The 2010 Major League Baseball regular season is underway and after the first five weeks of action some teams have already made a statement while some others are already digging themselves an early hole in their division. All 14 American League teams still believe they can make it all the way to this year’s World Series, but in reality there are only a handful of teams that actually have a chance. Here is a look at my top four teams in the AL after week five and their current odds to win the Pennant and the World Series.
Tampa Bay Rays Odds to win the AL Pennant 11-2 World Series 11-1
Tampa Bay now has the dubious distinction of being one of the best teams ever to be completely blanked in a perfect game after Oakland pitcher Dallas Brandon accomplished this feat in yesterday’s 4-0 win. None the less, the Rays are still on top in the East with a record of 22-9, a ½ game ahead of New York. A team batting average of just .251 places them in the bottom half of the AL rankings, but their 174 runs scored is second in the league. The real strength of this team so far lies in their pitching as they have a team ERA of .278 and 231 strikeouts which is tops in the AL.
New York Yankees Odds to win the AL Pennant 2-1 World Series 14-5
New York continues to churn along at a productive pace going 8-2 in their last 10 games. They have only lost one series this season and are coming off a three game sweep of Baltimore last week and took two out of three from Boston over the weekend. Their overall record is 21-9, ½ game out of first. The Yankees have a .281 team batting average which is tops in the AL. They also lead the league in runs scored with 178. Their pitching staff is ranked fourth in the AL with a team ERA of 3.59.
Minnesota Twins Odds to win the AL Pennant 14-1 World Series 30-1
After sweeping Detroit in a three game series, Minnesota split a four game series with Baltimore to run their record to 21-11 and open up a 3 ½ game lead over the Tigers in the Central division. They have been one of the most balanced teams in the AL as they are currently ranked third in team batting with an average of .275 and ranked second in pitching with a team ERA of 3.51. In the 32 games they have played so far the Twins have outscored their opponents by a combined 48 runs.
Texas Rangers Odds to win the AL Pennant 18-1 World Series 35-1
By winning eight out of their last 10 games including a four game sweep of Kansas City over the weekend, Texas has emerged as the new leader in the West. They have an overall record of 18-14 and lead Oakland by a game. They rank sixth in the AL with a team batting average of .255 and are seventh in runs scored with 148. Their pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.75, ranking them fifth in the AL. With first place on the line, they will host the A’s this week for a three game series starting on Tuesday.
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