Yankees: Blake Snell won’t stop commenting on NYY-Rays rivalry

LHP Blake Snell is back to commenting on the Yankees-Rays rivalry.

The New York Yankees will travel to Tropicana Field for the first and last time during this shortened season for a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays that begins on Friday. Coming into the campaign, this set was projected to be a matchup between two clubs that had already started separating themselves from the rest of the pack in the AL East.

However, the Rays have struggled out of the gates and currently sit at 5-7 through 12 contests, four games behind New York for the division lead.

According to star southpaw Blake Snell, Tampa Bay is ready for the first-place Yankees, which is strange when you consider that his team was preparing for a clash versus the Boston Red Sox at the time of the quote on Thursday night.

For those wondering, Boston shut out the Rays 5-0.

“When we beat the Yankees, we party definitely harder after the game celebrating a good win,” Snell told reporters. “It’s tough to beat the Yankees. They’re talented. They’re very good. It’s an extremely hard team to beat. With our talent, when we do that, I would definitely say it feels a lot better because we know they have the money to get the best guys in the world. ”

It’s official, folks: Snell is obsessed with the Yankees. The first part of his quote started out weird, but in a good way. Any team should give itself a pat on the back for besting a team as talented as this New York side.

Still, maybe wait to preview your next series when the one you’re currently playing concludes? No team that gets swept by the Baltimore Orioles should be allowed to discuss the sweet feeling that comes with beating the 27-time champions.

Then, however, Snell felt the need to sneak in an excuse (Tampa Bay’s payroll) in the event that the New York defeats the Rays. Are we really still milking this cow? We get that Tampa’s front office has done an outstanding job building the roster with a limited budget, but does it have to be mentioned even when they’re losing games? It’s been over 12 years now of the Rays being more than competitive in the East. It’s over. They’ve solved the payroll thing. They’ve cracked the code.

We fully respect Snell’s prowess as a pitcher, but he should probably refrain from talking about defeating the Yankees until his Rays take the AL East crown from them.