Posted on 4/10/2008 2:15:30 PM

MLB Baseball Betting - Power Rankings

By D.S Williamson

Are sportsbook bettors wondering why the Baltimore Orioles are playing so well? Could the Orioles be the team to beat in the A.L. East? The Orioles are 6 and 1 currently. That’s pretty surprising considering that nobody picked the Orioles to do much of anything at the beginning of the season.

Things do tend to even out eventually in baseball. After all, there are 162 games. But six straight wins sure does say a lot about this team. Then again, they haven’t played either the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees yet. Before jumping on their bandwagon, I have to see them do something special against a true A.L. East powerhouse.

The surprise teams so far in the N.L. are the teams I highlight below, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Florida Marlins. The Marlins are 5 and 3. It’s a surprise because like the Orioles, the Marlins shouldn’t be anywhere close to a winning record.

Let’s take a look at the rankings!

Major League Baseball Power Rankings

1. St. Louis Cardinals - - The Cardinals are 8 and 2 against the BetUS spread in their last 10 games. They’re number one on this list mainly because they appear to have longetivity. In a 162 game season a lot of teams are cold in the beginning and then get hot towards the end of September. I like the Cardinals’ consistency and truly believe that they will keep things going.

2. Milwaukee Brewers - - Two N.L. Central teams in the Top Five? Why not! The BrewCrew are 6 and 2 straight-up and 8 and 2 against the BetUS spread going back to their last two games of the 2007 season. The lack of real pitching studs may hurt this team soon, but right now I love these guys!

3. Chicago White Sox - - Until the Yankees, Tigers, Red Sox and Angels get off their collective asses I am going to keep hyping this team. The ChiSox are 5 and 3 on the season and 6 and 4 against the BetUS spread going back to their last 2 games of the 2007 season. The way Mark Beuherle came back, after a rough first start, to whup up on the Tigers last weekend was awesome.

4. Arizona Diamondbacks - - I didn’t think the Diamondbacks would separate themselves from the rest of the N.L. West so early in the season. Like the Cardinals, I don’t think this team drops off all that much during the length of the season. Webb and Haren are awesome. They’re scoring more runs than anticipated and both the Dodgers and Padres have been disappointing early. The D’Backs are 7 and 2 straight-up and 7 and 2 against the BetUS spread.

5. Kansas City Royals - - 6 and 2 against the BetUS spread so far this season. Are the Royals like the Orioles? Are both teams this good? Unlike the Orioles who have secured their gaudy record by beating up on lesser teams, the Royals have done it by sweeping the Detroit Tigers and handing it to the New York Yankees. That means they might be real.

6. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - - I wasn’t sure where to put these guys. They do have a winning record of 6 and 4 against the BetUS spread. That makes them a legitimate team, but I still doubt their pitching. Still, none of the other top teams in the A.L. appear to want to win.

7. Chicago Cubs - - 5 and 3 against the BetUS spread this season. The Cubbies add to a very deep N.L. Central. The downfall of the Cubs will occur when their pitching staff goes belly-up which is bound to happen. Not enough great pitching means that the Cubs will have to score like crazy just to be competitive against the Brewers and the Cardinals.

8. San Diego Padres - - 5 and 5 so far this season against the BetUS spread. I still love their pitching staff. They’re visiting the Dodgers this weekend. That should tell us more. I’m grabbing with these last three spots…

9. Baltimore Orioles - - I’ve got to put them somewhere, right? They are 6 and 1 against the worst teams in the A.L. I can’t believe in this bunch but 6 and 1 against the BetUS spread is 6 and 1 against the BetUS spread.

10. Toronto Blue Jays - - 4 and 4 against the BetUS spread. Sure, they aren’t the Yankees or the Red Sox, but nobody wants to be either one of those teams right now. I like the Jays starting pitching staff and I think they can stay under the radar for the entire season while the Yankees and Red Sox keep getting hyped to the moon. We’ll see…

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