Dallas Round-Up – Rangers Move Up To First; Mavs Looking To Blow It Up?

Before you settle into some Preakness betting, you should check out the status of the Texas Rangers, who are making moves up the ranks in the American League West, while the Dallas Mavericks wonder if they should start all over again.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers have had a great week, sweeping Kansas City at home in a four-game series, and they had split the first two games of their three-game set with Oakland heading into Thursday afternoon’s finale.  The last week has been kind to Vladimir Guerrero and Josh Hamilton, the duo that many thought would power the Rangers to the top of the division, and over the last seven days, they’ve shown why.  Guerrero had a .348 average in six games last week, along with four homers and eight RBIs.  Hamilton wasn’t far behind with a .296 average, three homers and nine RBIs.  If they continue to hit like this, the Rangers will have one of the premier power duos in the entire majors, but Guerrero and Hamilton have to stay healthy.  As for the pitchers, C.J. Wilson and Derek Holland both had excellent starts against the Royals and Athletics, and Wilson is being counted on for the win in Thursday’s finale against Oakland.  Coming up this week, the Rangers will head to Toronto for the weekend before returning home for meetings with Guerrero’s former team, the Los Angeles Angels, as well as a visit from Baltimore. The Rangers’ MLB betting odds are looking up.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks are still sorting through the rubble of their first-round implosion against San Antonio, and even though NBA championship odds thought they would challenge Los Angeles for the Western Conference title, all there is another opening-round exit for a team that has won 50 games or more in each of the last 10 seasons. Dirk Nowitzki is the biggest question as he has a $21.5 million player option, which many think he’ll take, but he has to wonder about the state of the team.  Will Jason Kidd be moved after an awful postseason, especially if they try and give more minutes to Roddy Beaubois?  Shawn Marion is another piece of trade bait who didn’t perform that well, especially own the stretch.  They would probably like to move Erick Dampier as well, but with $13 million owed to him next year, it may be hard to find a dance partner.  The Mavericks don’t have much in the way of cap room unless they make some moves, but they’re becoming the NBA’s version of the San Jose Sharks.  However, even the Sharks broke through this year, which means that maybe next year will be the Mavericks’ time if you’re going to bet on sports.