By The Mets Jun 1, 2007, 19:40 GMT
Philadelphia, PA - The Red Sox broke the 'Curse of the Bambino' by winning the 2004 World Series, and it looks as if they could do it again in 2007. With one-third of the season complete, Boston leads the majors with a 36-16 record and sports a 10-game lead in the AL East.
The Mets, who lost to the Yankees in 2000, own the best record (34-18) in the National League and enjoy a 4 1/2-game advantage over the Braves in the East. As each day passes, it looks more and more like a repeat of the famed 1986 World Series could take place.
That season was one to remember for Mets fans and one to cherish for the Sox faithful until game six. Every soul in Boston still blames Bill Buckner for losing that series, but if Bob Stanley had not thrown the wild pitch, Kevin Mitchell wouldn't have scored the tying run and Ray Knight would have still been at first base, unable to score the winning run on Buckners error.
What separates these two teams from the rest of the pack in 07 is how they have performed on the road. Boston is 18-8, while New York is number one at 18-7. No other team has less than 10 road losses and only three have winning percentages over 55%.
A clubs road record is a great barometer as to how far it will advance in the postseason. Last year, the Mets and Tigers had the top two road records in their respective leagues and both reached the Championship Series. Only a Yadier Molina home run prevented them from battling it out in the World Series. Back in 2005, the White Sox and Cardinals each led their leagues in road winning percentage and one of those clubs (Chicago) won the Fall Championship Classic, while the other reached the NLCS.
Boston opened the 2007 season as the 5-1 second choice to win the World Series. The Yankees, incidentally, were the favorites at 4-1. The Red Sox are currently the prohibitive choice at 3-1, while the Bronx Bombers are tied for sixth with the Tigers at 10-1.
The Mets are the second favorite behind the Sox at 5-1. Not a bad price considering the lack of competition they'll have to face in the National League. New York was an absurd 10-1 back in March since the club had tons of pitching staff question marks prior to the season opener. With Oliver Perez and John Maine combining for a 12-5 record and an ERA of 2.74, there should be little doubt that New York will be heading back to the NLCS. In addition, it looks as if Pedro Martinez will return in early August setting the stage for a dynamic postseason staff.
Its interesting to note that the Mets did not have the lowest odds of the 16 National League teams to win the World Series before the season began. Time to play a little bit of trivia. Try and figure out which NL club was favored back on March 25. I'll give you a few seconds to think about it: 5..4..3..2..1. The answer is the Cubs!
Chicago was actually 9-1 based on all its off-season acquisitions. Most of those players are getting the job done, but still the Cubs are 22-29. They are third in the league in ERA from the start of the game to the sixth inning at 3.50, and fourth in batting average at .265. They even lead the league in batting average with runners in scoring position at .286! So what has been the problem? That question can be easily answered with two words: the bullpen. Chicago is dead last in the National League in ERA from the seventh inning on at 5.24
The Cubbies are currently 18-1 to win it all, far below the 15-2 odds of the Central-leading Brewers and it doesn't look as if they will make a run anytime soon. In fact, they have dropped four straight and are currently in a three- way tie for second with the Pirates and Cardinals. Milwaukee, on the other hand, still leads the division despite winning only six of its last 20 games. The Brewers opened the season at 40-1, but rank only behind the Red Sox, Mets, Indians and Angels as favorites to win the World Series after one-third of the season.
RUNS ARE AT A PREMIUM
Thirteen of the 30 teams scored 800 runs or more last year. This year, with one-third of this season complete, only six clubs are on pace to reach that mark. The last time less than six clubs scored 800 runs or more came way back in 1992.
Throughout the two leagues, pitchers have been ahead of the hitters for the first time in 15 years. Already, 56 starters have ERAs below 4.00, while only 28 did so in 2007. Last season, just two pitchers ended the year below 3.00 (Johan Santana and Roy Oswalt) and 16 are under that mark at the beginning of June.
The OVER/UNDER totals still reflect a slight lean to the UNDERS as 18 of the 30 clubs have better UNDER records than OVER. This is readily apparent in the American League where only the Devil Rays, Indians, Tigers and Mariners sport over .500 marks towards the OVER.
TWO MONTHS IN THE BOOKS
As the season heads into June, the Red Sox and Indians have been the dominant American League teams, while the Yankees and Rangers have been the most disappointing. If one had wagered $100 on every Boston and Cleveland contest, he'd be up over $3,000.
Bettors would be down almost that amount ($2,482 to be exact) by wagering $100 on every single Yankees game. Texas is not anywhere in New Yorks class, but has second place all to itself at -1,361 units.
The surprising Arizona Diamondbacks lead the National League at +970 units, with the Mets and Nationals a close second and third. The NLs Central Division takes the cake on the negative side as five of the six clubs are in the red, led by the Reds at -1,574 units.
The top pitchers include C.C. Sabathia at +981 and Josh Beckett at +900 units. The Tribe have won 11 of C.Cs 12 starts and came away with another 'W' on Thursday night with an 11-5 victory over the Tigers. Boston has won all of Becketts nine starts, while Washingtons Matt Chico leads the National League at +818 units.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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