Today the second half of baseball resumes, and we are planning to continue to cash some serious baseball tickets. But at the same time this is what I’m looking at from each division for possible moves to make teams better for a playoff run, or just to slash some payroll.

Here are some MLB predictions for the second half of the season to help with your baseball betting:

American League

AL East Division

You can just go ahead and throw out the Baltimore Orioles in this division. So far it’s a great division battle between the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays and, yes, the Blue Jays.  The Blue Jays are actually only 12 ½ games out of first place and the Jays are only one game from being a .500 club. But, and a big BUT, I do believe this division will come down to the Yankess and the Rays with New York being the front-runner. Boston is suffering from many injuries and I don’t see the real Josh Beckett reemerging until next season. The Yankees will most likely make some kind of noise during trade deadline and with George Steinbrenner passing on Tuesday, the Yankees will have extra motivation to win this division. If the Rays grab a bat during the trade deadline then they might give the Yankees a run, but that could be a big ‘If’. I think the Yankees run away with the division.

AL Central Division

Throw out the Royals and the Indians – it’s incredible how bad is it to be any kind of a Cleveland sports fan right now! This division is between the Tigers and Twins and, yes, I know the White Sox have won 25 out of their last 30 games, but 15 of those wins were against the Cubs, Pirates, Nationals, and Royals. Detroit wins this division and Miguel Cabrera carries the Tigers to a division title. And if the Tigers get some more quality starts they could make some noise in the AL playoffs. I would have picked the Twins in this division, but they needed to land Cliff Lee to win the AL Central.

AL West Division

Throw out the Mariners as they are horrible, and yes I bet them ‘over’ in total season wins. I’m also throwing out the A’s even though they are only 7 ½ games out of first place, but I don’t see Oakland adding payroll during the trade deadline to improve. If the Angels add a big bat then look out Rangers, but since Texas added Cliff Lee the Rangers are my favorite to win AL West. With Lee on the Rangers rotation this team can now beat you with the long ball and with pitching.

National League

NL East Division

Nationals and Marlins will be no factor in this race, especially if the Nationals trade Adam Dunn during the trade deadline. I will, however, predict that the Nationals won’t finish last in this division. My winner in this NL East is the Atlanta Braves as Head Coach Cox goes out in a bang. Mets will fizzle out in the second half and so will the Phillies, so that leaves the Braves gaining more ground. Look for them to possibly add more pitching and hitting during the trade deadline.

NL Central Division

A two-team division race here between the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals! Throw out the rest of the division as the Brewers, Cubs, and Astros will be dumping salaries in the next couple of weeks and the Pirates are just the Pirates. If the Reds can add some relief pitching and one more bat they will win this division, but don’t count out ‘The Machine’ in St. Louis. No shock here that I’m a Cubs fan so I would love to see the Reds win this division and the Cardinals watch the playoffs at home with my Cubbies.

NL West Division

This division is always crazy close and right now we can only throw out the Arizona Diamondbacks. I’m still shocked to see San Diego in first place, but I feel this won’t last as the Dodgers will get healthy and add some important pieces to their team. Colorado and the Giants will fizzle out, so this division will be against the Dodgers and Padres. The loser of this division will win the Wild Card, and as of right now I feel the Dodgers win the NL West.

MLB Predictions

Division Winners

American League
AL East – NY Yankees
AL Central – Detroit Tigers
AL West – Texas Rangers
Wild Card Winner – Tampa Bay

National League
NL East – Atlanta Braves
NL Central – Cincinnati Reds
NL West – Los Angeles Dodgers
Wild Card Winner – San Diego

World Series
NY Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
***Yankees win in six games***

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