Wednesday, May 13, 2009

The Jays haven't played anyone

Here's a little perspective on the first-place Toronto Blue Jays, whose loss tonight was just their fourth of the month of May:

The most common criticism of Cito Gaston's charges so far has been that they haven't played anyone. The consensus around these parts is that they're going to get their Mounties handed to them once they have to play against the Red Sox and Yankees and Rays.

That might still be true. Before the games scheduled today, the Blue Jays had played teams with a record of .500 or better only 13 times (out of 35 games).

The Red Sox, on the other hand?

Four times.

That's right: Four times.

That's by far the lowest number in baseball; the Rangers are second-to-last on the list, and they've played .500 teams nine times.

Other than the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (and Hollywood and Parts of Southern Idaho), the Red Sox haven't played a single team with a .500 record so far this season.

(And if you think other teams are below .500 just because the Red Sox are beating them, consider this: The Rays are 6-3 against the Red Sox and 9-16 against everyone else.)

Maybe the Jays haven't played anyone. But maybe they're not the only ones.

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