May 2014 – Casino Review

May 31, 2014May 30, 2014

Weekend Ramblings Include More NFL Suspensions and How Dumb the NBA Looks Right Now

Yesterday the news coming out of the National Football League was anything but positive and if it’s any indication of things to come, Ray Rice should be very concerned.

It was announced on Friday that Arizona Cardinals’ linebacker Daryl Washington was suspended for the entire 2014 season. Washington was suspended under the league’s substance abuse policy. This was his third violation and also includes a domestic violence charge as well. That offense of the league’s personal conduct policy appears to be part of this year-long suspension.

Also on Friday, New York Giants’ safety Will Hill was suspended for the first six games of the 2014 season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Since 2012, Hill has failed three drug tests and missed the first four games each of the last two years.

What these two suspensions will do is create speculation about just how long Baltimore Ravens’ running back Ray Rice may be suspended. Rice recently gave less than stellar six-minute press conference speaking for the first time about knocking his wife (then fiance) out in an elevator. The one advantage Rice has is that this was a first-time event and he has been a positive force in the community.

The disadvantage is that it appears more and more NFL players are slipping up and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s policies just aren’t working. When things such as these aren’t working, one of the few options is to get tougher and especially on first-time offenders. I have to think that deep within the walls of the NFL Offices, Goodell and his disciplinary minions are preparing to go nuclear.

The danger for them is the pending discipline that Indianapolis Colts’ owner Jim Irsay is awaiting. The players are keeping a very close eye on this to see how Goodell handles his situation compared to that of their own.

All I can tell you is stay tuned because I think both Ray Rice and Jim Irsay have more coming than they originally might have thought.

The NBA May Have Screwed Up

Six weeks ago, Donald Sterling caught the ire of nearly all Americans with his ignorant and insensitive comments about African-Americans. Since that time, his Los Angeles Clippers were taken from him and his team was bounced in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. Over the last 48 hours, it has become clear that former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will become the new owner of the team.

His $2 billion bid was far and away the leading bid and I’ll address more about that in a second. Shelly Sterling is the one who has been working behind the scenes to get a deal done before NBA owners vote to force Donald Sterling to sell. Because earlier this week Mr. Sterling was deemed mentally incompetent, Mrs. Sterling was legally allowed to proceed with the sale.

It was reported late yesterday that Sterling may have Alzheimer’s.

Let’s remember that Sterling purchased the Clippers for $12.5 million 33 years ago. While he will be forced to pay capital gains taxes in the hundreds of millions, he will still come out with significantly more money now then had he chose to sell the team had this never happened.

While NBA Commissioner Adam Silver did the right thing by banning Sterling, hindsight shows us that he may have jumped the gun in forcing the sale. While I’m sure Sterling would have preferred to keep his team, he ends up getting much, much wealthier in the entire process while the NBA looks foolish for making a racist owner richer and almost sympathetic in the process.

May 31, 2014

Bookmakers Updated Odds for World Cup

The world’s most popular sport, soccer as it is called in the U.S. and football by the rest of the world is preparing for its worldwide tournament held every four years.

On June 12, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil will kick off. The tournament consists of 32 of the best national teams in the sport and will conclude with the final on July 13.

Match 1 to start the tournament will be played on June 12 with Croatia taking on host Brazil in Sao Paolo. Currently Brazil is heavily favored in the match at -400, while Croatia is +1200 and a draw is +470, on Bovada and topbet.

Soccer has never been a top spectator sport in the U.S. due to not having timeouts. Television networks are reluctant to make it a fixture week in and week out because of a lack of advertising time they can offer potential advertisers.

Nevertheless, the United States National Team has done well of late under the tutelage of Jurgen Klinsmann.

The U.S. team starts it drive toward the coveted trophy as an underdog versus Ghana its long time nemesis. The U.S. does not play that match until June 16.

The Black Stars have knocked the United States out of the two straight World Cups. Ghana is favored at +155, while the U.S. is being offered for +190, while a draw is sitting on +220 on betonline and sportsbook.com.

Following the match against Ghana things will not get any easier as the U.S. must play both Germany and Portugal, where the U.S. will likely be even bigger underdogs.

Other matches of interest in the first set of matches include Spain versus the Netherlands, which is a matchup of the final in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa in which Spain won. Spain is going off at -105 in this match.

