Ok guys the teams and pairings are almost decided, time to see where a profit can be made. At the moment they bet as follows: Boston Red Sox 4/1 LA Dodgers 4/1 Detroit Tigers 9/2 St Louis Cardinals 7/1 Atlanta Braves 8/1 Oakland A's 8/1 12/1 Bar Obviously Red Sox have to be respected. They can score lots of runs but their pitching is a concern. Bucholz has been on the DL. Although Lester has been good lately i find it difficult to fully trust him, Lackey or Dempster in a playoff game. Saying that they seem to have unearthed a gem of a closer and could always score more runs than they will give up. Contenders for sure. The Dodgers have the best 1-2 combination in baseball with Kershaw and Greinke and a solid offence especially if Hanley Ramirez can stay healthy. Wilson has been a good addition to their bullpen but their starting pitching depth does not inspire if any of the series go deep. In summary I think the Dodgers could very well win, esp coming from the NL but they are probably short enough at 4/1. Should be hard to stop in the NL. I don't think the Detroit starting pitching is good enough. Scherzer has been good but his record is based on having the best run support in the MLB. Verlander flopped in the WS last year and doesnt have anything like the same form this year. The same goes for St Louis, I think pitching will be their downfall. The Braves main weapon is their devastating bullpen. With Hudson gone the starting pitching does not inspire confidence, with Minor prone to the home run ball and the other starters can be hit and miss. I also dont like them offensively. Only Freeman hits for power and average, Juston Upton has faded after a great start and BJ Upton has been a complete bust. I predict an early exit. Oakland are dark horses. They have a solid young rotation coming into form at the right time. A's starting pitchers have allowed two earned runs or fewer in 14 of 16 games since Sept. 7 and are 11-1 with a 2.68 ERA. They have a good balanced offence, 4 batters with 20+ home runs and most of their starters are batting well over 250. A lack of postseason experience would be my main worry. The other contenders are still battling for the wild card. The Wild Card is a lottery as it is decided over one game where all teams will have their strongest pitching available and anything can happen. The Tampa Bay Rays are currently 20/1 for the WS, look good to get into the wild card slot and if they win that would be a trade proposition in the ALCS proper. In summary think il go for the Dodgers from the NL and the A's in the AL both with a view to a trade. Any thoughts?
The Dodgers (backed at 6) have qualified for the NL finals and are at home resting while the Cardinals and Pirates battle it out. I am tempted to lay back some of my stake at current odds (3.85) but I think il wait. The first 2 NL final games they will have Greinke and Kershaw ready to go and they will be available later in the series also if required. The pitching matchups in games 1 & 2 vs whoever will heavily favour the Dodgers and their lineup is proving lethal to date with the dangerous Eithier to be added. I hope they will lead 2-0 in the NL finals and might look to trade at that point. I am not convinced about their ability to go the whole way. The relief pitching has been poor and unless the starter goes 7 innings to setup Wilson and Jansen for 8th and 9th innnings they could surrender leads. Also apart from the 2 starting pitchers mentioned the other options arent great at all and this could bite them in a best of 7 series as they cant keep using Kershaw and Greinke on short rest.
My other bet the A's (backed at 9.5) are locked in a 3-3 tie with the Tigers as I write where a win would put them through, (they just threw away a 3-0 lead)! Fingers crossed they will beat the Tigers either tonight or in game 5 tomorrow and reach the finals. Then i will look to trade my stake, hopefully at about 4. If they lose the 2 games i will just have to take it on the chin. I am not sure how far the A's can go, no superstars but a good solid team with the ability to hit plenty of home runs. They have to be respected.
Disappointing lack of interest and comment in this compared to the football??
The Dodgers (backed at 6) have qualified for the NL finals and are at home resting while the Cardinals and Pirates battle it out. I am tempted to lay back some of my stake at current odds (3.85) but I think il wait. The first 2 NL final games they wi