We heard about the beasts that may lurk in the East, and Pujols is going to eat everything in the West, but what about that Central? The Cy Young winner Justin Verlander has the Tigers looking like the favorite with a -500 betting line from bovada.com to win the division, 4/1 odds to win the pennant, and 4th best in the MLB with 8/1 to win a World Series.
The Tigers’ lineup is going to be so silly in the middle that the 3 and 4 hitters are going to be required by Bud Selig to tuck a napkin into their jersey before they snack on fastballs. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder are two of the biggest power hitters in the game by themselves, but together it is honestly giving me the creeps being an Indians’ fan. When the MLB decided to add a second wildcard team to the playoffs, the Indians happened to be one of the biggest beneficiaries. They are no longer worried about being bested by the Tigers, only to find themselves in 4th place in the wildcard. If Detroit goes bananas, hope is still alive to win the second spot. Cleveland is far from the days when the lineup was comparable to a murderer’s row with Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Albert Belle, and Kenny Lofton; but they do have some pieces in place to be in a good spot in the coming years. The top of the rotation showcases Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez, who have always shown shades of brilliance followed by just bad news bears. The lineup is bolstered by Carlos Santana and 3 or 4 guys that aren’t worth naming until they can prove they can play more than 50 games in a season. Being a fan I am biased, of course, but bovada.com is still giving the Indians second favorite odds to win the AL Central with +1000 so I’m not the only one thinking that Cleveland will rock.
The Twins are scary too, if the stars on their team can play healthy. Francisco Liriano, Joe Mauer, and Justin Morneau are very good when they can play at a high level without injury. How good? When they play, Mauer and Morneau have both won MVP’s. The White Sox have a new manager, a new closer, a new ace, a new everything minus the overpaid players they can’t get rid of. Adam Dunn, Alex Rios, and Gordon Beckham are all sticking to drive Kenny Williams nuts. The White Sox chances are slim, but bovada.com still puts them tied with Kansas City and Minnesota with a +1500 betting line to win the division. Last but not least, the scariest of all, are those young Kansas City Royals. This is where the Central gets very hard to predict and most people are most curious. The Royals have had years upon years of first round draft picks that have finally started to reach the majors. After those players have played a couple years, the next wave has now started to begin it’s uprising. The names on the roster come opening day are going to be more like the Royals minor league top prospect list. I will give them a couple of years and if the management doesn’t break this group up, everyone in the Central is in a lot of trouble. Until then, bovada is giving them and the sketchy Twins a +1500 betting line to win the division, tying them for last.
Odds To Win AL Central – as found at Bovada on March 12th, 2012
