Yankees Early Favorite To Win Division Per 2012 AL East Betting Odds

Last year’s regular season in baseball could not have ended any more ____. Depending on what side you were on, that word could be dramatically different. It could not have been scripted better and SportsCenter could not have fawned over it any more than it did.

The AL is now packed with loads of talent, but in the East, it’s all on two teams. The Red Sox and Yankees need no explanation of who they have or why they are favored to get another ring. The Sox brought in a bunch of nasty to hang out in the bullpen, and the Yankees brought in guys who amazingly can throw more than 5 innings. The Yanks currently lead the odds to win the 2012 AL East at -150 or 2/3 odds. Continue reading

2012 AL Central Betting Odds Favor Detroit Tigers Overwhelmingly

We heard about the beasts that may lurk in the East, and Pujols is going to eat everything in the West, but what about that Central? The Cy Young winner Justin Verlander has the Tigers looking like the favorite with a -500 betting line from bovada.com to win the division, 4/1 odds to win the pennant, and 4th best in the MLB with 8/1 to win a World Series.

The Tigers’ lineup is going to be so silly in the middle that the 3 and 4 hitters are going to be required by Bud Selig to tuck a napkin into their jersey before they snack on fastballs. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder are two of the biggest power hitters in the game by themselves, but together it is honestly giving me the creeps being an Indians’ fan. When the MLB decided to add a second wildcard team to the playoffs, the Indians happened to be one of the biggest beneficiaries. Continue reading

2012 NL Central Betting Odds: Cincinnati Reds Favored Over Cards, Brewers

With the National League defending champion St. Louis Cardinals gearing back up for another grueling season, you would think there would be more conversation about repeating. That is, unless you lose The Machine. The 2012 NL Central betting odds from Bovada actually has the defending champs second in their own division at +190 behind the Cincinnati Reds, who have the favored line of +140.

The NL Central is one of the most intriguing divisions in baseball this year as the perennial favorite is now a doubtful team of question marks that could be ousted by the new and improved surprises. The Cincinnati Reds have retooled and rebooted to make sure that this year will not end the way it did in the playoffs for them. Continue reading

Philadelphia Phillies Lead Early Odds To Win 2012 NL East

The East has been really interesting the past few seasons, drawing in the masses to watch each and every game leading up to the postseason. The division hosts 2 teams with by far the most talent, along with the highest pay rolls. The AL East, that is. The NL East is more like the division that the Phillies always win. As it stands today, the 2012 NL East betting odds have Philadelphia as the favorite to win the East at -275, with only the new look Miami Marlins at +600 and the former yearly favorite Atlanta Braves at +700 anywhere in the neighborhood.

The Atlanta Braves use to be a shoe-in for division winner when they had the pitching staff of the decade in the 90s. Last year, they were one of the victims of a historical season-ending collapse that was only surpassed by Boston’s buffoonery. Things are looking up, as the farm system of pitching arms they have had for many years has finally developed. After shipping Derek Lowe off, they now have a full staff of young guns led by veteran Tim Hudson. The lineup has enough big bats to do damage and the acquisition of Michael Bourne made things much easier in September for McCann and Uggla, once he got comfy on the basepath. Continue reading

New York Yankees Favored In Early 2012 AL Pennant Odds

American League All-Star teams are going to be ridonkulous. If the best hitters were picked as the reserves, they would all be first basemen. Pujols, Fielder, Cabrera, Teixeira, Gonzalez, and sleepers like Hosmer, Konerko, and Morneau makes the decision for who’s on first the most difficult probably ever.

The lineups this year on teams like Boston, New York, Texas, and Detroit will break an XBox. Any 2 or 3 of the top hitters on those teams can arguably be the best two hitters in baseball. The psychic abilities of Cliff Lee must have predicted these offseason moves that brought over two monster hitters when Lee decided that the Phillies were better suited for him and his ERA. Although just speculation to say, Justin Verlander striking out that many people in the American League and winning that many games, should just be counted as double if he were pitching in the NL. This year features the same lineups that were packed with superstars in the playoffs, and adds a few more to the lineups of teams that were pawing at the notion they wanted to play in October too. Continue reading

New York Yankees’ Odds To Win 2012 World Series Amongst Top 3

Coming off a solid 97-65 record in 2011, all signs seem to point to the New York Yankees repeating as the No.1 team in the AL East. Manager Joe Girardi is entering his fifth year at the helm of the most prominent team in baseball, and there is a legitimate case to be for this incarnation of the Yankees being the most potent one he’s ever had an opportunity to lead.

