{"id":35490,"date":"2011-03-10T15:22:02","date_gmt":"2011-03-10T23:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.capperspicks.com\/blog\/?p=35490"},"modified":"2023-02-07T07:38:18","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T15:38:18","slug":"odds-2011-texas-rangers-predictions-gambling-preview-10311","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/mlb-baseball\/odds-2011-texas-rangers-predictions-gambling-preview-10311\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Rangers Predictions | 2011 Season Betting Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

2011 MLB Team Preview: Texas Rangers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hard to believe, as some of us still have VERY cold temperatures outside, that the Boys of Summer are almost back. But it\u2019s true; teams have started reporting 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

Rangers 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

You\u2019d think an American League West title and a trip to the World Series would\u2019ve earned the Texas Rangers plenty of respect among the oddsmakers for 2011. But it hasn\u2019t, really. The Rangers find themselves behind the stacked Phillies, rejuvenated Red Sox, aging Yankees, world champion Giants and, at some books, even the upstart Milwaukee Brewers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that Cliff Lee\u2019s departure has people leaping off the Texas bandwagon. But I think doing so is a bit premature.<\/p>\n

TEXAS RANGERS<\/strong>
\nWorld Series odds: +2000<\/p>\n

Losing Cliff Lee has nothing to do with the Texas Rangers\u2019 offense, which is still formidable as ever. Josh Hamilton is the reigning American League MVP and absolutely has the talent to repeat the feat; hopefully moving from center to left field will keep him healthy. Nelson Cruz is another immensely gifted guy who can do everything on a baseball field. Two years ago, second baseman Ian Kinsler was considered the Rangers\u2019 star; now he\u2019s a supporting player? Impressive stuff.<\/p>\n

The Rangers also have the consummate professional hitter in Michael Young, though he could get traded any time now. The reason: Texas signed Adrian Beltre this offseason. I don\u2019t like the move. There was nothing wrong with Young\u2019s game. Beltre is a defensive upgrade but he\u2019s famous for only playing well in contract years. Now that his belly is full, will he deliver? I\u2019m skeptical.<\/p>\n

With Mike Napoli also joining the team as a power-hitting catcher in a hitter\u2019s park and Elvis Andrus emerging as a respectable leadoff man, the Rangers hardly have an easy out in their lineup. A powerhouse offense almost seems like a shoo-in \u2013 if this team can stay healthy. One major reason for the Rangers\u2019 step forward last year was an increased commitment to small ball, running a lot more and no longer just swinging for the fences all the time. As a result, though, the Ranger hitters get hurt. Kinsler, Hamilton and Cruz are among the most injury-prone stars in the game.<\/p>\n

Still \u2013 the Rangers\u2019 offense is a major plus. Any question marks surrounding them in 2011 have to do with pitching. For one, can Texas say afloat without Lee? Secondly, can 2010 breakout guys like C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis repeat last year\u2019s success? \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

While the Rangers arguably don\u2019t have a No. 1 starter anymore, I still think they can survive without Cliff Lee. Brandon Webb still has plenty of ability and the Rangers didn\u2019t risk much by bringing him in off the scrap heap. Also, Derek Holland was a blue-chip prospect and could finally leap forward to become a viable starter this season. I\u2019d say that, between those two, there\u2019s a chance that they could combine to equal Lee\u2019s value.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not really a believer in C.J. Wilson; he walks too many guys. But I like Colby Lewis. He was a new man after returning from Japan last year and he was as good as Cliff Lee in last year\u2019s playoffs. Guys like Scott Feldman and Tommy Hunter are overrated but not horrible options at the back end of the rotation.<\/p>\n

So why haven\u2019t I mentioned Neftali Feliz? Yeah, the Rangers\u2019 2010 closer and American League Rookie of the Year is supposedly being converted to a starting pitcher this season. I don\u2019t buy it. He was absolutely lights-out as a closer last year and has openly stated that he\u2019s more comfortable in the closing role. I expect the Rangers to scrap the experiment and reinstall Feliz as closer before spring training ends. Whatever Feliz\u2019s role is, he\u2019ll help keep Texas\u2019 pitching above-average.<\/p>\n

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

Because of their health woes and question marks among the pitching staff, the Rangers are perhaps the most volatile of the true 2011 World Series contenders. But that doesn\u2019t mean they aren\u2019t still a contender. They still look like the class of the AL West to me.<\/p>\n

Prediction: 1st, American League West<\/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 Texas Rangers 2011 Team Gambling Preview. Because of their health woes and question marks among the pitching staff, the Rangers are perhaps the most volatile of the true 2011 World Series contenders. Do your MLB betting with Cappers Picks MLB expert picks in 2011\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":195,"featured_media":35497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[670],"tags":[43915,46437,11962,11432,11222,14240,12448,66513,10729,66497,678,681,12011,26618,12012,12013,46438,11218,12014,12015,46439],"class_list":["post-35490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb-baseball","tag-2011-mlb-team-preview","tag-2011-rangers","tag-al-west","tag-al-west-predictions","tag-al-west-preview","tag-american-league","tag-american-league-central","tag-handicapping","tag-handicapping-baseball","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-betting","tag-mlb-gambling","tag-rangers-futures","tag-rangers-mlb-picks","tag-rangers-odds","tag-rangers-predictions","tag-rangers-world-series-odds","tag-texas-rangers","tag-texas-rangers-picks","tag-texas-rangers-predictions","tag-texas-world-series-futures"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35490","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=35490"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107876,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35490\/revisions\/107876"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}