Schadenfreude is taking pleasure in the misfortune of others, and the Red Sox Nation turns its lonely eyes to you, New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox team accelerates, and our two American League East companions are decelerating.
The Rays started the season in pure cakewalk style, going 23-6 heading into May. May and June were a slight downturn (34-22), and now that cake looks like a flat read pizza. What happened? The Baltimore Orioles is what happened. The resurgent O's have surged into the lead as Tampa continues to sink and stink.
Injuries are always part of the equation, and the Rays have had their share, as noted. Boston fans will say, "Cry me a river" over that. Our roster looks like a triage unit and has all season.
The Rays July offense has been nonexistent at a dismal 14th place among their brethren. The Red Sox are second for July. Travel back to April, and the Rays were a powerhouse, just beating the snot out of everyone.
Red Sox have Rays, Yankees in their target sights
The redeeming feature is the Rays staff has managed to hold it together, topping the AL in pitching for July. That is an improvement over the first half of the season when Ray's pitching was more than enough to keep them cemented in first place.
Red Sox fans have never had a warm spot in their hearts regarding the Rays with a series of confrontations on the diamond, including one riotous one in 2008 and the antics of former manager Joe Maddon. There were many more, including my personal favorite.
So to the fan (note: Singular) of the Rays, this is our Schadenfreude moment to bask in your sinking - look in the rearview mirror, and what you see may be closer than it appears.
Every since 2004, the New York Yankees have had to keep their mouths relatively closed. Getting the most humiliating playoff defeat in playoff history will do that. For transparency, I have long admired Yankees players and grew up idolizing Mickey Mantle and Hank Bauer.
When you mention the Yankees, the first knee-jerk reaction is mashing. The Bronx Bombers and Murderers Row, and this season, the Bombers are now just a rain-soaked firecracker slobbering in an unfamiliar tenth place in AL offenses.
The offensive nightmare started when Aaron Judge went down with a toe injury. The injury appears minor, and if it were football Judge would be back on the field, but in baseball, even a little tweak can wreck you. Judge sets the tone, which has been flat since the big guy left. In the last two months, the Yanks are 20-25.
Judge is now back, which may jump-start the offense, and Anthony Rizzo, DJ LeMahieu, and Giancarlo Stanton start whacking the ball around the yard.
On the mound side, the Yankees are surprisingly behind Boston in the composite pitching statistics, but July paints a different picture as the Yankees staff is 14th for July (through 7/28). So much for the arms covering the bats.
The Yankees are all over the rumor mill, which is not unusual. The pitching is similar to the offense and dire need of an upgrade. Domingo Germán, Luis Severino, Clarke Schmidt, and recovering Carlos Rodón have been "meh" for the season.
The Yankees can now look over their shoulder as the Red Sox roll despite a pitching staff that presents the arm of the day. As with the Rays, RSN can enjoy Schadenfreude regarding the team formerly known as the Bombers.