However you want to describe it, New York has clearly trimmed some of the old fat that plagued its roster during the offseason, and its place — for the most part — they’ve added either upgrades or non-downgrades. Gone are Jorge Posada, Bartolo Colon and A.J. Burnett, and in are interesting pieces like Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda. While it obviously remains to be seen what sort of impact the losses of Jesus Montero (which will hurt), Hector Noesi and Sergio Mitre will have, the Yankees look poised to be more efficient and effective then we’ve seen them in a long time.

The rotation will star CC Sabathia, Ivan Nora, Kuroda, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia – a strong group any way you want to look at it. Then when you factor in the ageless wonder, Mariano Rivera, as well as David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain and the rest of the relievers – you see why folks are expecting big things from the Yanks in the coming season.

Although you never want to read too much into these things, early reports out of Spring Training seem to unanimously agree that Mark Teixeira is in excellent shape. When you couple that with the steady production you’ll no doubt get from Curtis Granderson, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher and the rest of the gang, you have to figure that New York will have one of the AL’s more capable offenses.

With arguably the best bullpen in the league and numerous intriguing roster tweaks, the Yankees seem poised for a 100-win campaign and some serious postseason success. Will that wind up coming to fruition? Odds makers seem to think so – the Yankees are 13/2  (+650) to win the World Series this year, only behind the Philadelphia Phillies (11/2) and equaled by the Los Angeles Angels (13/2) to win it all.

Click here to see the updated Yankees World Series odds or to see the rest of the team’s 2012 World Series Odds available at Bovada Sportsbook.

2012 NL Pennant Odds Shows Road To World Series Goes Through Philly

The National League was about to be even more of a pitcher’s league when Ryan Braun tested positive for the Jose Canseco special. With the ensuing 50-game suspension, the Brewers were left sans Braun and Prince with Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks left to drive in the missing 231 RBI’s. Yet Braun is free to flex his muscles in jubilee. He is suited up and ready to roll, the NL has its MVP back, and the Brewers have someone who can hit a home run again.

Over the years, the NL has started to gain a reputation of being favorable for pitchers because the lack of hitters consistently through the order. The only lineups in the NL that can match up with the likes of Boston, Texas, or New York, would be the Phillies and the Brew Crew. As of now, the Phillies don’t know about Chase Utley’s brittle bones or Ryan Howard’s Achilles and the even with Braun back Milwaukee has to depend on often-injured Aramis Ramirez to fit into Fielder’s place. The New York Mets, the Houston Astros, and the San Diego Padres are so bad that their pro teams have become a show for scouts to come watch prospects play against big league competition. Continue reading

Philadelphia Phillies Lead 2012 World Series Odds, Angels Not Far Behind

In baseball the top dogs tend to stay the top dogs, and that’s as true in 2012 as it has been at any point in the last five years. The Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers are all considered preseason favorites to take home World Series honors, but each team’s respective claim to the throne is surprisingly different.

The Phillies are currently 11/2 (via Bovada’s 2012 World Series Odds) to win it all, but given the high hopes that everyone has for the Atlanta Braves and the general strength of the NL East, Philly’s path to a championship is mired with uncertainty. And that’s to say nothing of the questions surrounding the squad’s personnel, obviously. Will Ryan Howard persevere through injuries and eventually live up to his massive, ridiculous contract? Will left field be a point of strength or weakness? Will Jonathan Papelbon live up to the hype in his closer role? Can this squad get consistent offensive production? If the answer to those last four questions proves to be ‘yes,’ then the Phillies are more than deserving of the lofty expectations set out for them. If the answer to any of them is a ‘no,’ though – watch out. Continue reading