Article: Beating Vegas: The Tampa Bay Rays

[John Bonnes]

Here's your second chance to show us you can beat Vegas and win a Harry’s Razor starter kit! The Rays find themselves stuck. Stuck between good and bad. Stuck between prospects and suspects. But mostly stuck in a stadium that is strangling any fan interest, revenue opportunities and competive hopes they might have. Their 80-82 record might as well be Flick after licking the flag pole: "THTUUUCK!"Vegas’ Line: 81.5 wins

 

What The Line Is Saying

"We like ya well enough, but let us know when you're serious about winning."

 

They’ll Beat Vegas If…

The core to be competitive is there. Evan Longoria anchors the lineup. Their rotation is outstanding, led by Chris Archer who had 252(!) strikeouts last year. They need their supplementary bats, particularly in their underachieving lineup, to take turns being productive.

 

 If you beat Vegas, you can win a free Harry’s Razor starter set. Just leave a comment with your choice of the “Over” or” Under” and your reasoning. At the end of the season, for each team, we’ll randomly pick one of the winning predictions for a free Truman Razor set.

 They’ll Lose To Vegas If…

A few of their stars miss time or have a bad year and the rest of the lineup doesn't catch fire. Or they just follow the lead of their fans and ex-manager and ex-GM and any of their ex-players and give up. It's hard to believe they haven't already.

 

I’ll Bet The….

UNDER

And it breaks my heart. It looks like the Rays window has closed, and all that's left is to play out the string and decide when to start the next rebuild. I suspect the only reason they haven't done that already is they're still hoping this sustained run finally gets them the stadium they need.

 

 Now it’s your turn. Give us your prediction in the comment section (you’ll need to register first) and you’re automatically entered. We’ll be giving out a free Harry’s Razor Truman Set to one of the winning correct predictions for each team, so we’ll be give away 15 sets of razors! You can also click over to Harry’s Razors and get $5 off on your first order using the promo code ‘gleeman’.

 

Stop by tomorrow for another change. Or, prior to 4/5/16, you can also enter a prediction for any of the previous teams we’ve covered. Here they are:

 

AL East

Baltimore Orioles

 

 

Click here to view the article

[Vanimal46]

Under. I think they finish last in the AL East and the first team in the AL to be big time sellers at the trade deadline. Their run of elite prospects have dried up...

 

Chris Archer arguably has the best value in the MLB from a performance and contract standpoint. I predict he'll get traded to retool their farm.

[Mike Sixel]

Under.....I really wish they could get a real revenue stream, and be longer term contenders.

 

And, again, don't pick me for the razors.....

[biggentleben]

Under. I do not get the projection systems picking them first in the division. I may be selling them short, but they're the team I'd bet on finishing last in the division.

[davidc3915]

I'd have to also say under.  Considering the other teams in the division, I don't see how they finish above .500.   I'll say 77-85

[Vanimal46]

 

Under. I do not get the projection systems picking them first in the division. I may be selling them short, but they're the team I'd bet on finishing last in the division.

I'm with you 100%. The AL's not going to be littered with teams finishing in the 77-87 win range like FanGraphs projects. One of these teams is going to realize being mediocre isn't going to help in the long run and start tearing down what they have. The Rays are a very good candidate to do just that. 

[biggentleben]

 

I'm with you 100%. The AL's not going to be littered with teams finishing in the 77-87 win range like FanGraphs projects. One of these teams is going to realize being mediocre isn't going to help in the long run and start tearing down what they have. The Rays are a very good candidate to do just that. 

 

I can see on paper why everything says that range, seriously, but there's just a lot of faith put in the Rays system from people that are no longer there to get production from guys who haven't really produced yet.

[Wookiee of the Year]

Over.

 

Because the Rays often surprise, but mainly because everyone else is taking the Under.

[Willihammer]

I'd take the over too. They look like the 2nd best team in the division to me.

[pbrezeasap]

I'll say that their rotation does very well and gets them to the over.

[tobi0040]

I am going over. We forget how good Matt Moore is and he is back. Good top of the rotation with intrigue 3-5. They usually platoon their way to a surprising offense.

[alanwil2]

Under.  I don't think they can score enough runs to win some games.

[Camdog5555]

Over - smart organization, great pitching

 

[djohnson24]

Under.  I think it'll be close, but I don't see a bounce back for Longoria and I don't know how they're going to score runs.  The rotation could be great, but I think that's if everything goes right.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I'll go out on a limb with the over. I think their pitching delivers and they scrap their way into the 83 win range with the help of faltering Yankees and Orioles squads.

 

Of course, 83 wins only gets them third in that division.

[David Zeller]

Under- I also think they'll be sellers at the deadline also because I don't think they can stay healthy

[TheLeviathan]

Over

[Scooter262]

Under. Great pitching, but I don't see how they can score enough.

Scooter262@yahoo.com

[spinowner]

Under.