MLB Opening Day futures lineup: Red, White & Blue
They say that baseball is as American as hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet. I drive a Ford, but my top picks for MLB futures do resemble the US flag.
Ranking plays, assigning them stars or calling the X-dimers is not my style. When I make a bet, it's for one of two reasons:
Still, it's impossible not to feel more strongly about some wagers than others. With that being the case, here are my choices for the safest futures bets you can have riding on the 2010 MLB season. Follow or fade at your own discretion, and best of luck with your wagers and your rooting interests in the season ahead.
1) St. Louis Cardinals Win NL Central -165
There are three divisions that have heavy chalk at the top, both East groups and the NL Central. The AL East is a coin flip to me, maybe 53-47 on the Yankees' side over the Red Sox like the current prices suggest. The Phillies at -180 have more competition in the NLE than the Cardinals do in the NLC.
St. Louis is a somewhat fragile team as far as its top bat and pitcher go. Without Albert Pujols on offense and/or Chris Carpenter on the hill, it's likely Doomsville for the Cards' chances. I like the Redbirds to take this one, maybe even by more than the 7½-game gap it enjoyed last season.
2) Chicago White Sox Over 82 ½ Wins
If you get right down to it, I like this bet more than the Cardinals in the NL Central. But it's second on the list just so I can stay in order with the red, white and blue theme. There were two teams that didn't win their divisions last year that I fell in love with for this year very early this past winter. This is one of them.
Simply put, I like the overall pitching the club has compared to others in the division, especially now that the Twins won't have their man at the end of the bullpen.
3) Toronto Blue Jays Under 71 ½ Wins
Finally, the blue part of the deal. The deal-breaker here will be if Toronto's sticks are so good, they make up for the pitching. Blue Jays arms may not be as bad as advertised or as bad as I've bought into.
Still, with the number of games the Jays will have to play against ALE opponents, plus the interleague slate and extra road games against what should be a deeper ALW, Toronto is headed straight towards 91+ losses. The Blue Jays have 54 games against the Yanks, Red Sox and Rays. The NL portion of Toronto's schedule includes the Phillies, Rockies, Giants and Cardinals. And the Jays have extra trips to face the Angels and Rangers than visits they will get from the Anaheim and Lone Star State Nine.
4) Atlanta Braves Over 86 ½ Wins
The Braves jumped at me this winter about as quickly as the ChiSox. It's all about keeping his guys healthy for Bobby Cox in his final year chirping from the top step. I like the rotation to be ranked among the top 1-2 in the league. And really, is there any other way for Cox to go out than with a strong starting staff leading him into October?
5) Chicago White Sox Win AL Central +140
I feel so strongly about the Pale Hose going 'over' that win total this year, I'm picking them Ozzie's bunch to win the division. If you got on this earlier this offseason, you got a better price than that +140 Bookmaker is showing right now.
6) Philadelphia Phillies Win NL Pennant +250
If it happens, it will be the first time since the end of World War II that a team has won three consecutive flags in the Senior Circuit. Comes down to the pen in the end, and I like the Phils' chances at this price.
7) Texas Rangers Over 84 ½ Wins
The pitching has stunk in the Cactus League this spring, but I still like this team to battle for the AL West title. One thing that hasn't happened in a while for the Rangers is for them to add a big name at the trading deadline. I believe that will change this year if Texas hasn't already fallen way out of the race around the break. Vets like Michael Young and Vlad Guerrero getting off to good starts, plus Scott Feldman battling early as the de facto ace will be huge for the team's chances.
8) Houston Astros Under 74 ½ Wins
This almost falls into the 'sentimental/fade action' category of my betting. If Houston turns this into a loser, then the club has had a decent season, better than expected, and I can take some solace in that.
Will all depend on the pitching, because the Astros' offense will not be able to go head-to-head in 8-6 type games.
9) Los Angeles Dodgers Win NL West +170
One word: Joseph Paul Torre.
If there's one guy that can buffer front office distractions from his players, it's Torre. There was a lot of talk about the McCourt divorce and the club's winter was pretty stale on the roster front. But the arms are solid and a 95-win team with no major losses to its roster plus 45-50 extra games from Manny Ramirez gets my attention.
