Would you take this bet?

[Tomorrows Paper]

Simple yes or no answer is fine, if you want to explain, go ahead.

My friend offered me even money that the AL champion comes from the East or West. He would have the Central.

I look at it this way - 65% of the time I have 2 teams against 2, but 35% of the time (my estimation) I have 3 teams against 1. Obviously this is contingent on the Wild Card winner, but I could see Detroit giving up their lead once the Sox/Yanks/Jays are fully healthy.
I still feel the White Sox are the best team, but not by a lot. I don't think Detroit would be favored over Boston or NY even with home field advantage, and the White Sox would be only small favorites against said teams. Also, if Toronto gets in, I don't see anyone beating them in a 5-game series.

[ChuckLazar]

This should turn out to be a great race to the end.....The scary thing is with all the winning that the AL top teams have been doing, it wouldn't surprise me to see the Twins win it all.
It will definitely come down to the bullpens this year, more so than before...

[savage1]

Allthough I am a diehard Red Sox fan as I stated yesterday, I think White Sox are the defending champs and clearly the team to beat. I think they are even better than last year.

[kbsooner21]

Yes. I think Detroit slips a little bit in the 2nd half of the season. I think the pale hosers are the best team in the A.L. but not by much. I don't think their pitching staff is pitching well enough at this point to get them back to the series. As bad as I hate to say it, I like Boston to get back there, and like you say, Toronto, if they get the wildcard, could be a team to be reckoned with.