Are We Sleeping on the Tampa Bay Rays… Again?
The Tampa Bay Rays are the one team people love to sleep on. However, this season, pundits should be wary of giving up on the Rays too soon.
It’s not easy being the Tampa Bay Rays. There’s being underrated, there are twenty feet of nothing, and then there’s the Rays having to explain why maybe playing half their home games in Montreal is somehow a good idea.
When it comes to getting attention, the team from Tampa strikes out with alarming regularity.
And yet…. here we are. Looking at a team that is almost silently making a case for the postseason. Currently, Baseball-Reference places their odds at making the playoffs at 47.4%, and their World Series win chances at an extremely bleak 2.5%.
….. So you’re saying there’s a chance?
I am, and I’m also saying it might be a little better than you think. Why?…
Because they’re Stupid Good at Preventing Runs
Like, second in all of baseball, behind only the much-covered Los Angeles Dodgers. In fact, those two clubs are the only ones that have allowed less than four runs per game.
The Astros, Twins, Yankees, Braves, or Nationals can’t prevent the other team from scoring as well as the Rays. This is largely attributed to their lights out bullpen, who has posted the second-best ERA (3.68) and reliever WAR (5.7) in the Major Leagues.
Couple this with solid defense, and suddenly you have a team that can match up (and really, has already) with any of the other powerhouses in the American League.
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