MLB Season 2017 Review So Far

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Two months into the MLB season and so far the form book looks to be pretty much on track, with two of the six pre-season divisional favourites already leading the way and the rest in touch. Of the four chasers, the Cleveland Indians are only one win away from the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central, with the Red Sox being in exactly the same position in the AL East, behind the Yankees. The LA Dodgers – hot pre-season favourites to win the NL West – are currently joint-second (with the Arizona Diamondbacks) and just two wins shy of the table-topping Colorado Rockies. And the Cubs sit in second in the NL Central courtesy of two back-to-back wins this week for the Millwaukee Brewers.

But it’s a notoriously long, gruelling season and there’s still scope for some twists and turns that will offer excitement and thrills for fans and value betting for punters.

We’ll look at it on a division-by-division basis:

AL East Division (current standings)

new york yankees

  1. New York Yankees
  2. Boston Red Sox
  3. Baltimore Orioles
  4. Tampa Bay Rays
  5. Toronto Blue Jays

The Yankees have surprised many, not least the bookies, with their young team putting in a positive opening third of the season. They lead the fancied Red Sox by a GB of 2.5 and at this stage look a reasonable bet for at least a wild card shot at the play-offs. The Orioles – who like the Yankees were well out of the picture in the pre-season betting – have also performed better than anticipated. They are pushing the Red Sox hard and are currently eighth in the overall rankings. The Blue Jays have plenty of work to do if they’re going to get beyond the regular season this time around and are currently six wins adrift of the Yankees.

AL Central Division (current standings)

  1. Minnesota Twins
  2. Cleveland Indians
  3. Detroit Tigers
  4. Kansas City Royals
  5. Chicago White Sox

The Indians began the season as clear favourites to wrap up this division but it’s the Twins – written off as also-rans before the season started – who narrowly lead the way, albeit with a relatively modest .527 record. The Indians and Tigers lie in wait for them to suffer a downturn in form but this modest quality division offers the Twins an outside chance of a place in the play-offs.  The White Sox were predicted to struggle and they haven’t disappointed and for the Royals the 2015 World Series now seems a long time ago.

AL West Division (current standings)

Houston

  1. Houston Astros
  2. Seattle Mariners
  3. Los Angeles Angels
  4. Texas Rangers
  5. Oakland Athletics

The Astros were the bookies’ favourites to win this division but no-one expected them to run away with it in the way they have. Their roster of burgeoning young stars have delivered in a way few expected and only a third of the way in they lead the Mariners by a GB of 12.0; astonishing for the first week in June. A mid-division place for the Angels is as good as it’s likely to get but offers them hope going forward, while Athletics expected little and have delivered precisely that. If they can deliver a .500 record at the end of the regular season then it will be a reasonable return.

NL East Division (current standings)

  1. Washington Nationals
  2. Atlanta Braves
  3. New York Mets
  4. Miami Marlins
  5. Philadelphia Phillies

The Nationals were expected to deliver and they have done exactly that. Described by one commentator as “one of the most well-rounded rosters in baseball”, they have found a consistency that has eluded all but the Astros, and sit second in the overall rankings with an impressive .638 record. The Mets were predicted to run them close but are currently over 12 wins shy of Washington’s finest and a .439 represents a disappointing opening couple of months. The Braves meanwhile, while having an identical record to the Mets, have over-performed based on their pre-season odds but still remain a work in progress. So too the Marlins, who are only 0.5 GB behind the Mets and Braves, but for the Phillies it’s already looking like season over.

NL Central Division (current standings)

chicago cubs

  1. Milwaukee Brewers
  2. Chicago Cubs
  3. Cincinnati Reds
  4. St Louis Cardinals
  5. Pittsburgh Pirates

Few expected the Brewers to be leading the pack at this stage, least of all the Brewers themselves, but three wins in their last four games have propelled them to the top of the division, ahead of the highly-fancied Cubs – current World Series champions. But until their surprise defeat by the Marlins, the Cubs were starting to roll and it’s still odds on that they’ll end up as divisional winners, even though they currently sit at a lowly eleventh in the overall rankings. For their part, the Reds too still have the Brewers in their sights but are currently three wins adrift, while the Cardinals and Pirates both have losing records that quickly need to be turned around if their seasons are not to fizzle out.