In another big match to start the four round of competition will be Italy versus England. Italy is currently +155 and England +200 for their Saturday June 14 matchup.

Two regions of the world have dominated the sport’s top tournament, the UEFA, which is Europe, and CONMEBOL, which is South America.

Only one team outside of the UEFA and CONMEBOL has made it to the semifinals since the 1992 World Cup. That team was South Korea in 2002.

This year’s tournament is no different, as the two confederations dominate as the UEFA has 13 of 32 entrants in the World Cup. Fourteen of the teams in the current Top 50 FIFA World Rankings are in the UEFA confederation.

This season CONMEBOL will have 6 clubs in the World Cup, led by host Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador and Colombia.

The current top ten odds for the World Cup on Bovada, topbet, sportsbook.com and betonline line are:

1. Brazil 3 to 1

2. Argentina 4 to 1

3. Germany 5 to 1

4. Spain 13 to 2

5. Belgium 16 to 1

6. France 20 to 1

7. Italy 25 to 1

8. England 28 to 1

9. Portugal 28 to 1

10. Uruguay 28 to 1

May 30, 2014May 29, 2014

Miami Looks for Clincher at Home Tonight in South Beach

Here is what is going to give tonight in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals; Miami is 9-0 at home in series clinching games during the days of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Meanwhile the Pacers are 3-0 in road elimination games so far in this year’s playoffs.

Which way do I see this game going tonight? Read on…

Indiana at Miami (-7), Heat Leads Series 3-2 – If you noticed the somewhat laid-back attitude of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in the postgame press conference it was likely due to the fact that James had his worst playoff game as a professional yet the Heat still had a chance to defeat the Pacers on their homecourt.

James scored just seven points and played only 22 minutes as he spent much of the in foul trouble. His Miami teams are 0-9 when he scores under 15 points so we shouldn’t be surprised by the outcome.

It was obvious to me that the officiating changed drastically from game four to game five. Of James’ five fouls I would say only one was a legitimate foul. The rest were highly questionable. The “noise” among NBA fans in these situations always banks on conspiracy.

The league obviously wants the Heat in the finals for overwhelmingly logical reasons. This theory is blown out the window if Chris Bosh’s three-pointer connects or does it? Miami would have still gone to the Finals which make the television people happier than pig in slop.

All the loss to Indiana does in the league’s eyes is delay the inevitable. If that’s the way one thinks anyway…Besides the struggles of James, the other story was Paul George who followed his coach’s advice and stayed “green.” George was 15 for 28 for 37 points in game five and essentially willed his team to victory with clutch shots. He has to continue doing this if they are to have any chance at making the comeback in this series.

Roy Hibbert is far too inconsistent to rely on and scoring from anyone else is not steady either. George just needs to keep shooting or in the words of George Costanza, “be a chucker.”

The Heat have to be confident coming home after playing as poorly as they possibly could have yet they nearly won the game. It’s almost the closest thing to a sure thing to pencil in 25 points, seven boards and five assists for James if not more. I expect Wade to be better and don’t be surprised if ‘Birdman’ Andersen returns following a two-game absence.

As you know, I’ve been pretty awful in this series. Each time I think one thing the other happens and yet I’m not giving up. The numbers just don’t add up to anything positive for Indiana. The Heat just don’t lose games in this situation and they aren’t going to this evening either. The trends point to the OVER and I really like Miami to cover as well.

The Heat will enjoy a little extra rest time as the Spurs and Thunder duke it out in the Western Conference.

Keep an eye on… Indiana is 8-17 against the spread in their last 25 games on the road… Miami is 5-0 straight up in its’ last five games at home… Indiana is 2-4 in its’ last six games against Miami… The total has gone OVER in six of Miami’s last seven games at home… The O/U tonight is 183.

May 30, 2014

Miami Looks to End Series with Game 6 Win over Indiana

Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals will take place tonight in south Florida when the Indiana Pacers visit the Miami Heat. The Heat is leading the series 3-2 and can eliminate the Pacers with a win tonight.

If Indiana can will at American Airlines Arena, the series will return to Indiana for a seventh and deciding game on Sunday.

The current line at Bovada and topbet has Miami favored by 7.5 points. At sportsbook.com and betonline, the point total for the over/under has settled in at 183.5.

