They say you should never go back but right now Jim Thome is licking his lips at his return to Philadelphia. All the man wants is a Championship and with the Phillies rotation and a support cast that is still one of the best in the League he has joined the right team.

With Ryan Howard likely to miss the first few months of the season at least Thomas may well have more game time than he imagined. It was Howard’s emergence back in 2005 that allowed the Phillies to let Thome go after he had struggled with some injuries including back and elbow problems.

Thome has not taken the field as part of a defence since 2007 so will largely be pinch hitting or a designated hitter and seems happy to play a bit part role if it takes him to the coveted World Series Final he has been seeking. At Thome’s age the decision to move to Philadelphia must have been incredibly easy but it is interesting that the Phillies have opted for a short term situation clearly expecting Howard to come back in good form.

With rumours out that Philadelphia are one of a number of teams intrigued by Cuban slugger Cespedes the East Coast outfit look likely to be adding more depth to their offence this off season.

The Phillies are also looking at re-signing Ryan Madsen who has proved to be one of the best relievers out there and remains relatively underrated by most media. Whether Madsen will suffer from the multi-year contract curse that has affected the other expensive relievers out there remains to be seen.

Both teams hit the nail on the head as the Rockies chose Troy Tulowitzki seventh overall, while the Brewers nabbed Ryan Braun fifth overall.

Tulowitzki, a 6’ 3’’, 215 lb. specimen who many believe to be the best shortstop in the game, was a standout at California State University, Long Beach for three years. He left college with a career .962 fielding percentage, and in 155 career games Tulowitzki batted .310, with 20 homers, 117 RBIs, 37 doubles and a .491 slugging percentage.

Not only was Tulo – his nickname in the Rockies clubhouse – a standout in college, but high school as well.  As a senior at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, California, Tulowitzki batted .519 with 24 home runs. He didn’t just play baseball, though; Tulo also knew how to put the rock through the hoop. He won his league MVP, was named second team All-State and team MVP and averaged 22.6 points per game during his senior season.

Tulo’s apparent athleticism has garnered him comparisons to players like Cal Ripken Jr. and Derek Jeter. His arm, range and uncanny instincts are highly regarded, and separate his abilities from other shortstops around the league.

Tulowitzki is off to a blistering start to the 2011 season – in 23 games he is batting .326 with 7 HR and 17 RBI. Furthermore, he has led his team to a surprising 16-7 start, which is tops in the league.

Braun, who is less physically and athletically gifted than Tulo at 6’ 1’’, 210 lbs., but farther along in his five years of MLB service, played his college ball at Miami. He was named the National Freshman of the Year and was selected as a first-team Freshman All-American by Baseball America in 2003. Hitting .364, with 17 HRs and 76 RBIs during your first year of college would seem to warrant such accolades.

Like Tulo, Braun was an absolute monster in high school. As a senior Braun batted .451, with an OBP of .675, and broke Granada Hills High School’s record for career home runs with 25. Braun was rated the sixth-best shortstop prospect in the country by Team One Baseball as a senior, and rated among the top 100 prospects by Baseball America.

Braun’s nickname – “The Hebrew Hammer” – is indicative of his hot start. The 27-year-old leftfielder and third baseman is hitting .356, with a league-leading 9 HRs and 21 RBIs. His Brewers are also right in the thick of the National League Central race with a 12-12 record. The achievements Braun gathered while in high school and college followed him to the pros, as he was named the NL Rookie of the Year in 2007 and was a starting NL All-Star outfielder from 2008-2010.

If there were early front-runners for the NL MVP, Tulo and The Hebrew Hammer are the obvious one and two on that list, with the edge to Tulowitzki since his squad has the best record in the league. Either way you go, you can’t go wrong. And if I was starting a franchise from scratch, I would build around one of these guys.

On April 20^th and three weeks into the young season, the Indians have captured just that.

The Indians division, the AL central, has been dominated by the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers in the past decade. The Indians and Kansas City Royals have simply been afterthoughts as they became used to finishing fourth and fifth in the division race each year.

The Indians had a very tough 2009-2010 season, as they finished 69-93 overall. They never spent a day in first place and wound up 25 games behind the division winning Minnesota Twins.

All facets of Cleveland’s game were a mess, with the lack of offensive production in the forefront. The Indians offense managed to score just 646 runs, which was 12^th in the AL. Rightfielder Shin-Soo Choo was the only regular starter to have a batting average of .300 or more – Choo’s batting average was an ironic .300. Not only did this team not hit for average, but they struck out 1,184 times, second most among the AL clubs. Their lineup also featured two regular starters who did not hit .200 in 2010.

