Thinking about betting on baseball this year? Interested in the AL West? Why you’d even give another team beside the Angels the time of day is beyond me.
They won’t win 100 games this year, and they won’t sneak up on anybody like the did last year, but they’ll take home at least 92, 93 games and run away with the division again. Where they go from there is up to how much they learned from the massive disappointment that was their 2008 postseason.
Why the confidence in the Halos? They have everything they need…again. Santana, Lackey and Weaver anchor a strong, confident starting crew. Proven, experienced leaders in Torii Hunter, Vlad Guerrerro and Chone Figgins return. We lose Texeira but pick up Abreu…wouldn’t have made that trade but at least they filled the power gap. And don’t forget Gary Matthews Jr., the always entertaining wild card.
But most of all, I strongly believe the Angels have something to prove. Check out the latest mlb baseball odds if you don’t believe me. They barreled through the season and went out with a huge whimper. Vlad’s been dismissed in the playoffs, and I get the feeling he’s tired of coming up short when it counts.
In any event, what else do we have to be excited about here in the AL West? The A’s? Nomar’s on board, that would’ve been helpful about seven or eight years ago. Although I don’t completely discount Beane’s ability to work wonders here, he’s been doing it for years (Billy Koch for Keith Foulke anyone?), but let’s be real, even low budget teams with big hearts and smart GM’s go through rebuilding. 75-86 in 2008, and unfortunately for them, it ain’t gonna get much better. Look for a repeat in the record in 2009.
The Rangers? The closest they’ll get to the spotlight this season, they already experienced before training camp when A-Rod admitted to using the juice when he was playing for them. That doesn’t bode well for your prospects in 2009. Seriously, though, let’s be honest, the Rangers are paper thin. Like any expreinced soccer betting player will tell you, their best player is Michael Young and their best pitcher is Kevin Millwood. That won’t raise any eyebrows. Oh, I forgot, Omar Vizquel is here…he can join Millwood in the group of players that were relevant 10 years ago, too.
And, of course, how about the Mariners? Welcome back, Griffey. Welcome all the way to last place.
You want a safe sports gambling experience this year? Put your money on the Angels making it back to the playoffs as a division champ.