They say that baseball is as American as hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet. I drive a Ford, but my top picks for MLB futures do resemble the US flag.
Ranking plays, assigning them stars or calling the X-dimers is not my style. When I make a bet, it's for one of two reasons:
- I think the bet is going to win, or;
- I have a sentimental attachment to the game and want to add a betting interest to the outcome.
Still, it's impossible not to feel more strongly about some wagers than others. With that being the case, here are my choices for the safest futures bets you can have riding on the 2010 MLB season. Follow or fade at your own discretion, and best of luck with your wagers and your rooting interests in the season ahead.
1) St. Louis Cardinals Win NL Central -165
There are three divisions that have heavy chalk at the top, both East groups and the NL Central. The AL East is a coin flip to me, maybe 53-47 on the Yankees' side over the Red Sox like the current prices suggest. The Phillies at -180 have more competition in the NLE than the Cardinals do in the NLC.
St. Louis is a somewhat fragile team as far as its top bat and pitcher go. Without Albert Pujols on offense and/or Chris Carpenter on the hill, it's likely Doomsville for the Cards' chances. I like the Redbirds to take this one, maybe even by more than the 7½-game gap it enjoyed last season.
2) Chicago White Sox Over 82 ½ Wins
If you get right down to it, I like this bet more than the Cardinals in the NL Central. But it's second on the list just so I can stay in order with the red, white and blue theme. There were two teams that didn't win their divisions last year that I fell in love with for this year very early this past winter. This is one of them.
Simply put, I like the overall pitching the club has compared to others in the division, especially now that the Twins won't have their man at the end of the bullpen.
3) Toronto Blue Jays Under 71 ½ Wins
Finally, the blue part of the deal. The deal-breaker here will be if Toronto's sticks are so good, they make up for the pitching. Blue Jays arms may not be as bad as advertised or as bad as I've bought into.
Still, with the number of games the Jays will have to play against ALE opponents, plus the interleague slate and extra road games against what should be a deeper ALW, Toronto is headed straight towards 91+ losses. The Blue Jays have 54 games against the Yanks, Red Sox and Rays. The NL portion of Toronto's schedule includes the Phillies, Rockies, Giants and Cardinals. And the Jays have extra trips to face the Angels and Rangers than visits they will get from the Anaheim and Lone Star State Nine.
4) Atlanta Braves Over 86 ½ Wins
The Braves jumped at me this winter about as quickly as the ChiSox. It's all about keeping his guys healthy for Bobby Cox in his final year chirping from the top step. I like the rotation to be ranked among the top 1-2 in the league. And really, is there any other way for Cox to go out than with a strong starting staff leading him into October?
5) Chicago White Sox Win AL Central +140
I feel so strongly about the Pale Hose going 'over' that win total this year, I'm picking them Ozzie's bunch to win the division. If you got on this earlier this offseason, you got a better price than that +140 Bookmaker is showing right now.
6) Philadelphia Phillies Win NL Pennant +250
If it happens, it will be the first time since the end of World War II that a team has won three consecutive flags in the Senior Circuit. Comes down to the pen in the end, and I like the Phils' chances at this price.
7) Texas Rangers Over 84 ½ Wins
The pitching has stunk in the Cactus League this spring, but I still like this team to battle for the AL West title. One thing that hasn't happened in a while for the Rangers is for them to add a big name at the trading deadline. I believe that will change this year if Texas hasn't already fallen way out of the race around the break. Vets like Michael Young and Vlad Guerrero getting off to good starts, plus Scott Feldman battling early as the de facto ace will be huge for the team's chances.
8) Houston Astros Under 74 ½ Wins
This almost falls into the 'sentimental/fade action' category of my betting. If Houston turns this into a loser, then the club has had a decent season, better than expected, and I can take some solace in that.
Will all depend on the pitching, because the Astros' offense will not be able to go head-to-head in 8-6 type games.
9) Los Angeles Dodgers Win NL West +170
One word: Joseph Paul Torre.
If there's one guy that can buffer front office distractions from his players, it's Torre. There was a lot of talk about the McCourt divorce and the club's winter was pretty stale on the roster front. But the arms are solid and a 95-win team with no major losses to its roster plus 45-50 extra games from Manny Ramirez gets my attention.
