It is the eve of baseball spring training game action, so I thought it would be a good time to look at some future odds. I don’t generally like tying my money up for months with a reasonably low expectation of return, but I can’t help myself when it comes to making a few future wagers each year. Baseball just lends itself so well to this kind of exploration. Before we get into the teams that look interesting I have to admit one thing – I think the Yankees are going to win the World Series. I hate everything about them, and wouldn’t dream of putting a future bet on them even if they weren’t ridiculously overbet public team. My goal here, then, is to find value in teams that stand a chance of playing and beating the evil empire. Without further ado:
Milwaukee (45/1) – The Brewers are obviously going to take a bit of a step back with the loss of C.C. Sabathia and Ben Sheets from the rotation. They still have a ridiculous amount of power and depth, though. They have an uphill battle, but they have some playoff experience, and their core stars are old and experienced enough to be hungry and to know what needs to be done. Other teams have a better chance to win it all, but none provides more value at their price.
Boston (15/2) – I’m not convinced that the Red Sox have done enough to stick with the Yankees. That being said, I still think that they are the second best team in the AL. They have a good rotation, and their young pitchers have more age and experience. This price isn’t great, but it’s better than I thought it would be on the RedSox and it is probably worth a shot.
San Francisco (35/1) – This is not a great price here, but I still have to mention the Giants. This is a team I like as a longshot. They have a very intriguing rotation that could potentially be strong. They are stacked with young talent that has a huge amount of upside. They are well managed. They play in a very winnable division. A lot would have to right for this to happen, but it certainly could. As an aside, this price just further reinforces how much value their is in the Brewers.
Kansas City (100/1) – I’ll be honest, I don’t really believe in this one. Everyone is jumping on this bandwagon as this year’s Tampa Bay, though, so I don’t want to be left out if it does happen. They play in a winnable division, have one of the top closers in the game, and have some young bats that are very impressive (or at least have the potential to be).
Well my argument would be why not just bet on the regular season win total for the team instead of betting them to win the World Series? I know the payout is smaller, but it is more realistic.
I absolutely agree. These are just a fun way to kill time until those numbers get posted.
Call me crazy, but I sort of like the Cincinnati Reds to go over their regular season win total. They have an easy division and I think they have put it together.
Starting rotation with Cueto, Volquez, Arroyo and Harang is fairly solid. Micah Owings and Homer Bailey are in the back end. This team will always find a way to hit, it’s just pitching has been the problem.
Throw in Arthur Rhodes, David Weathers and Francisco Cordero, and this team could be at least .500. I think they are flying under the radar and we could get good value on this squad for the over.
I absolutely agree. I was high on the Reds last year, and I am again this year. I’ll be anxious to see what the total is set at. Anything 84 or lower will be well worth a look on the over in my mind.