With the 2011 Preakness Stakes betting race right around the corner, a couple of perennial contenders have found their way to the top of their respective leagues. The New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies have looked very strong in the early going, and there is every reason to think that trend will continue through the remainder of the year and into the postseason. Yankees Back At The Top Of American League Picture New York was expected to be stuck behind the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox in the American League East, but a strong start has them battling with the Rays at the top of the most competitive division in baseball. While the offense has been consistent the past couple of years, the biggest difference between this season and previous ones was the fact that the Yankees were projected to not have the pitching depth to get the job done. But Bartolo Colon has seen an unpredictable resurgence in his career and AJ Burnett has brought lights out stuff at times this year to serve as the perfect compliments to ace CC Sabathia, and that has the Yankees competing for an online sports betting spot at the top of the AL. Phillies Looking Unstoppable In National League Race It seemed as though as soon as the Phillies acquired Cliff Lee in free agency, all of the attention turned to what appears to be the deepest pitching staff in baseball. With Lee working behind Cy Young award winner Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt, Philadelphia has the best pitching staff in the league and their 27 quality starts is testament to that. The Phillies have a 1.15 WHIP and the third-best ERA in the majors defensively, but it’s a couple of surprise contributors on offense that are the biggest surprise. Placido Polanco leads Philadelphia with a .350 batting average on a team that has a combined .259 average, while Ryan Howard has been the consistent power hitter that the team needs with eight home runs and 32 RBI. Shane Victorino leads the team in runs with 24, and as long as the order continues to produce all the way down the pay per head line the Phillies should be able to continue to separate themselves from the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins in the division. One More Thing… While the Yankees and Phillies find themselves in the right spots so far in May, there isn’t another team in MLB betting that has suffered a worse stretch than the San Diego Padres since the final two months of last season. The Padres conceded the division title to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants, and have opened the 2011 season at the bottom of the NL West. The Minnesota Twins have fallen nearly as hard in the AL Central, but not nearly as badly as the Padres have since a year ago.
