Pop quiz: which of the following outlandish statements is false?
A. Tampa Bay comes into this game riding an 11-game winning streak.
B. Statistically, Blue Jays starters are outperforming Yankees starters.
C. Statistically, Blue Jays relievers are outperforming Braves and Cubs relievers.
D. The Blue Jays leader in Win Shares Above Average is Jason Frasor.
E. Chris Gomez is starting at first base for Toronto tonight.
Remarkably, all of these statements are true (check out Baseball Prospectus and The Hardball Times for the stats details). Now, don't get too worked up about Chris Gomez, because Josh Phelps is in the lineup tonight at DH. But he's batting 8th, behind Gomez, which is about as faint as praise can get before it becomes inaudible. Recognizing that Phelps' position on the club is a continuing mystery unresolvable by mere mortals, let's turn our eye to the Devil Rays, which is a team in more dire need of a reality check than any squad in baseball. Unfortunately, with hard-throwing youngster Chad Gaudin taking the hill for the Rays, The Ghost of Pat Hentgen suiting up for the Jays, and the 2-3-4 hitters for Toronto all in the trainer's room, that check may not get delivered tonight.
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