Lakers Rolling On

Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons

Detroit (64-18) may be the class team of the NBA for now - but they are not invincible. The Pistons are just 2-10 ATS when they are 12 point favorites. Detroit is also a poor 8-13 at home ATS when playing teams under 0.5. They are 20-21 ATS at home overall.

Milwaukee is 40-42 on the season but they match-up better with Detroit than people know. They have big people in the middle to match the Pistons' size up front. They have a scorer in Michael Redd and one of the best up-and-coming point guards in the shape of Ford. Bucks could spring a surprise.



LA Lakers at Phoenix Suns

The LA Lakers (45-37) have momentum going into the post season. They are winners of 11 out of 14 games. But the Lakers defense will need to be alive against a powerful Phoenix offense.

Phoenix are 54-28 and 12-5 ATS at home versus opponents above 0.5, while LA are 12-8 ATS on the road versus opponents above 0.5. The Suns are 5-1 ATS when coming in as 7 point favorites.

When the Lakers score 110 points they are perfect against the spread. When they give up 110 points, they have still not won a game. The line is seven points and this could be a close one.

LA Angels In Heaven

The LA Angels are now 5-3 after losing two of three at Seattle - and winning two of three against the New York Yankees at home. They are in the final game of a home series against Texas and will be looking to complete the sweep tonight.

The Angels' Kelvim Escobar comes up against Texas' John Koronka in the pitching battle. Los Angeles is at -180 with an over / under of 9.5 runs.

The Angels spent most of the winter looking for a slugger to take their place with Vladimir Guerrero in the line-up.

They finally brought in Tim Salmon, a favourite of the LA crowd, to help at DH. This means the Angels will be relying on outfielders Anderson and Erstad, as well as first baseman Casey Kotchman - to have good offensive years. Unfortunately, Anderson and Erstad are both getting on it a bit - so will have to pull out good performances this season.

Defense and Pitching is what makes the LA Angels a World Series contender this season. The team has five solid starters, all right-handed. John Lackey, Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar are at the top of the rotation - while Ervin Santana is at the bottom. Santana is a very promising young guy.

Relief pitching is also in good shape for the Angels. Francisco Rodriguez is one of the best closers in the game and Scot Shields would be a closer almost anywhere else.

What gives?

The Angels have been to the playoffs - three out of the last four years with a World Series Championship in 2002. They have as much young talent as any team in baseball -in the Major and Minor leagues.

The Angels are always dangerous because of their pitching - a potent weapon in the post season - but first they need to get there. With the competition hot in the American League, that is certainly not a foregone conclusion.

The Los Angeles Angels are 25/1 to win the World Series and 12/1 to win the American League.

Sox Struggles To Be Expected

The Chicago White Sox are at present 10/1 to win the World Series and 5/1 to win the American League.

Chicago is struggling with a 2-4 record, losing two of three against both Cleveland and Kansas City. Now, they travel to play a surprisingly hot Detroit team that is 5-1, and tied for the lead in the AL Central. It's a bit of come down from last season but lets face it - this often happens to teams who have achieved great heights in the preceding season. Still, it's early days..

Today’s pitching match-up is White Sox's Fred Garcia versus the Tigers' Jeremy Bonderman. The White Sox are the underdog at +120 with an over / under of 9 runs.

White Sox Batting

The Sox lineup is similar to last seasons except they have traded center fielder Rowland to Philadelphia for hitter Jim Thome. Thome is slotted in the third hole ahead of Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye, giving Chicago a far more fearsome middle of the line-up than last year.

Taking over for Rowland in center is the 24 year-old Brian Anderson. Anderson is hitting in the nine hole to take the pressure off his offense, so he can be on the defensive side where Rowland was strongest. The youngster has talent.

White Sox Pitching:

Chicago won the World Series last year because of their starting pitching. The staff looks great again this year, because with the addition of Javier Vazquez, the White Sox now have five very good starters.

The starting pitching may have been the Chicago's calling card last year, but they wouldn't have won the World Series without Bobby Jenks. One down note is that Dustin Hermanson will be out at least two months with a back injury.

Lowdown:

The White Sox won their first World Series since 1917 last year, lifting a huge burden for the City of Chicago who has also had bear the Cubs lack of success.

No team in baseball has won back to back championships since the Yankees in 2000. It is natural to assume that the White Sox may have a let down this year as other champions have before them. They have had a bad start - but one thinks they can only improve in the short term.