Miami could have eliminated Indiana in Game 5, but could not close out Indiana at Indiana on Wednesday. The Pacers were able to win 93-90 thanks to a superb second half by shooting forward Paul George.

Miami is 3-2 ATS in this series but are playing at home were they have dominated in the regular and postseason. Miami in the postseason over the last three years is 12-2 SU and 9-5 ATS at home. However, over the past three years, Indiana has a record of 5-1 ATS when taking part in a Game 6 during the postseason. Indiana is 3-0 ATS during this postseason when they have faced elimination.

However, they are playing a Miami team that has a record of 39-19 ATS when revenging a loss against the same opponent over the last three seasons.

This is the first time in three rounds that Miami has been extended to a sixth game in a series. In round one, they swept Charlotte in 4 games and defeated Brooklyn in 5 games in round 2.

The Heat hopes to get Chris Andersen back after the big man missed the past two games due to a thigh contusion.

The Pacers were helped in Game 5 by center Roy Hibbert who scored 10 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while playing 38 minutes. In Game 4, Hibbert was held scoreless but was not forced the ball in Game 5 and seemed to be more into the flow of the game.

Lance Stephenson played solid for Indiana in Game 5 but it was the play of George that helped Indiana to its win. George scored 31 of this game high 37 points during the second half of play. He also scored 21 points during the final quarter including two key 3-pointers

Miami came close to ending this series Wednesday and did so without LeBron James being a factor. James picked up two early fouls in the game and ended up playing just 24 minutes while scoring a career playoff-low 7 points.

However, at home James has averaged over 27 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals per game during the postseason.

The Heat will look to finish off the series tonight and not have to travel and face Indiana on the Pacers home court in a seventh game.

I like the Heat to win straight up in this but will take the Pacers and the points to cover.

May 29, 2014May 28, 2014

Soccer is Just Not My Thing

I won’t be commenting a whole lot on the 2014 World Cup. I’ll probably give you some lines on games and some minor thoughts on each one but I’m just not a soccer guy.

Most of you recognize that I’m not a ‘soccer’ guy simply because I called it ‘soccer.’ Any true fan of the game I imagine calls it ‘futbol.’ In my world, football has always been about an oblong, brown object used primarily here in the United States.

When I was growing up, playing soccer was not ‘cool.’ Kids that were cut or quit the football team played soccer. It was always seen as a game for those not tough enough to play real football and I admit I thought that way for a long time.

Through age, experience and maturity, I’ve learned to accept that soccer can be a grueling sport where tremendous skill and stamina is necessary.

With that being said, it doesn’t mean that I’ve wrapped myself in the red, white and blue and will be cheering on the Men’s National Team in the World Cup. There may have been a time when I might have and I really do wish the team well, but I’m not planning my day around their games.

Frankly, I’ve grown tired of getting beat over the head with soccer. I do not need to know via ESPN’s BottomLine that the Euro League Championship is today. I don’t need soccer to be constantly pushed down my throat as the answer to the ‘brutality of American football.’ Soccer bores me but I’ve been told “you just don’t understand it.” I can’t argue that.

US Soccer — This guy is obviously pretty passionate about the US Men's National Team

Do you ever find it a bit surprising that soccer’s rise in America has coincided with concussion lawsuits and a total elimination of violence in the National Football League? This isn’t a coincidence people.

What many soccer people will not tell you though is that severe knee and lower leg injuries are more prevalent in soccer than they are football. Head injuries are also much more common in soccer than they want you to know about as well. I realize I sound like a conspiracy theorist but I call it like I see it.

I do recognize the popularity of the World Cup and the immense popularity of the game world-wide but I’m just not ever going to buy into the game and I won’t apologize for that. It continues to grow across the country and for numerous reasons. Parents like it for small kids because it’s relatively harmless and it’s inexpensive. This is very much the same reason it has such popularity globally. All you need is a ball and two objects with which to create a goal.

While I thoroughly enjoy a good defensive game of football, watching a soccer game that has no scoring does absolutely nothing for me and I realize this makes me a curmudgeon but I am what I am.

This past Tuesday I believe it was, the US Team played a “friendly” against Azerbaijan out in Candlestick Park. For as much popularity the game is supposedly getting, the stadium was barely a quarter filled. The fact is that most stadium sports are struggling because of high ticket prices and poor behavior by fans, but this persistent claim that soccer is growing by leaps and bounds has flaws. The nearly empty stadium was proof of that.

