June is Judgment Month
To say that the Toronto Blue Jays have an uphill battle this June would be a gargantuan understatement.
It’s still too early to gauge whether the Jays will continue to exceed expectations through the 2010 campaign, but if you want a true litmus test to see if this squad is the real deal, look no further than their upcoming June schedule.
It’s arguably one of the toughest in baseball: with nine games split between the Yankees and Rays, and 15 Interleague games against some of the perennial favourites in the National League.
Just take a glimpse at the kind of competition the Blue Jays will be stacked up against in the comings weeks. Aside from a reprive at the end of the month against the Cleveland Indians, all series are against teams with a winning record, and in most cases … a superior winning record.
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| Team | Record | PCT |
|---|---|---|
| Rays | 32-15 | .681 |
| Yankees | 28-18 | .609 |
| Rockies | 24-22 | .522 |
| Padres | 28-18 | .609 |
| Giants | 23-22 | .511 |
| Cardinals | 26-11 | .553 |
| Phillies | 26-19 | .578 |
| Indians | 17-28 | .378 |
| TOTAL | 204-153 | .571 |
And just when you thought the Blue Jays would have a little bit of a breather mid-month against the lowly San Diego Padres, now they have to face off against a revitalized Padres team that leads the NL West Division.
If the Blue Jays want to stay in the hunt approaching the All-Star Break, they need to post no worse than an 11-16 record in June to emerge the at the end of the month with just a .500 record at 38-38.
That seems like a fairly reasonable expectation considering the kind of competition they will be facing this June. But it’s not going to be a cakewalk: they play 15 games on the road, and 12 against teams that made the playoffs last season and also look to repeat this year.
June for the Jays will definitely be Judgment Month.
Oh, mommma. Hold me.
Godspeed, boys.
Also: Playoffs!!!1
Tell me about, man! It's virtually the perfect storm of competition for the Blue Jays.
I guess the silver lining in all of this, if they can survive through June with a half decent record, it will put them in a good position going into the All-Star break.
I was beginning to think the Rays really were indestructible baseball-playing cyborgs from the future, but then they just got swept by Boston, so maybe there's hope.
Oh no, the Rays definitely aren't bulletproof – just like the Red Sox aren't dead.
I have a feeling this month there will be quite a few changes in the standings in the American League East!
Speaking as a Red Sox fan, we're like zombies this year. Every time I think we're going downhill, we seem to surge and drag ourselves to a victory.
Steve, I'll admit there was a part of me that was hoping the Red Sox wouldn't get back on their feet, but now all seems to be well once again in Red Sox Land. Damn!