MLB Betting News

When the Philadelphia Phillies brought in Roy Halladay a year ago, everybody knew that they would have one of the most dominant pitching staffs in baseball betting competitions. When they went out and added Cliff Lee to pitch behind the 2010 NL Cy Young award winner on a staff that already had Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt, the MLB betting media was left to debate where this group ranked on the list of most dominant pitching staffs in the history of the game. The 2011 Phillies didn’t disappoint through the first half of the season, registering the best staff ERA, WHIP, and quality starts, and setting the tone for the rest of the league with the best overall record in the majors.

Lee was inconsistent at times but finished the first half strong with one of the most incredible month’s in baseball history when he allowed just a single run through five starts in June. The 32-year old threw 41 innings of shutout ball, and finished with three complete game shutout wins over the Florida Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, and AL-leading Boston Red Sox.

Sports Betting Overview

The Seattle Mariners are starting to see the results of not being able to hit the baseball as they are falling further and further behind in the AL West standings. The Mariners captured the attention of the MLB baseball betting public earlier this year by staying in the thick of the AL West pennant race for the first quarter of the season. But in recent weeks, the Mariners have started to suffer from a drought of runs and have tumbled to a 43-48 record which puts them seven and half games out of first place in the division. Seattle has also made MLB baseball news headlines by falling to 11 and a half games off the pace in the AL wild card race. This is the first game back after the all-star break for Seattle, and they need to make it count.

The Texas Rangers were one of the hottest teams in baseball at the all-star break. MLB fans watched as the Rangers won eight of its last 10 games including the seven-game winning streak they are rode into the all-star break.

Earlier this week, the MLB released its sports betting All Star rosters for the American and National Leagues for the 2011 season. Entering the second decade of the 2000’s it appears that MLB betting enthusiasts will have to ponder who actually makes the cut for the All Star game, as the players left off this year’s  team, could form better rosters. Here is a look at several players that were stiffed of an All Star invite, while other teams got to send plenty of players.

For the record, we understand that how the MLB standings shape up by All Star time has as much to do with the All Star game as it being a popularity contest amongst the fans. However, we think it is ridiculous to believe that certain players made the cut based on popularity, instead of overall talent.

Such was the case with New York Yankees short stop Derek Jeter, who both is one of the most popular players in the MLB and happens to play on one of the best teams. Jeter has had a poor season thus far, hitting two home runs and 20 RBI while also missing time with an injury.