jaysfan2014

This is also a statement game for Oakland as well. Oakland's early sked has been really soft.. and they're only .500 vs. Texas and Seattle, and mostly have fattened up on Houston, Minnesota, and an injured Washington team. The last AL East opponent they faced in Boston, they lost 2 of 3 to the Red Sox.

How we were even in contention in '09 that early is a real question mark.. luckily, the 2014 team has more depth in the rotation, and much weaker competition due to age and regression of most of the AL East except Baltimore. Lineup is much deeper as well.

Luckily, we have the only knuckleballer in MLB right now, so it won't happen this time. Plus, our Jays are deeper than the '09 team. Man, that lineup we had was terrible outside of Lind and Hill.

If he did that, that would've been during the Boston series. Wakefield wouldn't play for anyone other than the Red Sox. But we could do the same effect to the A's with Dickey this Saturday..

And now Patton just gave up a 2-run double to Carlos Santana.

Baltimore and Cleveland still fighting it out in the 11th... tied 6-6.

Well, we have a decent shot. Oakland has really yet to play a true AL contender outside of the LA Angels. All of the AL competition they've faced are all below .500, outside of the Angels, who they're 2-1 against. This series and next will test the A's, when they face decent opponents that are contending. For some reason, I see their current record and run differential as deceptive due to the weak schedule they've had. Starting this series, the A's are going to be seriously tested, with big series against us, the Tigers, Angels, Yankees and Orioles. With the Angels closing in, the A's are going to have to hope their pitching holds up. Just FYI, here's what the A's sked has been like so far: (source: Baseball Reference) W L RS RA .PCT BOS 1 2 7 15 .333 CHW 2 1 18 8 .667 CLE 4 2 40 15 .667 HOU 5 2 48 25 .714 LAA 2 1 17 16 .667 MIN 3 0 21 8 1.000 SEA 5 5 31 33 .500 TBR 2 1 8 7 .666 TEX 3 3 32 16 .500 WSN 3 0 21 4 1.000 Beating Minnesota, Cleveland and a hurt Washington team is one thing... can they do it against potential contending teams?

Cleveland leading 3-0 on the beat-up Orioles, who are already still recovering from last night's crazy game they lost, especially when the bullpen was forced to throw a lot of innings.

True. If they trade Price, it'd probably be someone like the Dodgers, Giants, or another contending team NOT in the AL East.

Liam Hendriks tomorrow, RA Dickey on Sat. No idea why they changed.. possibly it might be because Hendriks would be on regular rest tomorrow.

I believe it's a multi-year ban IIRC.

And surprisingly, Balfour gets out of a jam..

Hope that fan likes a jail cell and a ban from Fenway..

Reddick flies out.

He is more valuable as a shutdown middle reliever than as a starter, helping the bridge to Janssen. Looks like another win coming for the Jays.

Lowrie just got IBBd. If it stays tied here, it could be a long evening for the A's and Rays, as neither team has hit tonight.

They don't have a choice. All of their relievers are worn down after both Doubront and Buchholz didn't get out of the 5th.

7-1 now. Unfortunately, Farrell has few options. They've got to fly to the dumpy stadium in St. Pete after this.. and they're still waiting for Stephen Drew to clear waivers.

Lester's not gonna get out of this inning at this rate. Although, considering their tired bullpen, Lester may be left out there to keep giving up runs or figure things out.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/05/22/5840321/fielder-surgery-possibility-dampens.html?rh=1 Fielder facing season-ending surgery. Tigers are winning the Kinsler/Fielder trade by a mile. Texas should've taken the deal with the Blue Jays for Kinsler, as Fielder is turning into a major albatross for the franchise. And if that's not bad enough, another OF is DL-bound, as Daniel Robertson got hurt colliding into Alex Rios in CF.

Well, Price is still striking batters out.. but he's also getting hit around more. Weaker defense due to Escobar (-0.7 dWAR) and Longoria (0.0 dWAR) struggling defensively, and Zobrist's injury hasn't helped, either. Forsythe and S-Rod are downgrades at 2B.

Considering his attitude, it'll likely be the 2nd option. And to think he was a decent prospect in 2011 and 2012.. how did he manage to screw up? With Soto set to return soon, JPA will likely never see the big leagues again. Chirinos will continue to be the starter until then, with Gimenez backing him up.

Sorry to disappoint you, but it's real. The Rays are 19-28, with little hope in sight. Heck, even the Blue Jays could beat this team right now. In addition, struggling Boston can put Tampa out of their misery in their series this weekend.. and it wouldn't be surprising if the Red Sox did, even with their current struggles.

Also forgot to add that the Rays have the 2nd worst offense in the AL at 3.85 runs per game.. only Houston is worse. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, there are no bats coming in the Rays system. The only option is to trade David Price.. and that might not even be enough.

Hey, he's been our equivalent of Mariano Rivera in our bullpen. With the bullpen stabilizing, we could go on a big run if the SP keeps up and the offense remains hot (2nd most runs in the AL, only behind Oakland.)