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**Airbornelawyer** · 07-04-2018, 11:59

Boston is 25-7 against AL East teams not located in the Bronx. The Yankees are only 15-10 against AL East teams not located in Boston (and they are 5-4 against the Red Sox), so they are not dominating their division the way the Red Sox are. They still have 42 games to play against AL East rivals, compared to 35 for the Red Sox.

The Yankees are 11-2 against the AL Central, 16-6 against the AL West and 8-6 against the NL East. Boston is 6-6 against the AL Central, 17-10 against the AL West and 6-1 against the NL East (and are leading the Nats in the 8th inning as I write this). Neither has played any NL Central or West teams, and won't for the rest of the regular season.

Coming into the season, I think that 11 teams (the Rays, Tigers, ChiSox, Royals, A's, Braves, Phillies, Marlins, Pirates, Reds and Padres were perceived as being in various stages of "rebuilding" or tanking for draft picks), while 4 other teams were probably deluding themselves that they were better than they were (Orioles, Blue Jays, Rangers, Mets).

Of the other 15 teams, 9 probably had reasonable expectations of reaching the post-season, at least as a wild card (Red Sox, Yankees, Indians, Astros, Nationals, Cubs, Dodgers, D'backs, Rockies) and 6 were somewhat hopeful (Twins, Mariners, Angels, Brewers, Cardinals, Giants).

So the biggest "upside" surprises so far appear to be the Braves and the Phillies, who seem to be much further along in their rebuilds than expected, and Oakland. The Pirates, though below .500, still appear to be better than expected. The Braves are 27-14 against their division and 22-21 against the rest of MLB. The Phillies are only 15-17 against the NL East, but that is because 22 of these games have been against the Braves and Nats and they still have 28 games left against the Marlins and Mets. The Mariners are also performing better than expected, especially without Cano. I don't know enough about the Brewers to have a strong opinion - they improved in the offseason, but a lot of their wins are against weaker teams.

Baltimore's woes, by the way, continue as Colby Rasmus basically just quit, and without even giving enough warning to allow the team to bring up a replacement.

07-04-2018, 11:59	#26
Airbornelawyer Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,938	Boston is 25-7 against AL East teams not located in the Bronx. The Yankees are only 15-10 against AL East teams not located in Boston (and they are 5-4 against the Red Sox), so they are not dominating their division the way the Red Sox are. They still have 42 games to play against AL East rivals, compared to 35 for the Red Sox. The Yankees are 11-2 against the AL Central, 16-6 against the AL West and 8-6 against the NL East. Boston is 6-6 against the AL Central, 17-10 against the AL West and 6-1 against the NL East (and are leading the Nats in the 8th inning as I write this). Neither has played any NL Central or West teams, and won't for the rest of the regular season. Coming into the season, I think that 11 teams (the Rays, Tigers, ChiSox, Royals, A's, Braves, Phillies, Marlins, Pirates, Reds and Padres were perceived as being in various stages of "rebuilding" or tanking for draft picks), while 4 other teams were probably deluding themselves that they were better than they were (Orioles, Blue Jays, Rangers, Mets). Of the other 15 teams, 9 probably had reasonable expectations of reaching the post-season, at least as a wild card (Red Sox, Yankees, Indians, Astros, Nationals, Cubs, Dodgers, D'backs, Rockies) and 6 were somewhat hopeful (Twins, Mariners, Angels, Brewers, Cardinals, Giants). So the biggest "upside" surprises so far appear to be the Braves and the Phillies, who seem to be much further along in their rebuilds than expected, and Oakland. The Pirates, though below .500, still appear to be better than expected. The Braves are 27-14 against their division and 22-21 against the rest of MLB. The Phillies are only 15-17 against the NL East, but that is because 22 of these games have been against the Braves and Nats and they still have 28 games left against the Marlins and Mets. The Mariners are also performing better than expected, especially without Cano. I don't know enough about the Brewers to have a strong opinion - they improved in the offseason, but a lot of their wins are against weaker teams. Baltimore's woes, by the way, continue as Colby Rasmus basically just quit, and without even giving enough warning to allow the team to bring up a replacement.
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