Now on to the dismal pitching performances Indian fans had to witness. Their pitching staff gave up 752 runs, and the team ERA was 4.30, which was tied for 10^th in the AL. Also, not one of their five regular starters finished the 2010 season with a winning record; the staff ranked in the bottom third in each key statistical category among the AL pitching staffs.

The Indians pitching numbers to begin this year though are simply mind-boggling. In the team’s 12 wins, Cleveland has allowed a total of 12 runs – that’s one run per game if you were wondering. The 3-4-5 hitters in opposing teams’ lineups have a miserable combined .185 batting average, and the pitchers have a 2.21 K per BB ratio – the 4^th best in the AL.

The offensive numbers are just as good. Cleveland is batting a solid .318 with RISP and are hitting .331 as a team with a .916 OPS. Closing out games when they have a lead hasn’t been a problem either, as the Indians are 11-0 when leading after the start of any inning after the 4^th.

This is the first time since 2007 the Indians have had the best record in the majors this late in the season– they share that title with the Colorado Rockies.

The million-dollar question is, though, are the tribe for real? It’s too early to tell with 146 games still to be played, but there is no clear favorite in the AL central this year. If the Indians continue to pitch lights out, hit well with RISP and close out games, don’t be surprised if they are primed for a division race come September.

It wasn’t Texas’ pitching staff that carried them all year – it was a lethal offensive attack that propelled the Rangers into the upper echelon of the AL.

If you need reminders of the Rangers’ 2010-2011 offensive campaign, take a glance at these striking numbers.

Texas led the league with a .276 team batting average, being led by the MVP season of Josh Hamilton who finished with a league best .359 batting average, 32 HR and 100 RBI. Hamilton also had the highest OPS – 1.044– of any big leaguer.

Hamilton wasn’t the only Ranger to produce prominent offensive numbers a year ago. Former Ranger right fielder Vladimir Guerrero had a typical season, finishing with a .300 average, 29 HR and 115 RBI. Shortstop Michael Young also finished the season with a .284 average, with 21 HR and 91 RBI.

The Rangers lost Guerrero to the Baltimore Orioles due to a free agent signing, but didn’t miss a beat with the off season acquisition of third baseman Adrian Beltre, who had a monstrous 2010-2011 season for the Boston Red Sox with a .321 batting average, 28 HR and 102 RBI.

The not-so-flashy pitching staff was led by the important mid-season acquisition of Cliff Lee from the Seattle Mariners. Lee went 12-9 with a 3.18 ERA. As a team, the Rangers had an ERA of 3.93, and limited batters to a .246 batting average. Neftali Feliz, the Ranger’s closer, was tied for fifth in the league with 40 saves.

Many believed the Boston Red Sox would be the team who would represent the AL in the World Series this season because of their big-name off season additions and promising team health. The Red Sox certainly bolstered an already potent line-up by acquiring former San Diego Padres first basemen Adrian Gonzalez, who finished with a .298 batting average, 31 HR and 101 RBI in 2010.

Carl Crawford – the ultimate combination of speed and power – had a sensational season a year ago with a .307 batting average, 19 HR and 90 RBI. Adding these two all-stars to a line-up that welcomes back Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and J.D. Drew, it would seem the Red Sox should be favored over the Rangers to capture the Al crown; however, the Rangers have picked up right where they left off to begin the 2011 season with a 9-1 start, while the Red Sox have gotten off to a dismal 2-7 start.

If you’re infamous for predicting division finishes and World Series opponents, then neither of these teams would be a bad choice. The Rangers, though, are clicking on all cylinders, so don’t be surprised if Texas earns a repeat appearance in the Fall Classic.

A plethora of home runs, high-scoring games and exciting offensive prowess were expected to be the highlight of Oriole baseball. But believe it or not, the starting pitching has stolen the spotlight thus far in the young season.

Forget Baltimore’s new-look offense, the young arms have been dominant in the first three game of the season. In the Oriole’s opener, Jeremy Guthrie, the 31-year-old veteran of the youth-infiltrated rotation, held the defending American League East champion Tampa Bay Rays to three hits over eight scoreless innings en route to a 4-1 win at Tropicana Field.

