<\/p>\n
As the 2009 MLB season opens, you can\u2019t help but give the futures market one more look. This 162-game, 30-team, seven-month drama is just about impossible to predict. That would explain the fact that although the Yanks have been the favorites to win it all every year in this century, they have finished out of the running each time. Here\u2019s how it looks as far as futures wagering goes.<\/p>\n
Favorites<\/strong><\/p>\n The New York Yankees continue to top the favorites list. They come in at 5-1, which is certainly a bit better than the Boston Red Sox who stand at 11-2. The Chicago Cubs stand at 8-1. Yes, they do have a decent chance and I do believe their karma is about to turn around. The New York Mets are also listed at 8-1. The Mets should be there, but I just don\u2019t think they will be there in the end.<\/p>\n In this group I like the Red Sox or Cubs because of trends, chemistry, managers and rosters.<\/p>\n Have a Shot<\/strong><\/p>\n Interesting, but the two teams that appeared in the World Series last year are not favored this year. Last year\u2019s AL champs, the Tampa Bay Rays, are at 18-1, and last year\u2019s world champs, the Philadelphia Phillies, are 15-1. The 14-1 Los Angeles Dodgers and 12-1 Los Angeles Angels, apparently, have a better shot. Maybe it\u2019s a West Coast thing? I don\u2019t get it? Neither the Dodgers nor the Angels look formidable to me.<\/p>\n The Diamondbacks stand at 18-1, which I think is kind of generous. I think too putting the Tribe at 20-1 is a bad bet and the Cardinals at 20-1, Tigers at 25-1 and Braves at 22-1 are also not worth the bother. The Minnesota Twins have gotten a low rating at 24-1.<\/p>\n I\u2019d take the Phillies or Twins in this group. Both have a decent shot of making it into the post-season and getting to the final series. Also, call me a dreamer, but I do believe that they Rays can do it again. Their biggest obstacle looks to be the two powerhouses in their division.<\/p>\n Forget-About-It<\/strong><\/p>\n According the experts, the rest of the clubs are dead meat. And they certainly look to be. These teams range from the 30-1 Oakland Athletics to the 175-1 Baltimore Orioles. Does any team have a chance in this group? If I were picking a club that doesn\u2019t seem to have the stuff but just might be the Tigers or Rays of 2009, I\u2019d go with the top-hitting Texas Rangers at 60-1 or the fairly well positioned Florida Marlins at 50-1. That\u2019s if you\u2019re going to choose a team that does not seem destined to be in the playoffs.<\/p>\n Final Word<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n This is who I like to take the AL and NL pennants and the World Series.<\/p>\n The top four in the AL for me are:<\/em><\/p>\n Boston Red So<\/strong>x<\/p>\n They have a fine pitching staff, plenty of hitting, lots of guts and a solid front office. Still, they have to contend with the Yanks and a division that\u2019s becoming more competitive.<\/p>\n New York Yankees<\/strong><\/p>\n Great pitching staff and the hitting looks good too. The Yanks are aging in the field and that chemistry thing seems to have eluded them once again. Major improvements in the pitching staff and at first will help. Manager Girardi is no Torre.<\/p>\n Los Angeles Angels<\/strong><\/p>\n Once again, this is an excellent rotation and solid bullpen. The hitting is good and the manager is seasoned and smart. The Angels need to stay healthy and that\u2019s certainly a worry.<\/p>\n Minnesota Twins<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a team that is always in the mix and for that reason alone can be dangerous. They have a solid and deep rotation and a fine stable of hitters. Manager Ron Gardenhire knows his stuff and the front office is active.<\/p>\n The top four NL clubs are<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n Chicago Cubs<\/strong><\/p>\n Manager Lou Pinella is a scrapper and fighter and knows how to manage this team. The team can hit the label off the ball and the rotation is excellent. They\u2019ve been amazingly consistent over the last few seasons. It certainly could be their year.<\/p>\n Philadelphia Phillies<\/strong><\/p>\n They have the best closer in baseball. And their pitching staff can keep games close. The Phillies possess power, clutch hitting and speed on the base paths. Manager Charlie Manuel is a motivational expert and new GM Ruben Amaro, Jr is set to go, having apprenticed as the team\u2019s assistant GM for three years.<\/p>\n New York Mets<\/strong><\/p>\n This club has some of the finest pitchers in the majors and the addition of mega closer K-Rod should be a huge help in those close games, especially as October draws near. New skipper Jerry Manuel lets little phase him, which is good. GM Minaya has given this club every chance to win.<\/p>\n Los Angeles Dodgers<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to discount any team that has Joe Torre at the helm. They\u2019ve lost some good hurlers but managed to create a solid rotation at the top. Hitter Manny Ramirez stayed and that will help produce runs. However, this is the weakest of the four NL clubs. The bullpen is uncertain.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s my take on MLB futures. Looking at the calendar it appears that the future is now as tonight is Opening Night. Enjoy the season. I hope your team\u2019s holding the big trophy at the end of the year.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As the 2009 MLB season opens, you can\u2019t help but give the futures market one more look. This 162-game, 30-team, seven-month drama is just about impossible to predict. That would explain the fact that although the Yanks have been the favorites to win it all every year in this century, they have finished out of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[36,25,777],"class_list":["post-1397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports-handicapping","tag-futures","tag-mlb","tag-odds"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1397"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1399,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1397\/revisions\/1399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}