Posted on
3/17/2008 12:16:43 PM
Baseball Betting - Biggest Underdog Sits in AL East
By BetUS Staff
Usually the Kansas City Royals or the Tampa Bay Rays are the biggest AL division-champion underdogs at the start of the baseball season, but anyone doing some MLB betting on futures right now will note that a new club has taken over as the biggest dog.
And that’d be the Baltimore Orioles, who are pegged as huge +10000 underdogs at BetUS to win the American League East division this season. The Orioles finished with just 69 wins in 2007 – the same number of wins earned by Kansas City, and three more than Tampa Bay. However, Baltimore traded away two of their top players over the winter, and the oddsmakers don’t like their chances of staying ahead of the other dregs.
Gone are both shortstop Miguel Tejada and starting pitcher Erik Bedard, while second baseman Brian Roberts still could be on the move before the regular season begins. That gets Baltimore’s rebuilding plan underway in earnest, but it also makes them the least likely team in all of the American League to end the season as a division champ.
The Rays are listed at +4000 odds to win the AL East this season, while the division’s other three teams are well ahead of the bottom feeders on that futures list. Leading the way are the Boston Red Sox, who are pegged as the -125 favorites to repeat as the AL East champs. The New York Yankees are next at +105 odds; they ended up just two games back of Boston in 2007. The Toronto Blue Jays sit behind those leaders at +700.
The division-champion odds aren’t as spread out over in the American League West. The Los Angeles Angels won that division last season, finishing six games up on the Seattle Mariners. With outfielder Torii Hunter now in the fold the Angels’ offense could be even better in 2008, but the loss of ace pitcher John Lackey for the first three-to-four weeks of the season (thanks to a strained triceps) could cost them some wins early on. Still, the oddsmakers at BetUS have them as the clear -225 favorites to win the division.
The Mariners were happy with the Orioles’ decision to shed star players – they now have Bedard headlining their rotation. Still, Seattle is only at +200 odds to win the AL West this season, behind both the Angels and the Oakland Athletics. The A’s picked up just 76 wins last year, and they dealt ace Dan Haren to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a cost-cutting move over the winter, but they are listed at +170 odds to take the AL West.
Rounding out the AL West odds are the Texas Rangers, who had 75 wins in 2007 and ended up 19 games back of the Angels. The Rangers bolstered their offense with the addition of outfielders Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley in the offseason, but pitching is expected to be a big area of concern for them once again; they’re listed back at +1200.
The Cleveland Indians walked away with the American League Central title last season, finishing eight games up on the Detroit Tigers and 17 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins. However, the Tigers’ offseason splurge has jumped them to the top of the AL Central odds list for this season. Detroit added Miguel Cabrera, Edgar Renteria, Jacque Jones, and Dontrelle Willis to their roster, and they’re listed as the -160 division faves.
The Tribe is next on that futures list at +160 odds, with the Twins farther behind at +900 odds. Cleveland has basically the same lineup this season that they had during their successful 2007 campaign, so they should be competitive once again. Minnesota, however, traded away ace Johan Santana and lost Hunter, so they could be in trouble.
The Chicago White Sox had a disastrous 2007 campaign, as they won just 72 games and barely were able to hold off the Royals for fourth place in the AL Central. The ChiSox are hoping that Orlando Cabrera and Nick Swisher can spark them to more wins this year, and the oddsmakers have them at +1000 odds to win their division. The Royals would be happy to just finish fourth, but they’re at +5000 to rocket into first place.
Check the BetUS MLB Betting lines section for all the latest odds and prop bets for the season.
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