Can Red Sox wrest East away from Yankees

US sportsbook odds (US sportsbook review) are out for the AL pennant, and inevitably, the favorites come from the American League East, where there should be another epic battle between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, while Tampa Bay could make it interesting once again.

New York (+175)

The defending World Series champions have to be the favorites to repeat, and the key to the pitching is, once again, A.J. Burnett. The Yankees know they’ll get a great season out of C.C. Sabathia, but when Burnett is on, the Yankees have an elite staff. Picking up Javier Vazquez is a big risk/reward move, but it’s New York, that’s what they do. The Yankees acquired Curtis Granderson from Detroit to shore up the outfield, while Nick Johnson is another bat in a lineup with Alex Rodriguez, Mark Texieira and Derek Jeter.

Boston (+300)

The Red Sox signed John Lackey to join a rotation with Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and the improving Clay Buchholz, and if Daisuke Matsuzaka can get his act together, Boston will have a rotation to rival anyone. The Red Sox will hope that Adrian Beltre can reclaim his past form, but the Boston offense still centers around the ability of Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury on the basepaths. It could also be the final season for David Ortiz in Beantown.

Tampa Bay (+1200)
The Rays took a step back after their thrilling World Series run a couple of years ago, but there’s still enough talent that we’re betting management has high hopes for 2010. There’s still a young pitching staff headed by James Shields, Matt Garza and David Price, who was inconsistent in his rookie year. The lineup is powered by Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena, but they need B.J. Upton to be more consistent.

Baltimore (+3000)

Kevin Millwood signed with the Orioles in the offseason after a solid year in Texas, but outside of Jeremy Guthrie, there isn’t much on the Baltimore roster in terms of pitching. Nick Markakis, Adam Jones and Luke Scott form an underrated outfield, while Brian Roberts continues to put in good work at second base. Until the pitching proves that it can hang in the East, stay away from the Orioles.

Toronto (+3500)

The Blue Jays are in full-on rebuilding mode after trading Roy Halladay to Philadelphia, but the deal had to be done, and Kyle Drabek has gotten rave reviews as a prospect. Led  by Ricky Romero, there aren’t many teams that have the wealth of young pitchers that Toronto have, but they’ve been bitten by injuries in recent years. If Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan can come back healthy, Toronto’s starters will be alright. Aaron Hill and Adam Lind had breakout years in 2009, while the Blue Jays need Vernon Wells to rebound from injuries. You don’t need to worry about Toronto’s baseball betting odds for a few years yet.