I’m just not a soccer guy but that doesn’t mean you can’t continue to do your chants wave your colors. The World Cup is almost here and I’ll gladly step aside so you can enjoy it.

May 29, 2014

Best Pitchers to Bet On

The Major League Baseball season is set to enter the long hot days of summer as May nears its end. As the season rolls through its second month, there are a number of pitchers to look at when making a decision on what team to choose to bet on.

One of the best pitchers thus far in the season to bet on is Mark Buehrle, who leads the majors in wins with nine. He also owns the MLB-high for profit margin for bettors at +9.8.

Bettors on Bovada, topbet, sportsbook com and betonline are pleased with Buehrle, as Toronto has won 10 of the right-hander’s 11 starts while winning three as a ‘dog.

Toronto has won Buehrle’s last six starts since his first and only loss this season on April 25 versus Boston. Buehrle started the season strong giving up two runs in his first four starts. However, the Red Sox scored 7 runs and had 12 hits.

Some bettors decided it was time to step away from the Toronto right-hander. Even though he has not lost again, Buehrle has not been the dominating force he was earlier.

Nevertheless, Buehrle has not given up over 3 earned runs in any of his last six starts. Even though Buehrle has won 9 games and lost just 1, today’s betting world is much more than just wins and losses.

He has been very good but not at the great level of yet, which is the reason he had not been a favorite by more than -110 in any of his past 8 starts.

Buehrle was -105 on Tuesday, +140 at Boston, -105 at Texas, -110 at Los Angeles Angels, -110 Phillies, -110 against Kansas City.

Buehrle has been helped by tremendous offensive production. In six starts since being rocked by Boston, Buehrle’s teammates have scored an average of 7.3 runs, while allowing just 2-plus runs.

Those figures of run support have not been a factor that much in the ratings for the Blue Jays when Buehrle is set to start. Five of the six games finished OVER for the total.

Toronto’s win Tuesday for Buehrle’s ninth was the eighth straight of the club extending their lead at the top of the American League East to 3 games.

The Blue Jays are second in the league in scoring, behind just Colorado.

Those behind Buehrle in pitching units include Phil Hughes with the Minnesota Twins with +8.6 units.

Dallas Keuchel from the Houston Astros is +8.2. Andre Rienzo from the Chicago White Sox is +8.0.

After the top four, bigger names appear. Adam Wainwright the Cardinals right-hander has done well sitting at +5.8.

As for Buehrle, his run-line total is incomparable with any other pitcher, as each of the 10 wins Toronto has recorded have been by two or more runs and in three he was the underdog.

May 28, 2014May 27, 2014

Heat Look to Close Out the Pacers Tonight in Indy

The Miami Heat look to become the first team since the mid-1980’s Boston Celtics to earn four straight trips to the NBA Finals when they take the court tonight in Indianapolis. I’ve struggled with this series throughout, I can’t lie about that for a second and I feel just as ‘off’ with tonight’s game as well.

On the surface, this looks like a no-brainer. The Pacers are worried about officiating, whether LeBron James is talking smack and when Roy Hibbert is actually going to show up consistently. Meanwhile, the Miami Heat just keep on trucking. Even without Chris ‘Birdman’ Andersen in game four, the Heat still trailed the Pacers by just two points (40-38) in points in the paint.

LeBron and Dwyane Wade continue to dominate the action when it matters and Chirs Bosh, Ray Allen and others keep on showing up when the team needs them to do so.

Can the Pacers stay alive tonight and force a game six back in Miami? I’m not sure I even know at this point!

Miami (-2) at Indiana, Heat Lead Series 3-1 – One of the major talking points coming out of game four was the disparity at the foul line. The Heat went 30 for 34 from the charity stripe while Indiana was just 11 for 17. Pacers’ star Paul George basically said the Heat were getting all the calls and he’s absolutely right about that.

The more aggressive team in this series has gotten the calls and that was Miami on Monday night. Perhaps George has forgotten that in game one his Pacers had an even more discrepant free throw advantage in what was their only win of the series to this point. More to the point of this discussion is that home teams in the playoffs are going to get more calls than visiting teams will.

It’s been that way for some time and we also know that stars are going to get calls more often than the non-stars will. We may not like and may not want to accept it but it’s a fact of life in the National Basketball Association.

