Betting Overview
The Oakland A’s were supposed to be contenders this year, or at least give Los Angeles and Texas a run for their money in the AL West pennant race. The A’s have a starting pitching rotation that can go toe-to-toe with any team in the majors. But a shaky bullpen and lack of run support have put the A’s 16.5 games back of the AL West lead. Early in the season, Oakland was holding its own and winning a lot of ball games. But as a season wears on, if you cannot hit or close out games, then you cannot win. The A’s fell victim to the same thing that killed the Seattle Mariners’ season; a power outage at the plate.
The Toronto Blue Jays are quietly becoming a better team, but they are competing in one of the toughest divisions in baseball. MLB baseball betting fans in Toronto know that their team will have to start eclipsing the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays if it wants to start being a legitimate contender in the AL East. It is a division that has been dominated by Boston and New York for years, but Tampa showed last year that a team can challenge the two dynasties for the AL East pennant. With the pitching staff and offense that the Blue Jays are putting together up in Toronto, a few more acquisitions could have the Blues Jays causing problems in the AL East next year.
Oakland A’s
Rich Harden continues to try and find his rhythm after a long stint on the DL kept him out of action. For the season, Harden is 3-2 with a 4.50 ERA, and all of that has come in the eight starts he has had since returning. Harden is having a difficult time finding his control. In his last three starts, he has issued a total of 10 walks and given up nine runs. The MLB baseball scores need to start going Harden’s way if he wants to maintain his place in the starting line-up for 2012. One thing Harden has going for him is that he is averaging five strikeouts a game. He needs to expand that success to the rest of his game.
Toronto Blue Jays
Brett Cecil takes the mound for Toronto as he continues to try and find his form from 2010 when he want 15-7 and had an ERA of 4.22. This year, Cecil is 4-5 with an ERA of 4.38. He relies heavily on the Toronto offense to help him win games, but he has been trying to break that habit. In July, Cecil had five starts and only gave up a total of nine runs. That stretch included an impressive complete-game shutout of the Texas Rangers. Cecil has the tools to be a good MLB pitcher. Now he just needs to settle into a groove that will help him contribute to winning games as opposed to leaning on the power in the Toronto line-up.
The Bottom Line
The betonline reviews for the future of the Toronto Blue Jays are promising. The Jays are currently three games over .500 and looking to see who can help them win next year. The A’s are going to wind up going back to the drawing board when this season is over and try to find some offense to wrap around their starting rotation.
Pick: Toronto Blue Jays
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