Bodog Beat

K-Rod and the Angels travel to Oakland. (AP Images)

The past week has made a mess of the MLB playoff race – except for the Los Angeles Angels. They clinched their division eons ago, and at 92-57 (20.80 units), they’ve got the best record in the majors as well as a 23-game lead on Oakland in the AL West standings.

This is an especially bad second half for the Athletics. They’re 69-80 (-6.54 units), but 18-36 since the All-Star break. This has mostly to do with trading Rich Harden and, to a lesser extent, Joe Blanton and Chad Gaudin. Before that, they could get away with having the weakest hitting in the majors (.681 OPS).

The Angels are –155 road favorites Tuesday against Oakland in the first of a three-game set, and barring catastrophic injury to half the batting order, they should remain the faves throughout the series. They’ve won seven of eight and 15 of their last 22, so I’m staying on board the money train.