As I said prior to game four, Pacers’ Coach Frank Vogel needs to get Luis Scola on the floor more often. By the time Scola played any meaningful minutes Monday night the outcome was basically in hand. Still, Scola pumped in 12 points in just 14 minutes of action and he needs to get his shot with this team’s back against the wall.

Roy Hibbert’s struggles aren’t just centered on the fact he didn’t score again because he also continues to have butter fingers. Game in and game out Hibbert violates nearly every fundamental of big man play by bringing the ball down where smaller guys can get it. That, plus he can’t seem to get a grip on the ball either.

It’s time for Scola to get his shot because the Heat have struggled to find a guy who can handle him but Scola can’t do things by himself. Paul George, David West and Lance Stephenson all need to have their best games tonight if the Pacers are to extend the series. The problem is that my faith in this team is shattered.

Take the Heat to cover and advance. I also like the over tonight too.

Keep an eye on… O/U is 184… The total has gone OVER in six of Miami’s last seven games… Indiana is 1-4 against the spread in its last five games at home… Miami is 2-4 against the spread in its last six games when playing on the road against Indiana… The total has gone OVER in four of Indiana’s last five games when playing Miami.

May 28, 2014

Updated Super Bowl XLIX Futures Released

Are you ready for some football? Well, not quite yet by the opening kickoff of the 2014 NFL season is now less than 100 days away. With that date quickly approaching, odds makers have updated their NFC, AFC and Super Bowl futures.

The NFL, according to data supplied by Bovada and sportsbook.com, will kick off its season at CenturyLink Field in the Pacific Northwest when the Green Bay Packers visit the Seattle Seahawks in the first game of the season on Thursday night.

There has not been very much movement on the futures board for the NFL at the top. However, the confidence in the next group of teams has grown. The Bengals, Colts, Saints, Packers and Patriots have all had their prices shortened since the futures numbers were first posted just 24 hours after the Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl 48.

Cincinnati and Indianapolis have made big moves in particular, according to the futures board supplied by topbet and betonline. The Bengals have moved from 28 to 1 to 20 to 1, while the Colts have moved from 25 to 1 to 17 to 1.

At the same time, optimism has dropped amongst a number of teams sitting in the middle. The Texans, Cardinals, Giants, Falcons, Chargers, Chiefs and Panthers all saw their odds lengthened during the past four months since the end of Super Bowl 48.

This season the Super Bowl will be played in Glendale, Arizona on February 1, 2015. The two teams that will be left standing to compete in Super Bowl XLIX will not be determined for another 7 months, but bettors can take their chances now on a team they feel will be there on February 1.

Seattle remains on top with odds of 5 to 1. Denver has seen its odds shortened very slightly from 11 to 2 to 5 to 1. Out of the top 10, the only team that did not see its odds shortened or lengthened was Seattle.

NFC Odds
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 5 to 2
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 3 to 1
GREEN BAY PACKERS 6 to 1
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 6 to 1
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 12 to 1

AFC Odds
DENVER BRONCOS 7 to 4
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 11 to 1
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 7 to 1
CINCINNATI BENGALS 8 to 1
PITTSBURGH STEELERS 11 to 1

Futures for Super Bowl XLIX Win

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 5 to 1
DENVER BRONCOS 5 to 1
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 6 to 1
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 7 to 1
GREEN BAY PACKERS 12 to 1
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 12 to 1
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 17 to 1
CINCINNATI BENGALS 20 to 1
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 25 to 1
PITTSBURGH STEELERS 25 to 1

Game Line
AFC vs. NFC -3
TOTAL 51

May 27, 2014May 26, 2014

Tuesday Morning Thoughts From Around the Sports’ World

At the time of this writing, game four of the Eastern Conference Finals is not yet completed. I make this declaration only because I don’t yet know the ramifications of Lance Stephenson’s comments about LeBron James’ trash-talking.

This past weekend, Stephenson said that James’ trash-talking was a sign of weakness. James is not known to be one of the more prolific smack talkers in the National Basketball Association but he can hold his own when necessary. Stephenson was also the same guy who wanted to run Dwyane Wade so hard that his knees would ‘flare up.’

If Stephenson can back up his thoughts at both ends of the court then I have no problem with his comments. If he can’t, then he should probably shut up.

