Last season, the Rangers weren’t just able to knock the Halos out of the catbird seat in the AL West, but they nearly won the whole enchilada as well. Will history repeat itself? Check out this year’s AL West preview and the AL West odds to find out.

The Texas Rangers (1.25 to 1 @ Sportbet Sportsbook) are once again the favorites to win this division, but we aren’t so sure that it’s justified. Sure, this was a team that did well most of last season, but Vladimir Guerrero and Bengie Molina are both gone, and Texas wasn’t able to nail down Cliff Lee in the offseason either. The pieces are still in place for Manager Ron Washington to get the job done, but the task is going to be significantly harder now than it was at the end of last season when the Rangers probably did really have the best team in the American League.

As for those Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2.95 to 1 @ Sportbet Sportsbook), they were truly losers in the offseason as well. Not only couldn’t they lure a big time starting pitcher to town, but they didn’t get Carl Crawford or any other big bats via free agency either. The Halos still have a nice looking nucleus, but there were definitely some faults last year, especially after Kendry Morales suffered his season ending injury relatively early on. Dan Haren might be a sneaky pick for AL Cy Young this year though, especially without any huge contenders emerging as early favorites.

The team that really could make strides this year is the Oakland Athletics (2.25 to 1 @ BetUS Sportsbook). There were a lot of great signings in the offseason by General Manager Billy Beane, including Hideki Matsui, Josh Willingham, David DeJesus, Grant Balfour, and Brian Fuentes. None of the moves by themselves are all that amazing, but the whole story is now looking sharp in Oakland. This pen is stacked, and the starting rotation is featuring five up and comers this year, including Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez, Dallas Braden, and Brandon McCarthy. This is definitely a squad to watch out for this year.

Rounding out the pack will be the Seattle Mariners (23.50 to 1 @ Sportbet Sportsbook). The M’s just haven’t made enough moves to make us go, “Wow!” Unless there’s suddenly some offense joining Ichiro Suzuki in the lineup, there’s no way that this team plates enough runs to consistently win for any pitcher not named Felix Hernandez. Things would really be disastrous for the Mariners if they had to trade King Felix at the trade deadline, something that is a legitimate possibility if the price is right.

Odds to Win AL West @ BetUS Sportsbook (as of 3/27/11):
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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2.25 to 1
Oakland Athletics 2.25 to 1
Seattle Mariners 20 to 1
Texas Rangers 1 to 1.20

Betting Lines to Win AL West @ Sportbet Sportsbook (as of 3/27/11):
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Texas Rangers 1.25 to 1
Oakland Athletics 2 to 1
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2.95 to 1
Seattle Mariners 23.50 to 1

2011 AL West Odds @ Hollywood Sportsbook (as of 3/27/11):
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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2.75 to 1
Oakland Athletics 1.80 to 1
Seattle Mariners 20 to 1
Texas Rangers 1 to 1

The AL Central is one of the most interesting divisions this year. There are legitimately three teams that not only could win this division, but that could win the whole enchilada as well. Check out how the AL Central odds stack up this year!

It’s going to be really interesting in this division this year, especially if Adam Dunn can really help out the Chicago White Sox (1.75 to 1 @ Sportbet Sportsbook). This is the man that is really supposed to help out this lineup this year, as there really needs to be some big time pop in the fold. Jake Peavy should help out the rotation as well now that he is once again healthy, and he and Mark Buehrle should make a great 1 and 1A in the Windy City. Manager Ozzie Guillen is certainly out if he can’t get the Palehose in the postseason this year.

The team that is always forgotten about in this division is the Minnesota Twins (1.80 to 1 @ Hollywood Sportsbook). The Twinkies once again have Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau to rely on, but there really aren’t a heck of a lot of other stars that are out there on this club. Still, Manager Rod Gardenhire gets more out of his team every single year than any other manager in the bigs, and that’s what makes this team, a very good home team, a very dangerous one again this year.

General Manager Dave Dombrowski did everything he could to try to help out the Detroit Tigers (2.30 to 1 @ Sportbet Sportsbook) in the offseason. He brought in Victor Martinez to shore up the catcher position, though we’re not so sure how well that’s going to translate when push comes to shove defensively. Justin Verlander has 37 wins over the course of the last two seasons, and he is once again going to have to pitch like a Cy Young Award winner to pitch this team into the second season.