The gem Guthrie threw was much needed with his counterpart, David Price, having a career 4-0, 1.95 ERA Opening Day record, on the mound. Price held the Orioles to one earned run in two starts last year, so Guthrie knew he had to bring his “A” game, and that he did.

Chris Tillman, who won the final four-man rotation spot out of camp, got the call for game number two. The 22-year-old right-hander posted six no-hit innings, leading the Orioles to a 3-1 victory over the Rays.

Tillman walked two in the first three innings and needed several key defensive plays behind him to get through comfortably. He eventually settled down, though, as he retired 11 straight at one point.

Because of Tillman’s high pitch count, manager Buck Showalter inserted Jeremy Accardo to start the seventh. Mike Gonzalez started the eighth, and Koji Uehara finished the eighth and closed out the ninth to seal the win.

In the third and final game of the series, 23-year-old rookie southpaw Zach Britton shined during his Major League debut by holding Tampa Bay to one run over six innings, capping an Orioles sweep with a 5-1 win. The win marked the first time Baltimore started 3-0 since 1997, and the first time they swept the Rays since 2005.

Britton – who pitched a staff’s best 1.35 era in the spring, used his trademark sinker to induce several ground ball outs; it also was the culprit of his six strikeouts.

As the Orioles headed to Camden Yards for its home opener against the Detroit Tigers yesterday, 24-year-old right-hander Jake Arrieta took the mound. Out of all of the Oriole’s young pitchers, Arrieta has the best velocity and arguably the best stuff, and he showed it by pitching six innings of one-run ball, leading Baltimore to a 5-1victory.

The offensive production will undoubtedly be there this year, but if the Orioles want to compete in the AL East, then the pitching must be as consistent and efficient as it has in the first three games of the year.

Many baseball experts expected the reigning AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays to slip back some this season after cutting the payroll nearly 50 percent and losing guys like Carl Crawford, Matt Garza and Rafael Soriano. But the Rays were still supposed to be good yet they enter Thursday afternoon’s game in Chicago as one of three winless teams (Boston, Houston) and already four games out of the division lead. The White Sox are -120 favorites on Bodog’s MLB betting odds for their home opener.

White Sox fans won’t get a chance to boo Manny Ramirez today. He was acquired by Chicago late last season but did pretty much nothing in his short tenure. Ramirez was a surprise signing by Tampa Bay late this offseason but has been struggling, going 1-for-17 with one RBI after hitting .311 with 10 RBIs in spring training. He was scratched from Wednesday’s game (he did pinch-hit in the eighth and popped out) and will sit out today for personal reasons.

The White Sox (3-2) have been one of the hottest offenses in the early going. They are third in baseball in runs with 40 and third in team average at .314. They again will be without slugger Adam Dunn, who is likely out the rest of the weekend after undergoing an emergency appendectomy after Tuesday’s game. Chicago staged an epic comeback on Wednesday in Kansas City, scoring four ninth-inning runs with two outs off All-Star closer Joakim Soria before winning 10-7 in 12 innings. White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin is raking, hitting .500 with five doubles, two home runs, 10 RBIs and only one strikeout so far. And Paul Konerko is just the second player in Sox history to have at least one RBI in each of the first five games.

The Tampa Bay offense, without an injured Evan Longoria, has been scuffling big time. In four of the five games so far, the Rays have been held to one run and exactly four hits. After their third-ever winless homestand, the Rays are batting .136 and have 21 hits and just seven runs. They have yet to lead a game. The Rays are the first reigning division champion to start a season 0-5 since the 1996 Red Sox. And now that have to face former Tampa Bay pitcher Edwin Jackson (1-0, 3.00), who no-hit the Rays last June 25 while pitching for Arizona. Tampa Bay starts David Price (0-1, 5-14), last year’s AL Cy Young runner-up. Against the White Sox, the 25-year-old left-hander was 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 12 innings in 2010.

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Can the flying Reds sweep the Astros for a 6-0 start or will the Astros cut back on the errors and win one? Bodog provide fantastic independent opinion on all the latest baseball news to keep you up to date and help with your baseball betting. You may not always agree with them but it is good to know what a sportsbook is thinking when it sets its lines. Read on for some Bodog wisdom:

Already the defending NL Central champion Cincinnati Reds look like the team to beat again in that division, as they have been pounding the ball in the first half of the season and look to become the second team in baseball (Texas) to start 2011 at 6-0 by sweeping Houston on Thursday afternoon. And the Reds are -145 Bodog betting favorites to do just that.

