TheSportsNotebook’s MLB spring training review has covered ten National League teams with individual preview posts. Those ten were a combination of the playoff teams from last year, those that at least made a little run at it (Washington & Arizona), along with two others who played poorly, but have a reasonable basis for thinking 2013 was an aberration (San Francisco & Milwaukee).
The 2013 MLB regular season is in the books, and on this final Sunday night of the season, as we await the Texas-Tampa tiebreaker game on Monday, followed by the two wild-card games on Tuesday and Wednesday, let’s clean up one last loose end from the season and it’s to review each team’s win props.
Now that the calendar says August, and MLB’s July 31 non-waiver trade deadline has passed, we can set the tone for the season’s final eight-plus weeks. While the playoff races in both the American League and National League are the most important way to do that, there’s one other race that shouldn’t be overlooked—it’s the race each team has against itself to meet their Over/Under win total from the preseason
We’ve got 8-plus weeks to go in baseball’s regular season, and while the playoff races are the main topic, let’s also not overlook how each team is faring against its preseason win prop—the number posted on Las Vegas where you can bet the Over/Under on how games each will win.
The baseball season starts tonight when Texas welcomes Houston to the American League, in an 8 PM ET game on ESPN. TheSportsNotebook’s MLB coverage throughout March has at least touched on every team in baseball, and made a pick on their Over/Under win props in Las Vegas. Now it’s time for the closing arguments, with complete predictions by record and how the playoffs will progress.
The Atlanta sports market carries a certain reputation—it’s the rep of the big tease. Regardless of the sport—whether we’re talking Braves, Falcons, Hawks, or Georgia Bulldogs, the city of Atlanta seems to always find a way to come up just short. As TheSportsNotebook wraps up its preseason MLB coverage, there’s only one team left to cover and that’s the Braves. We’ll take a look at their chances in the broader context of their home city’s thirst for a championship.
Baseball on the Beltway got a big lift in 2012, as both the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles made the playoffs and stretched their Division Series showdowns to the full five games. The Orioles’ arrival was more surprising than the Nationals, but with giants in each dugouts—Davey Johnson in D.C. and Buck Showalter in Charm City—you had to know each organization would get it done eventually. Now they have the tougher task though, which is to make the second act of success. Let’s take a look at both the O’s and Nats as they prep for 2013…
The Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates, natural geographic rivals and playoff sparring partners in the 1970s, were each in last year’s NL Central race into August. They went in opposite directions, as the Reds blew away the division and the Pirates collapsed and remained in search of their first winning season since 1992. Today we’ll take a look at both teams, and continue the pattern of TheSportsNotebook’s MLB coverage and assess each team’s chances against their Over/Under win projection posted in Las Vegas.
The Detroit Tigers will open the season as a top-heavy favorite to win the American League’s Central Division. The same was true at this time last year though, and the Chicago White Sox led the division by as many as 4 ½ games in September. Is there a darkhorse stalker lurking again in the AL Central? Let’s take a closer look at both the White Sox, along with a veteran-fortified team in Kansas City.
The Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays are both coming off their own disappointments last year. The teams had met in the playoffs in both 2010 and 2011 and it seemed fair to think a Round Three might have taken place in the American League Championship Series. But the Rays missed the playoffs entirely, the Rangers blew the AL West and then the wild-card game and now both teams are somewhat under the radar as Opening Day 2013 approaches. The two teams even have the exact same expectations, as defined by the Over/Under win total posted in Las Vegas, of 86.5. Let’s check on both teams and see what the prospects for renewal are this season.
It was a great year to be a baseball fan in the Bay Area last season. The Oakland A’s were one of the Cinderella stories in all of sports as they won the AL West, and the San Francisco Giants were even better, winning the World Series and keying their home city’s run as the most successful sports market of 2012. Now let’s see what both teams have in store for 2013.
The Detroit Tigers are coming off their second American League pennant in the last seven seasons and have officially established themselves as the scourge of the Yankees, knocking the Pinstripes out of the playoffs for the third time since 2006. But there’s one thing Detroit hasn’t done under manager Jim Leyland and that’s win the World Series. Will the 2013 edition of the Tigers take the final step? TheSportsNotebook will evaluate Detroit and will also check in on their Rustbelt rival in Cleveland, where Terry Francona has undertaken the job of rebuilding the Indians.