Blue Jays AL East Recap: Jays Struggle Out of Town

Each week, Jays Journal will take a look at the bigger picture of the AL East to help frame not only where the Blue Jays are in the standings, but why they are there.

Baltimore Orioles: 45-30
Boston Red Sox: 41-34
Toronto Blue Jays: 41-36
New York Yankees: 37-37
Tampa Bay Rays: 31-43

The Blue Jays faced a down week, being out-pitched and out-powered by the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox.

After pacing their American League East foes well over a three week period, the Blue Jays fell flat against out of division rivals. The Blue Jays rotation struggled, and the offence the Jays had seen so much of lately was out of sight for most of the week.

Despite the struggles of the week, the Blue Jays did get two days of rest to help accommodate for the grind they have been on for most of June. Additionally, though the Orioles consolidate their power, the Red Sox similarly declined, leaving the Jays just a game out of the second place position.

If the Jays can find their power stroke and get a good few weeks from their rotation they could uproot the Sox from second (and from the first Wild Card Slot they currently hold).

Final Takeaway: 

Though they struggled this week, the Blue Jays received key rest opportunities that should allow them to stay healthy, and compete long into the season. If they can find the strength they showed for most of June, they could be set to excel in July.

Now let’s take a look at the division rivals…

Next: Orioles Remain Kings of the East

Boston falls behind in the East

Boston Red Sox: 41-34

The Red Sox entered last week ready to fight to stay in first place, but they ended this week four games behind it.

Boston saw little success in a full week of play, losing a four-game series against the White Sox, followed by a series loss against the Texas Rangers. Their normally strong offence, was silenced for most of the week as their rotation struggled.

Boston’s biggest flaw of the week was its bullpen. The normally strong ‘pen blew multiple leads leading to two losses. Combined with their rotation woes, especially those of Clay Buchholz, the Red Sox looked weaker than they have been.

The Red Sox’ bats will rebound, their offensive core simply had a bad week. Their rotation and bullpen will need to be worked out if the Red Sox are to gain any ground in the East. The bullpen looks like it might have had a down week, but given the inconsistency of Boston’s staff to go late into games, the Red Sox could be in for trouble if they can’t solve their rotation problems.

Final Takeaway:

The Red Sox looked downright bad during this full week of play. They will look to right the ship against the weak Tampa Bay Rays to start the week.

Next: Yanks Have a Mild Week

Yankees stay in the middle

New York Yankees: 37-37

The Yankees had a better week against the exact same foes, but not by much.

New York split a two game set against the Rockies before winning a three game series against the Twins. For a second week in a row the Yankees faltered to make the most of their schedule, ending the week at exactly .500.

After a rough start of the week, New York’s rotation settled down to handily win their first two against Minnesota, but failed to convert the sweep on Sunday. The Yankees bats hit consistently and aided late game wins by New York’s excellent bullpen.

The Yankees once again saw decent production from all aspects of their team, but still managed to be outpaced by their struggling division foes. With no clear problem, the Yankees will hope that they can continue consistent strength across the board and hopefully capitalize that strength into wins.

Final Takeaway:

The Yankees once again played better then their record suggests. They have a tough schedule between now and the ALL Star Break, they’ll need to buckle down and convert some wins to make sure they stay in the mix with the trio above them.

Next: Rays Continue To Trend Downward

Tampa Bay see hopes fade

Tampa Bay Rays: 31-43

The Rays finished the week with a season-high seventh consecutive loss. During this time they dropped to 12 games below .500 and are more then ten games outside of first.

Tampa Bay looked poised for a breakout after finding a consistent blend of power bats and rotation quality. Their rotation struggled mightily this week, and their bats were barely present. Outscored  50-17 during the course of the week, their normally strong bullpen showed signs of deterioration as they have been left taxed in the wake of their weak rotation.

The future for the Rays is uncertain. They have had brief glimpses of greatness, resembling one of the best teams in baseball when they’re really on. However as the season goes on, the Rays are showing less and less of the that side of themselves. The road to the All Star Game will be a long one for them. They will need to show off that dazzle to become relevant.

Next: Blue Jays reportedly not signing Jose or Edwing?

Final Takeaway:

The Rays will need to muster all they can in the month of July to prove that they can be more then sellers at the Trade Deadline.