The Reds lead the majors in several categories, including run differential (+26), team batting average (.339), runs (43) and on-base percentage (.404). They put up 12 runs and 14 hits in blasting the Astros for the second night in a row Wednesday. The Reds’ 43 runs is the franchises’ second-highest total through five games; the Big Red Machine scored 44 runs in the first five games of its 1976 World Series title season.

In Wednesday’s loss the Astros committed a season-high five errors. Their team batting average is just.214 to go with an overall club ERA of 8.03. Their five starting pitchers have gone 24 1⁄3 innings so far and allowed 26 earned runs (9.62 ERA) out of 31 runs total. The 0-5 Astros have now been outscored 41-17 through five games and are more than halfway to matching last year’s 0-8 start. Bill Hall sort of symbolizes the team’s struggles. He struck out three times Wednesday and is 2 for 19 with nine strikeouts this season.

Houston turns to Brett Myers (0-0, 1.29), who actually has been the team’s only good starter so far. He gave the Astros a quality start in his first appearance of the season Friday in Philadelphia, holding his former team to three hits, three walks and one earned run in seven innings. He didn’t get a decision thanks to a blown save. Cincinnati turns to Sam LeCure (0-0, 0.00). He is in the fifth spot in the rotation thanks to an injury to Homer Bailey. LeCure pitched one scoreless inning of relief on Opening Day vs. the Brewers.

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The Red Sox will look to avoid the sweep against the Indians and prevent the worst start possible. Bodog provide fantastic independent opinion on all the latest baseball news to keep you up to date and help with your baseball betting. You may not always agree with them but it is good to know what a sportsbook is thinking when it sets its lines. Read on for some Bodog wisdom:

The last thing the Boston Red Sox want to do is enter Friday’s home opener against the hated New York Yankees at 0-6, but that’s what’s facing the preseason American League favorites if they don’t beat Cleveland on Thursday afternoon. And Boston is a -190 favorite on Bodog’s MLB odds, but it has been a favorite in every game in the series so far and that hasn’t mattered.

Already a World Series title looks unlikely. No team that started 0-5 has ever won the World Series. In fact, only two teams ever even reached the playoffs after a 0-5 start. That would be the 1974 Pirates and the 1995 Reds. So Boston would obviously be the first AL team.

The offense has been pathetic so far with Boston ranking 29th out of 30 teams with a .190 team average. And their team ERA is a whopping 8.33. The team is off to the fourth-worst start in franchise history, with the worst coming in 1945 when it started 0-8. However, every World Series champion since 2000 has had at least one five-game losing streak with the exception of one — the 2007 Red Sox.

So now Boston turns to lefty Jon Lester, a preseason Cy Young favorite at Bodog. Lester pitched the season opener against Texas and wasn’t good. He allowed five runs in 5.1 innings, including three homers. He failed to record a strikeout. Lester has a history of not pitching well until May. And he has been rocked in his career at Progressive Field, giving up 17 earned runs in 22.1 career innings. He is 3-1 with a 4.53 ERA in eight career starts against Cleveland overall.

Cleveland goes for the unlikely sweep behind Fausto Carmona. He took the loss in the opener against the White Sox, allowing 10 runs in three-plus innings. The Tribe haven’t swept Boston in Cleveland in a series since Aug. 28-30, 2001.

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The White Sox are definitely going all-in this season in an attempt to get back to the World Series for the first time since winning it in 2005. Owner Jerry Reinsdorf allowed aggressive GM Kenny Williams to increase the club’s payroll to an all-time franchise high of $125 million, with the big fish being acquiring slugger Adam Dunn to fill what was a glaring hole at designated hitter in 2010. If things don’t go well early in the season on the South Side of Chicago, it could be the final season for Ozzie Guillen as the club’s manager. He and Williams have had their troubles in the past and Guillen nearly was a goner this offseason.

