjusting except rasmus which is ironic. Even JP had 2 hits up the middile, the rest of the jays kept reaching and rolling over junk all night, it's like they never read scouting reports. This offense is overrated, it racks up runs on mistake pitchers but is easily shut down when working the count, smart hitting is required.

 

The jays simply don't seem to have specific gameplans for different pitchers....

[digiblader]

Agreed. We did give Moore trouble last time--but Ricky Romero/Edgar Gonzalez blew the game.

 

His last start vs. the Jays:

5IP, 6H, 2ER, 4BB, 2K

 

Plus, the lineup is better compared to that start. We won't have Boni playing CF, Lawrie batting leadoff, or Arencibia batting 5th.

 

My real question is--why is Moore regressing? His command's awful (4.7BB/9IP), and his K rate is dropping. All his peripherals are trending the wrong way. Makes you wonder if he's hiding an injury.

 

According to Fangraphs, Moore's velocity has dropped. His fastball's down to 92.4mph, slider's down to 80.8mph, changeup's down to 84.3.

[digiblader]

What a horrible stadium. Even though they've renovated since that pic was taken, it's still ugly.

 

Every time the Jays play there, it's awful because of the difficulty of tracking fly balls due to the catwalks(see Rasmus), the artificial turf, etc.

[BlueJayWay]

I have no idea, but it drives me completely batty. I mean, there's no way you should go like 18 series in a place without winning some. There's so much randomness in baseball that you should win sometimes almost by accident. The Jays don't have nearly this trouble anywhere else.

 

Just their last series at home, they lost 3 of 4 to Kansas City. So within the last month, the Royals have won more series in Tropicana than the Jays have since April 2007. And Toronto plays there three series a year.

[digiblader]

Remember, once the Rays pitching started to improve, the Rays became difficult to beat.

 

Not listed:

2010: 8-10

2009: 4-14

2008: 7-11

2007: 9-9

2006: 12-6

 

So far, this may be our best season vs. TB in a while--partially due to the regression of Tampa's pitchers. Jays started struggling in 2008 when Tampa's pitching began to develop. This year has been more difficult for Tampa due to the departure of James Shields and regression of pitchers like Matt Moore, David Price, and that awful bullpen.

[kcjaysfan]

Im about to get my masters...

 

What are you getting your master's in?

[digiblader]

Still, at least we'll have a better record vs. Tampa this year than 2012 and 2011. Remember, the Rays aren't the same. There's no Carlos Pena, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Jeff Keppinger, etc. to hurt the Jays.

 

And Wil Myers BTW.. despite his HRs and his .294 average, he is striking out a ton, and not walking, as he is facing MLB pitchers for the first time. Wait until the pitchers adjust.. ask Will Middlebrooks of the Red Sox, who is about to end up in AAA because of his inability to adjust(60/9 K/BB ratio, 33% K Rate) and the emergence of Jose Iglesias.

[Auldphartt]

>>>What is it about the Rays that the Jays can't get over?<<<

 

pitching?

[digiblader]

Feel good about tonight--Buehrle's pitching much better than he was earlier in the season(he held the Rays to 2 ER last time). In addition, the lineup is different for both teams since last time.

[digiblader]

Exactly. Why do you think we've struggled vs. them since 2008?

[digiblader]

It was more the bats yesterday--the pitching wasn't the problem. Remember, Hellickson has won 4 of his last 5 starts--he was really starting to turn it around(except for the Royals start).

 

His last start in Boston showed a decreasing fly ball rate..

[Deadpool]

Rogers was pitching excellent till yesterday too. And to be honest, he continued pitching well. Jays just froze up. Hope they break out of it quickly because I don't want to see them tail spin the way the Angels did after their streak ended.

 

Yeah, I have no issue with our 4th or 5th starter allowing 4 runs in 6 innings once in a while. The "back to back to back" homers were just kinda a punch to the dick.

[Wilnercibia]

What are you getting your master's in?

 

http://www.uh.edu/class/hhp/graduate-programs/ms-human-space-exploration/index.php

[Sammy225]

Best way to cover after loosing a long streak...... Win big the next day.... And that is exactly what we will do! You heard it here first I am personally guaranteeing a win today!

[Jays]

We're talking about an eight-game sample in which the teams are tied 4-4... there's nothing to analyze in-depth here.

 

Don't mind Digiblader, he's always overanalyzing things because he's a big sabermetrics guy.

[G-Snarls]

http://paulsballparks.com/wp-content/gallery/tropicana/tropicanainprogress.jpg

 

Wow what a shitheap

 

And an empty shitheap at that...

[o2cui2i]

wow what a shitheap

 

and an empty shitheap at that...

yay! yay yay yay... yay.. TEAM!team!teamteam...

[Chappy]

Jays are letting them win. It's the least they can do when the team outnumbers the fans.

[Sammy225]

So what can we do to you if we lose?

 

We won't

[digiblader]

Jays lineup:

 

Cabrera DH

Bautista RF

Encarnacion 3B

Lind 1B

DeRosa 2B

Davis LF

Rasmus CF

Arencibia C

Izturis SS

 

Buehrle P

 

RAYS

Jennings CF

S-Rod LF

Zobrist DH

Longoria 3B

Myers RF

Escobar SS

Loney 1B

Molina C

Kelly Johnson 2B

 

Moore P