MLB Pennant Races Heating Up

by Bodog Sportsbook | Aug 15 2008

MLB Pennant Races Heating Up

Unless you’re in Beijing, the sun is shining and the fresh summer air of mid-August tells you one thing… Major League Baseball is heating up. There isn’t a better time to bet on baseball, America’s national pastime, than during the thick of a pennant race when teams are pulling out all the stops.



The stretch run of the 2008 MLB season promises to be one of the most exciting finishes in recent years. Here's a few reasons why...

The National League East

The Mets and Phillies are tied for first in the division and just to complicate things, the Marlins are lurking just 1.5 games out. With just about 40 games left in the season the pennant is up for grabs. The deciding factors in this three-team battle will be: which team can stay healthy, which team can take care of business on its home field down the stretch, and most importantly, which of these teams can start sweeping sub .500 teams and create some separation.

The National League West

The Diamondbacks and the rejuvenated Dodgers are deadlocked atop the division. The Dodgers have found their winning ways since they picked up Manny Ramirez. Manny has continued to be Manny, and has been feasting on National League pitching since joining the Dodgers. This new-look Dodgers team is starting to show some character and poise that it lacked earlier in the season. This is a team that is coming together in a big way, and the huge question becomes whether the Diamondbacks, who have gone 4-6 in their last 10, will be able to keep the surging Dodgers at bay.



The National League Central

The Cubs enjoy a 3.5-game cushion over the hottest team in baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers, who have won eight straight games. Even though the Cubs did sweep the Brewers in Milwaukee a little while ago in what many believe was a dominant and decisive series for the Cubs, what a difference a dugout fight and an eight-game winning streak can make, because the Brewers are not going anywhere. Prince Fielder and the Brew Crew are playing their best baseball as of late and they are doing it without the services of Ryan Braun, who is out with a rib muscle injury. This baby could go down to the wire. 



The American League East

The Red Sox continue to try and chase down the Rays, who have put any questions regarding their legitimacy to rest as they lead the division by three games in the stretch run of the season. Tampa just seems to keep winning and winning and winning. They are almost unbeatable at home, with a 45-17 record, but perhaps the most impressive aspect of this team is its depth. With injuries to Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria, somehow the Rays are still winning. Despite the pressure from Boston, who has also been rejuvenated by the Ramirez trade, the Rays seem determined to hang onto the top spot in one of the toughest divisions in baseball.



It’s A Wrap In The American League West

With a 15-game lead over Texas, simply put, the Angels are the best team in baseball from almost every standpoint. They can hit for power, they play small ball, they move runners around, steal bases, their defense in the infield and outfield is as solid as there is and their pitching staff is bananas. The starting rotation for the Angels has a combined team ERA of 3.90, good for eighth in the Show, and their closer K-Rod is having not just a career season in saves, but a historic one, as he is on the verge of shattering the all-time single season save record of 57—he currently has 46. Barring a Mets-like monumental collapse, the Angels are into the postseason as division champs. 



The American League Central

It's turned into a dogfight between the Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins as the White Sox cling to a one-game lead in the division. This race will come down to which team executes down the stretch and beats the teams that they are supposed to beat—meaning, the teams with sub .500 records.

Should it all end today, Boston would lock up the American League wild card with a 2.5-game lead over the Twins, and the Milwaukee Brewers would take the National League wild card as they hold a four-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals.

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