{"id":33381,"date":"2011-02-03T14:44:59","date_gmt":"2011-02-03T22:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.capperspicks.com\/blog\/?p=33381"},"modified":"2023-02-07T07:38:15","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T15:38:15","slug":"odds-2011-tampa-bay-rays-predictions-gambling-preview-3211","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/mlb-baseball\/odds-2011-tampa-bay-rays-predictions-gambling-preview-3211\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay Rays Predictions | 2011 Season Betting Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

2011 MLB Team Preview: Tampa Bay Rays<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hard to believe, as many of us watch the snow fall outside, that the Boys of Summer are almost back. But it\u2019s true; teams will report soon to 2011 Major League Baseball training camps and it\u2019s time to start our team-by-team baseball gambling<\/a> previews for the year. <\/p>\n

SIGN UP TODAY With MySportsbook.com – 10% Sign UP Bonus – 10cent Baseball Lines – Gamble On 2011 MLB Future Odds and 2011 World Series Championship Lines<\/a><\/h3>\n

Rays Calender<\/strong><\/p>\n

FEB. 1-18, 2011 – Salary arbitration hearings
\nFEB. 14, 2011 – Voluntary Spring Training reporting date for pitchers, catchers and injured players
\nFEB. 19, 2011 – Voluntary Spring Training reporting date for non-pitchers and catchers
\nFEB. 26, 2011 – Mandatory Spring Training reporting date for all players<\/p>\n

One step forward, two steps back, one step forward again. That\u2019s the pattern we\u2019ve seen from the Tampa Bay Rays over the last three seasons, with a 2009 flop sandwiched between playoff berths in 2008 and 2010. Does that mean they\u2019re due to step back in 2011? Considering that they lost three key players from their roster, the Red Sox and Yankees are optimistic.<\/p>\n

TAMPA BAY RAYS<\/strong>
\nWorld Series odds: +2500<\/p>\n

For years, Tampa Bay collected young talent, waiting to see the improvement, and it finally happened in 2008. Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton, David Price and James Shields, just to name a few, exploded onto the scene.<\/p>\n

The Rays mixed in some smart moves, acquiring guys like Matt Garza and Carlos Pena to combine with their young guns and the face of the franchise, Carl Crawford. The team clicked and became a contender.<\/p>\n

But that status is seriously threatened in 2011. Carl Crawford was the best player in Rays\u2019 history; he now plays for the division rival Boston Red Sox. Garza was a solid No. 2 starter who pitched his best in big games; He\u2019s a Chicago Cub now. Carlos Pena wasn\u2019t perfect but had tremendous power and on-base ability; he, too is a Chicago Cub.<\/p>\n

Those are three major gaps to fill on the Rays\u2019 roster. As a result, their World Series odds fall outside the top 10 at most major sportsbooks. Bettors and fans are leaping off the Tampa bandwagon.<\/p>\n

But I think doing so is a bit hasty. Sure \u2013 the Rays never could\u2019ve afforded to keep Crawford. But we have to ask ourselves why they traded Garza and let Pena walk. The Rays did it because they believed they could replace the departures from within. \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Carl Crawford is gone but Rays megaprospect Desmond Jennings has been billed as the \u201cnext Carl Crawford\u201d in the outfield by many scouts and could start on Opening Day. Garza is gone but Jeremy Hellickson shone in the Rays\u2019 rotation after being called up last year and probably has a higher ceiling.<\/p>\n

Also, newly signed Manny Ramirez\u2019s power and patience can easily replace Pena\u2019s. Johnny Damon is a solid veteran bat off the bench.<\/p>\n

So how can we be so sure that the Rays will take a step back? It wasn\u2019t Crawford and Garza\u2019s team anymore, anyway. The Rays belong to Longoria and Price. Longoria is one of the game\u2019s best all-around players and the third baseman could win an MVP award any day now. Price has blossomed into a power lefty in the mold of C.C. Sabathia and just missed a Cy Young last season.<\/p>\n

2011 OUTLOOK<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Longoria, Price, Hellickson, Jennings, Upton and even starting pitcher Wade Davis, the Rays still have one of baseball\u2019s best young cores. To me, they\u2019ve adequately filled the gaps left by their offseason departure.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, I believe their pitching can best the Yankees\u2019. Tampa\u2019s bullpen is shaky but a starting rotation of Price, Hellickson, Davis, Jeff Niemann and bounce-back candidate James Shields could be one of the game\u2019s deepest and best this year.<\/p>\n

Believe it or not, I expect the Rays to slip past the Yankees for second place in the AL East behind Boston this year.<\/p>\n

Prediction: 2nd, American League East<\/strong><\/p>\n

TEAM BY TEAM MLB PREVIEWS —-><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

View The MLB Cappers Leaderboard For 2010 \u00a0– Picks Packages for 2011 On Sale! \u2014\u2013><\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shea Matthews weighs in with his Tampa Bay Rays 2011 Team Gambling Preview. A Tampa starting rotation of Price, Hellickson, Davis, Jeff Niemann and James Shields could be one of the game\u2019s deepest. Do your MLB betting with Cappers Picks MLB expert picks in 2011…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":195,"featured_media":33387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[670],"tags":[43915,44089,24742,10737,10736,66513,10729,66497,678,681,11080,24925,11081,11082,44091,3535,11083,11084,44090],"class_list":["post-33381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb-baseball","tag-2011-mlb-team-preview","tag-2011-rays","tag-al-east","tag-al-east-predictions","tag-al-east-preview","tag-handicapping","tag-handicapping-baseball","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-betting","tag-mlb-gambling","tag-rays-futures","tag-rays-mlb-picks","tag-rays-odds","tag-rays-predictions","tag-rays-world-series-odds","tag-tampa-bay-rays","tag-tampa-bay-rays-picks","tag-tampa-bay-rays-predictions","tag-tampa-bay-world-series-futures"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/195"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33381"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107851,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33381\/revisions\/107851"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}