Neither the Kansas City Royals (50 to 1 @ Hollywood Sportsbook) nor the Cleveland Indians (25 to 1 @ Sportbet Sportsbook) are going to contend for anything but the gutter in this division this year. KC made a bad team worse by getting rid of both David DeJesus and Zack Greinke in the offseason. Now, we’re not so sure who any of these pitchers are that are taking the mound at Kauffman Stadium this year. The Tribe at least have some great looking youngsters, but they are definitely at least a couple of years away.

Odds to Win AL Central @ BetUS Sportsbook (as of 3/27/11):
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Chicago White Sox 1.60 to 1
Cleveland Indians 20 to 1
Detroit Tigers 2 to 1
Kansas City Royals 40 to 1
Minnesota Twins 1.50 to 1

Betting Lines to Win AL Central @ Sportbet Sportsbook (as of 3/27/11):
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Chicago White Sox 1.75 to 1
Minnesota Twins 1.80 to 1
Detroit Tigers 2.30 to 1
Cleveland Indians 25 to 1
Kansas City Royals 40 to 1

2011 AL Central Odds @ Hollywood Sportsbook (as of 3/27/11):
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Chicago White Sox 1.75 to 1
Cleveland Indians 25 to 1
Detroit Tigers 1.75 to 1
Kansas City Royals 50 to 1
Minnesota Twins 1.60 to 1

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The AL East is going to be one of the toughest divisions in baseball this year, and the favorites on the odds to win the World Series are clearly in this division. Check out how we stack up the five squads for our AL East preview.

Of course, the bona fide favorite to win this division is the Boston Red Sox (1 to 1.65@ Sportbet Sportsbook). This offseason was a particularly amazing one for the Sox, as they landed Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez to help out a lineup that was beaten up via injuries all season long last year. The starting rotation wasn’t really helped out any, but when you’ve got Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, John Lackey, and a slew of pitchers in the minors that are ready to shine, you don’t need much help there. The bullpen didn’t look great in Spring Training, but Jonathan Papelbon is still a great closer. If he fails, Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler were added to really help out.

We’re not really all that thrilled about the New York Yankees (2 to 1@ Hollywood Sportsbook) this season. The Yanks really didn’t do a heck of a lot in the offseason, and they were beaten up by the Philadelphia Phillies in the offseason in the battle to get Cliff Lee. Still, Derek Jeter will end up with his 3,000th hit at some point this season, while Alex Rodriguez will end up inching closer to the all time home run lead this year as well. The rest of this team just doesn’t excite us all that much. Rafael Soriano was a nice addition in the bullpen, but Mariano Rivera probably doesn’t need much in the way of help.

The team that is really falling off this year will be the Tampa Bay Rays (10.25 to 1@ Sportbet Sportsbook). The Rays just lost too much in the offseason to really compete. Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford, Matt Garza, and basically the entire bullpen are all gone now, and a lot of the pieces ended up in other venues in the division. There are a lot of youngsters that are coming up to the majors here, but the team is just short of what it was in these recent years.

The other two teams in this division, the Toronto Blue Jays (25 to 1@ Sportbet Sportsbook) and the Baltimore Orioles (26 to 1@ Sportbet Sportsbook) are both trying to become the next version of the Rays. Baltimore is probably closer to getting the job done, as there are a ton of veterans on this team to help out all of the youngsters as well. Manager Buck Showalter did a great job with the O’s after taking over in the middle of last year. Toronto is likely to pull up the rear here, though it could be a bust out year for Ricky Romero on the mound.

Odds to Win AL East @ BetUS Sportsbook (as of 3/27/11):
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Baltimore Orioles 20 to 1
Boston Red Sox 1 to 1.70
New York Yankees 1.90 to 1
Tampa Bay Rays 8 to 1
Toronto Blue Jays 14 to 1

Betting Lines to Win AL East @ Sportbet Sportsbook (as of 3/27/11):
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Boston Red Sox 1 to 1.65
New York Yankees 1.90 to 1
Tampa Bay Rays 10.25 to 1
Toronto Blue Jays 25 to 1
Baltimore Orioles 26 to 1

2011 AL East Odds @ Hollywood Sportsbook (as of 3/27/11):
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Baltimore Orioles 15 to 1
Boston Red Sox 1 to 1.75
New York Yankees 2 to 1
Tampa Bay Rays 10 to 1
Toronto Blue Jays 20 to 1