NL West Division (current standings)

  1. Colorado Rockies
  2. Arizona Diamondbacks
  3. Los Angeles Dodgers
  4. San Francisco Giants
  5. San Diego Padres

In a division of the highest quality the top three are all in the top five of the overall rankings; the Rockies with a .623 record and the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers not far behind, both on .590. For the Diamondbacks this represents a major over-achievement given their lowly position in the pre-season odds; the Rockies too bucking their opening odds in impressive style. As things stand it looks likely that this division will provide two of the four wild-cards but not before a battle royal for the top, automatic spot. Unfortunately for the Giants and the Padres it’s already very much a question of damage limitation.

FANCY A BET?

If you’re looking for a decent value MLB Future bet then the Yankees at +125 with Topbet to win the AL East Division looks worth a shout with their current .589 record while, with Bovado, the Nationals at +700 to win the 2017 World Series looks a sound bet based on their current good form.

The same bookmaker is offering what looks a very generous +2000 for the Twins to win the World Series, and also a tempting +750 to win the American League.

UFC Fight Night 110: Derrick Lewis vs. Mark Hunt – Preview

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The UFC returns to Auckland, New Zealand for the second time this weekend for UFC Fight Night 110 on June 10.

The event features seven fighters from New Zealand and Australia, but none more important than local star Mark Hunt who will be facing Derrick Lewis in the main event. Derrick Lewis is climbing through the heavyweight division on the back of a six-win streak in the organisation and will look to knock out Mark Hunt for the second time in just three months. The headline bout is certain to be a spectacle as both Hunt and Lewis are well-known for their heavy hands and stopping power.

In the co-main event, Daniel Kelly has a chance to turn his four-win streak into five consecutive victories if he manages to score a win against Derek Brunson who recently lost a controversial split decision to Anderson Silva at UFC 208.

Other prominent fights include rising flyweight stars Tim Elliot and Ben Nguyen, and a battle between local favorite Daniel Hooker and UFC veteran Ross Pearson.

Recommended Bets:

Mark Hunt has the technical striking ability to outwork Derrick Lewis if he manages to avoid the rush from the huge heavyweight. If he can keep his distance and damage the body of Lewis with kicks, it could very well be a short night for Lewis and Hunt could get back in the winners column.

Mark Hunt to Win by KO/TKO – (11/8 or +137) @ Stan James

Main Card – 2am GMT / 10pm ET

Derrick Lewis vs. Mark Hunt – Main Event

Derek Brunson vs. Daniel Kelly – Co-Main Event

Ross Pearson vs. Daniel Hooker

Luis Henrique da Silva vs. Ion Cutelaba

Tim Elliot vs. Ben Nguyen

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Mizuto Hirota

Preliminary Card – 12am GMT / 8pm ET

Damien Brown vs. Vinc Pichel

Luke Jumeau vs. Dominique Steele

John Moraga vs. Ashkan Mokhtarian

Kiichi Kunimoto vs. Zak Ottow

UFC Fight Pass Prelims –11pm GMT / 7pm ET

JJ Aldrich vs. Chan Mi Jeon

Thibault Gouti vs. Dong Hyun Kim

UFC’s Biggest Rivalries

Some of the biggest rivalries in UFC

ufc biggest rivalries

UFC Records

Ever wondered who fought the most UFC fights or who had the fastest knock out of all time?

Find out right here!

UFC records

The Second City Derby

With a fierce rivalry that stretches over 130 years, there’s certainly no love lost between Aston Villa and Birmingham City.

The teams first met in 1879, when the Blues, then known as Small Heath Alliance, hosted the Villa. It was 1-0 to the home side that day, and thus began one of the biggest derbies in British football.

Take a look at our infographic to see just how the Midlands adversaries have squared up against each other over their proud histories.

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