Sports betting fans notice that two big name pitchers are starting the season on the disabled list.Seattle’s Cliff Lee and Los Angeles’ Scott Kazmir will not be on the sportsbetting board to start the baseball season.Sports betting odds on Seattle got a lot of attention in the off-season because the Mariners added Lee. The star pitcher is not going to see action for at least a couple of weeks though as he is recovering from an abdominal strain. Lee won the 2008 AL Cy Young Award and was expected to combine with Felix Hernandez to give the Mariners a potent one-two punch.
The Mariners could be without Lee for a month. “He’s had a history of these and it’s been six weeks. We’re hoping to cut off a couple of weeks,” Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said. “The first time he threw he still felt it so we backed off. There’s no timetable. We’re taking baby steps right now. He has to get his pitch count back up and we hope there’s progress without reinjuring it. He’ll throw off a mound in a couple of days.”
The Angels are favored in sports betting to win the American League West but they will begin the season without one of their pitchers as Scott Kazmir starts the season on the DL. The Angels are looking at Kazmir missing only one start though. He could be back for a three-game series in Yankee Stadium April 13. “There’s no setback with Kaz. It’s just a matter of time and him getting stretched out to pitch a little deeper into a game,” manager Mike Scioscia said. Kazmir was on the DL for more than a month last year with a right quadriceps strain.
Seattle begins the season at Oakland who is not expected to contend this season. The Mariners will need Lee back soon though since they have to play tougher teams like Texas, Detroit and the Chicago White Sox before the month is over. What helps Seattle is that they avoid teams like Boston, New York and Tampa Bay early in the sportsbetting Major League Baseball season.
Los Angeles is deeper than Seattle so the loss of Kazmir for a week or so it not as big of a deal. The Angels always seem able to find a pitcher to plug in and win games.