Brutal Schedule

by Matt Bishoff on Jun 18, 2008 11:06 PM EDT Comment 15 comments

This Rays team has been winning games like they never have before...and they have done it by going through the toughest route in all of baseball. Of the Rays 71 games this year, 60 have been against teams with a record above .500. The next closest are the Blue Jays and Mariners who have both played 51 games against teams with a record above .500. Through these 60 games against good teams, the Rays have gone a staggering 34-25. Compare this to the Blue Jays and Mariners who have gone 23-28 and 18-33 respectively.

For the record, the Red Sox have only played 42 "tough" games compared to the Rays 60. This shows the Rays haven't just been doing it in the toughest division in all of baseball, but also their out-of-division games have been against top teams as well. The difficulty of schedules doesn't always sort out evenly between teams, but a difference of 18 games with the Sox should at least tighten a little bit.

Looking at stats like these makes you realize how truly special this team really is. For a team that has this much young talent to lace up and bring it every night against top teams with no fear, shows you how exciting this team will be to watch for years to come. Any guesses as to our record if we had the Sox schedule?

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If anyone is wondering where I have been…I am in Maine for the next few weeks with limited internet access and am taking a hiatus of sorts from posting, but I will still try and put something up every once in a bit

"I'd hate to leave right when the getting is good." -CC

by Matt Bishoff on Jun 18, 2008 11:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

we would have 50 wins if we had the red sux's schedule

damn i really didnt realize that we had that many games against top competition and had that good of a record, with that type of success i think that we could seriously make a run for the division as our schedule loosens up next week against houston and pittsburgh and if we can win 2 out of 3 from the red sox than we could start to run away with the division

by RaysOfHope on Jun 18, 2008 11:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

we didnt have to go to japan though

which is nice

by rglass44 on Jun 18, 2008 11:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Red Sox have played 7 more away games than we have.

Judging by our road performance I would suggest we wouldn’t even have 40 wins if we played Boston’s schedule

by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jun 19, 2008 1:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Our road record stinks vs good teams. I think our road numbers would be much better if we were able to play bottom feeders like the Royals.

by matthan on Jun 19, 2008 9:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Teamrankings.com

is a pretty good site to see relative strengths. The numbers are based on the records of who you have played so things can sometimes get out of whack, but if used correctly are a nice way to see relative strength.

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.

by Sandy Kazmir on Jun 18, 2008 11:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Interesting that according to them we have played 3 games against the bottom half of the league.

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.

by Sandy Kazmir on Jun 18, 2008 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

FWIW

ESPN has a baseball RPI and the Rays have been #1 for 2 months and it hasn’t been that close in awhile. The only reason it is as close as it is right now is because whoever does their “power rankings” has the Rays 9th ?

by Dbullsfan on Jun 19, 2008 2:36 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

good post Matt

And June looks like as tough a month as this team will see. I saw it coming in mid-May, and that was before injuries to Pena, Percival, and mass suspensions. I’d say we have performed VERY strong the past 3 weeks considering all this adversity and the strength of schedule

by blazinrayz on Jun 19, 2008 3:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Baseball Prospectus's Adjusted Standings

A very basic explanation: They take your RS and RA, look at who you’ve played, strip out the “luck,” and attempt to put everyone on an even playing field as far as who they’ve played.

The Sawx have the best 3rd order record in baseball at 48-27, the Rays have the second best record at 44-27, and the Cubs, A’s, and Phillies are next at 42 wins and 30, 29, 32 losses respectively.

Not surprisingly, most of the AL East teams (all but the O’s) have won less games than what they should have. Most of the good NL teams are the opposite.

by rglass44 on Jun 19, 2008 10:05 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I have been throwing the RPI

into my friends and coworkers faces for the last two months. These stats on whom the Rays have played have been really interesting. I have surprised many by letting them know who the Rays have played.

What’s great is that naysayers are struggling to come up with “yeah, but” comments.

Examples: The Rays are off to a good start: “Yeah, but they haven’t played the Red Sox yet.”

The Rays have a winning May. “Yeah, but it’s ONLY may and the season doesn’t start until June.”

The Rays are going for a sweep against the Cubs. “Yeah, but the Cubs don’t have Soriano.”

It’s been fun, keep it up Rays!

In the name of Sinji Mori, we shall win!

by thebaddancingraysfan on Jun 19, 2008 10:53 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs