With a month of baseball under our belts, we are now treading the line between making too harsh of assumptions based on what we already know, and too big of denials based on what we expect in the American League. While the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox are both within reach of first place in their respective divisions, there are many baseball blogs still being published about how they won’t make the playoffs, including those that suggest the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Boston Red Sox still have a good shot at the postseason despite being buried in their respective division through 24 games.
In the AL East, the Tampa Bay Rays are back on top with 11 wins in 12 games at Tropicana Field, once again capitalizing on a unique blend of pitching consistency and the ability to bring in runs once they get on base. The betting sites fact that they took five of six games against the Angels and Texas Rangers is impressive, but they still have to take care of business in their own division. The top four teams in the AL East rank in the top-five in the entire league based on record, which would start with the Rays and Rangers at 17-8, and follow with the Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, and New York Yankees. Baltimore’s pitching has been much better early on but there are real Betonline question marks about how long that will last, but there is intrigue in Toronto in the fact that they are doing so well in spite of reigning two-time home run king Jose Bautista’s struggles at the dish. Bautista is batting .180 with four home runs, and if he could get going this month it could be the Blues Jays making a run at the division lead. The Yankees have dealt with pitching woes by scoring a ton of runs, but in the end they may need to acquire some help on the mound to have a pay head contending shot.
Outside of the AL East, it seems at this point like it is the Rangers and everybody else. Texas is undoubtedly the best online sportsbook favorite to advance to the World Series out of the AL once again, with the best offense in the majors complimented by a pitching staff that ranks sixth in overall ERA. The Rangers are without peer in the AL West, even though the Angels do appear to have enough talent to make a run. Los Angeles has won three-straight but still remains seven back, a gap that will be difficult to close even this early on. The Detroit Tigers are expected to close out the season on top of the AL Central, but will have some internal issues to settle along the way. The Tigers have been far too inconsistent of late, winning just three of its past 10 games and appearing disinterested at times. Right now Detroit is grouped with the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians at the top of the AL Central, but it shouldn’t be long before they find some separation.
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