We've reached a point deep enough into the season that certain "truths" and "norms" can be questioned and debunked. Here are some of the RJG's favorite myths that were prominently accepted early in the season:
The Toronto Blue Jays are Winning the AL EAST!
Toronto got off to a hot start this season, and quickly shot into first place. However, they never had the pitching behind Roy Halladay to keep that up, and alas they fell to 4th place.
The Red Sox are the Best Team
I never fully understood this sentiment that seemed common back in spring training. The Red Sox added Rocco Baldelli, Brad Penny and John Smoltz over the winter, and everyone thought these were smart moves. What I really didn't get was how the Red Sox could be considered the best team when they did little to improve themselves and finished in second place the last season. Was Baldelli, Penny, and Smoltz all they needed to beat the Rays last season? Either way, people slept on the Yankees early on despite their adding two big arms, and a big bat. Suckers.
The Mets Will Compete in the NL East
Injuries made any hope of this untenable, but what can you do? You can challenge your minor league team to a fist fight, but that doesn't always work. The Mets would have needed to do a lot to compete with the Phillies this year, and they just didn't do it. They missed out on every good free agent starter, and finished the off season bringing back Oliver Perez. That's what I call an off season failure.
Tampa Bay is a Perennial Contender Now
Even we thought they could be a power house team in the AL East for years to come. David Price showed a lot of promise throwing out of the bullpen in the post season, and Evan Longoria proved to be a legitimate power threat. But this season has proved rough for the Rays and even though they're still in contention for the wild card, they haven't shown the dominance that defined their 2008 season.
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2 comments:
It didn't make sense to me that people were saying the Mets were going to complete. Even before all their injuries (I really think Citifield might be cursed) their rotation was not that impressive. Aside from Santana who did they have? John Maine and Oliver Perez?
That was my main issue with them. They vastly improved their bullpen, but that doesn't matter when you're not handing over with a lead. Livan Hernandez, Oliver Perez and John Maine were not enough to build a rotation behind Johan Santana. Offense can only get you so far.
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