Johnny Football Meets Vegas

The first of what we all know is going to be many of these types of stories has happened; Johnny Manziel has been spotted partying in Las Vegas. Let the negative comments fly!!

What we all need to understand is that this is typical of most wealthy 21-year old men. It’s even more so when they are famous quarterbacks who are invited to Vegas by UFC boss Dana White. Many have already been screaming that Manziel should know better! Why isn’t is nose in his playbook? Why isn’t he keeping a lower profile? Has he learned nothing???

For the record, Manziel was there and so was Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski. The two were photographed together with a dozen or so bikini-clad young ladies. What we also need to know is that National Football League players are frequent guests of Las Vegas so this idea that Manziel was a rare sight as a professional football player in Vegas is not news.

Sadly, this is the type of coverage Manziel is going to get until he proves himself to be a complete failure as an NFL quarterback. When, and if, that happens, no one will care what Manziel does.

Redskins’ Name Change is Coming Sooner Rather Than Later

Last week, 50 United States Senators signed a letter asking Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, to change the team’s nickname. Of the 50 senators, 48 were Democrats and two were independents. If you didn’t think this was a political football before then you would have to be blind not to see it now.

There are really two questions at play here; Is this all about political correctness or is there suddenly overwhelming support in the Native American community to change the name because it is derogatory?

Most polls continue to show that less than half of Native Americans surveyed find the nickname ‘Redskins’ to be offensive. Frankly, that should end the discussion right there shouldn’t it? Of course not because there are pressures from many groups around the country who have absolutely no dog in this fight other than because they want to be heard.

I’ve seen the toll this debate takes at local levels where high schools nearby were forced to change from their Native American mascots to more generic ones. These communities became divided and ultimately lost a good deal of their identity. Sounds silly doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t and I guarantee you this is one of the concerns of Dan Snyder.

Oh I’d be willing to bet that Snyder has also thought of the money that will be brought in when the name does change and the uniforms and logos are redesigned but at what overall cost to his franchise?

The political winds are blowing more steadily now and the pressure is mounting. I give it another six months to a year before Snyder is finally forced to cave by the League.

May 27, 2014

Updated World Series Odds, Blue Jays in Top 10

Another week has passed and another updated World Series futures list has been released.

Prior to the start of the 2014 Major League Baseball season, it looked as though the American League East division would be back to its elite status as one of the strongest from top to bottom.

The 2013 World Series was won by the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees opened their wallets after missing out on the postseason for just the second time since the 1994 season and Tampa Bay were the same, which says they were highly competitive even though they lack top name stars.

However, the AL East has now become the AL Least, when many had thought it would be the AL Beast. At the head of the class, this week in the division is the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays have won 7 straight and 9 of 10 to take a two game lead over the Yankees.

Tampa Bay is 7 games back in fourth place and the defending World Series champion Red Sox are 8 games back having just ended a losing streak of 10 games with a win on Monday night.

With their recent play, the Blue Jays nearly cut their World Series odds in half from the previous week. Last week Toronto was priced at 30 to 1 and now is sitting at 16 to 1 moving to the 10^th shortest odds on Bovada, betonline, topbet and sportsbook.com.

The AL East has just three teams playing over .500 and just one team, the Blue Jays, with a positive run-differential, which is +23.

The Yankees are at -6, the Red Sox at -27 and the Rays, with their pitching strength are at -18. The remaining team in the East, the Baltimore Orioles who were at the top of the division for a short stint are -6, despite having one of the stronger lineups top to bottom on paper.

When strong lineups come to mind, one thinks of the powerful Blue Jays offense that has helped them to their spot at the top including a sweep of the Oakland A’s just last weekend.

Toronto fans were hoping for this after trading for Jose Reyes and signing Melky Cabrera to set up for Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista.

However, remember that four plus months remains on the schedule and even though the offense is strong, the Blue Jays pitching staff is currently 24^th in baseball with an ERA of 4.15.

Updated Odds for 2014 World Series

DETROIT TIGERS 9 to 2

LOS ANGELES DODGERS 6 to 1

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS 7 to 1

OAKLAND A’s 8 to 1

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 10 to 1

LOS ANGELES ANGELS 12 to 1

WASHINGTON NATIONALS 12 to 1

ATLANTA BRAVES 12 to 1

NEW YORK YANKEES 16 to 1

TORONTO BLUE JAYS 16 to 1