The only things more certain than the Oakland A’s winning the AL West title these days are death, taxes and the sun rising in the east. For past five or six MLB betting years Oakland has owned this baseball odds division. And much of that has to do with GM Billy Beane who is for all intents and purposes the smartest man in baseball.
This is a guy that looks beyond all the hype and nonsense baseball odds stats and character issues, etc, that so many personnel evaluators get caught up in and simply looks at the raw data as to who gets on base and scores runs. The rest is academic and that’s why Oakland has been able to win the baseball odds with no name, but solid, batters and tiny payroll. And that’s to say nothing of the seemingly never ending supply of outstanding young pitching talent that Oakland seems to produce.
In 2006 baseball odds season this team marched away with the AL Division title with a pretty decent 93-69 baseball odds record. They finished the baseball odds season four games above the streaking LA Angels. But 2007 baseball odds season looks like it holds even more promise for this talented ball club as its young pitching studs will have another baseball odds year of experience under their belts to help them out in baseball odds games during the up coming MLB betting season.
Health is the only thing that looks like it might slow down this potentially frightening starting rotation. The staff ace, Rich Harden, is Cy Young material and if he can pitch the entire baseball odds season and gets good run support, he could be looking at twenty wins in 2007 baseball odds season. But his two and three pitchers are some of the best in the baseball odds game this deep in the rotation and Dan Herren and Joe Blanton are also capable of putting up huge baseball odds numbers.
In the bottom of the rotation Estaban Loizia and Brad Halsey will most likely fill the holes. Loizia is veteran and proven commodity and Halsey will be a nice chance of pace as a lefty surprise at the five spot. The bullpen is also very solid. Closer Huston Street has proven to be exactly what he appeared to be when he was drafted out Texas. He’s also got a couple of top set up men in Justin Duchscherer and Calero. And despite all the weird names, this is one of the better bull pens in the MLB betting division if not the entire AL.
The biggest off-season acquisition for this MLB betting team was the aging Mike Piazza, who seems like a perfect fit for this MLB betting team. He be inserted into DH spot and should pay immediate dividends. As San Diego last baseball odds year he proved he still has some pop in his bat and he’ll be expected to contribute immediately to a line up that seriously lacked power last baseball odds year. At catcher Jason Kendall is a very solid player and former all-star with the Pirates, but he’s some how seemed to loose his power in the AL and hasn’t quite found his stride at the plate. Twenty five home runs from him in 2005 baseball odds season would be huge for this lineup.
However the truth is, this squad doesn’t not have a lot of talent behind the plate and will rely on the pitching once again to carry the load. However, this is also a very deceptive lineup in their scrappiness. Eric Chavez at third base is a great guy to have on your MLB betting team and usually comes through in the clutch as well as providing some great glove work in the field. The outfield is much less than stellar, but very solid and Milton Bradley has the potential to put up some big stats if he keeps his head on straight.
Despite not having any great baseball odds stats, it seems that whenever a big hit is needed, someone on the squad will get it. And despite not having any superstars at the plate, Piazza could be a big boost for the A’s. In any event, it seems that they should win the AL West by an even larger margin than last baseball odds year. The Angels could be dangerous this baseball odds year, especially with their now healthy pitching staff. But as long as the A’s pitching staff puts together another decent baseball odds season, another AL West crown will be on the way.