Posted on
3/4/2008 6:34:23 PM
MLB Betting Will it be The Angels in the American League West
By D.S. Williamson
The American League East gets all of the press in the A.L. and they probably should. Both the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees are in the A.L. East. The Red Sox are probably still the best team in all of Major League Baseball, but there are a couple teams out West that could definitely cause some issues for the Red Sox run towards another title.
One of those happens to be the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I have a lot of friends, mostly Dodger fans, who refuse to call the Angels the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I understand their frustration. I, though, prefer to take the Mohammed Ali route. If the man wants us to call him Mohammed Ali, then I’m going to call him Mohammed Ali, right?
So if the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim want us to call them the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, then that’s what I’m going to do. Even if it does sound ridiculous and they had a perfectly good name as the California Angels - - yep, even if all of that is true - - I’ll call you whatever you want Angels! Here’s the preview with odds:
American League West Division
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - BetUS odds of – 250 - Adding Torii Hunter to a line-up that all ready features Garrett Anderson and Vladimir Guerrero, should add offense to a team that was pretty much only lacking that last year. Their starting rotation is absolutely sound with John Lackey, Jon Garland, and Jered Weaver. They have a terrific closer in Francisco Rodriguez and everybody is crazy over this young guy at short-stop, Eryck Aybar. Unless injuries hit this team they should lockup the A.L. West early.
Seattle Mariners - BetUS odds of + 210 - Ichiro is awesome, but other then that this team doesn’t do much for me. Erik Bedard and Felix Hernandez are both pretty good pitchers and Adrian Beltre can bring runs home, but I just don’t have faith in this team. They appear to me like one of those MLB teams that will always be on the outside looking in and there is no way that their line-up matches that of the Angels.
Texas Rangers - BetUS odds of + 1200 - The Rangers don’t look awful on paper and there is an outside chance that they could pull a phenomenal Colorado Rockies type change this year, but the odds are too low for me to consider wagering on them. Not one but two teams would have to pretty much just fall by the wayside for the Rangers to win this division. I don’t think that’s going to happen. What the Rangers really need to worry about is that their starting pitcher, Kevin Millwood, went 10 and 14 with a 5.16 ERA last year. That’s awful. If he’s the best these guys got, then what chance do they have of keeping the Angels or Mariners from scoring six or seven runs every time the poor Rangers have to play them? None.
Oakland Athletics - BetUS odds of + 1600 - - The Athletics don’t have a single player of note on their roster. Not only that, but their starting rotation isn’t that good. Joe Blanton is okay but I don’t see where he can carry the whole team by himself. Their closer is actually pretty good, though. So, if the Athletics can set him up, he can knock them down! He also has the best name in baseball - - Huston Lowell Street. But I just don’t think that the Athletics will be able to set him up that often this year.
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