2010 finish: 88-74 (second in AL Central)
Key offseason additions: Adam Dunn (DH/1B); Jesse Crain (RHP); Will Ohman (LHP)
Key offseason losses: Manny Ramirez (DH); Bobby Jenks (RHP); J.J. Putz (RHP); Scott Linebrink (RHP)
Bodog odds to win AL Central: +160 (second in division to Twins)
Bodog odds to win AL pennant: 11/1
Bodog odds to win World Series: 20/1
Bodog over/under win total: 84.5

Instead of going with a youth movement built around the likes of Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez, the team’s double-play combination, Williams brought in Dunn and re-signed veterans Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski. Konerko was an AL MVP candidate last season, hitting.312 with 39 homers and 111 RBIs. Dunn has averaged 40 homers and 101 RBIs over the past seven years, but he must adjust to the designated hitter role he never played in the National League. Runs shouldn’t be a problem with Dunn, Konerko, center fielder Alex Rios and right fielder Carlos Quentin in the middle of the order. However, can Quentin stay healthy? He hasn’t proven able to. And which Beckham will show up? The one who was stellar as a rookie, the one who struggled mightily to start 2010 or the one who was scorching hot in the second half of last season? Ramirez is now one of the best shortstops in the American League. He was named the Silver Slugger winner after batting .282 with 18 homers and 70 RBIs, and many felt he deserved the Gold Glove. The main question is at third base where Brent Morel has won the starting job. He hit just .231 in limited time last year but is terrific defensively.

The rotation could be one of the best in baseball if Jake Peavy can make it back from last season’s detached muscle in his back that led Peavy to undergo experimental surgery in July. He is expected to start the season in extended spring training as he works his way back. But if healthy, he forms what should be a stellar rotation with Mark Buehrle, John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Edwin Jackson. Buehrle is the only major-league pitcher to throw more than 200 innings in each of the past 10 seasons, and his 2,220 innings since 2001 are the most. But his contract is up after this season. Danks’ victory total has been inching up every season, while Floyd was one of the majors’ top starters before shoulder soreness slowed him late last season. In 11 starts with the White Sox after a trade from Arizona, Jackson had a 3.24 ERA and four victories, but in six of those 11 starts he gave up just two earned runs or less. The only pitching question in camp other than Peavy’s rehab was at closer, where All-Star set-up man Matt Thornton will replace the departed Bobby Jenks. Thornton had been competing with LHP Chris Sale for the job. Thornton held opposing batters to a.191 average while posting an impressive 12 strikeouts per nine innings in 2010.

If the White Sox can get and stay healthy, namely Peavy and Quentin, this team will beat out the Twins and Tigers for the AL Central title.

Projected lineup
1 LF Juan Pierre
2 2B Gordon Beckham
3 DH Adam Dunn
4 1B Paul Konerko
5 CF Alex Rios
6 RF Carlos Quentin
7 SS Alexei Ramirez
8 C A.J. Pierzynski
9 3B Brent Morel
Projected rotation
1 LHP Mark Buehrle
2 RHP Gavin Floyd
3 LHP John Danks
4 RHP Edwin Jackson
5 RHP Phil Humber (until Peavy is ready)
CL: Matt Thornton

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MLB betting opportunities will be back in full force shortly, as the regular season is just around the corner. Here’s a breakdown of current MLB futures in the American League.

To no one’s surprise, the Boston Red Sox (11/5) are heavy favorites to win the AL pennant. After finishing second in runs a year ago, the Sox went out and made their lineup even more formidable, adding Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. If the rotation can bounce back—and the talent is certainly there, considering John Lackey and Josh Beckett are the No. 3 and 4 starters—Boston will cruise.

The New York Yankees are next with 7/2 odds to win the American League. New York returns last year’s top-ranked offense completely intact, but there are too many pitching questions to like the Yanks this high. They didn’t have enough arms last year, and this time they’ll be without veteran Andy Pettitte (retired).

That’s why the Minnesota Twins or Texas Rangers might offer a little more value—you’re not paying for brand recognition. Both teams have 9/1 odds to win the AL pennant. Texas did it last year before falling in the World Series, but the club failed to replace departed free agent Cliff Lee. With that gaping hole in the rotation, it’s hard to imagine the club repeating.

Minnesota, meanwhile, is under the radar after suffering a rash of injuries in the spring. The Twins look healthy now, though, and they’ve got a great lineup to pair with a solid rotation. If the bullpen can carry its weight, Minnesota is a sneaky pick.

Speaking of sneaky picks, the Chicago White Sox (11/1 AL odds) are making some noise as this year’s chic surprise pick. Pitching wins championships, and with Mark Buehrle, Edwin Jackson, John Danks and Gavin Floyd in the rotation, Chicago has it in spades. Throw in No. 5 starter Jake Peavy—brutally injury prone, but a former Cy Young winner—and the White Sox could be this season’s biggest surprise team.

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