The Phillies are favored to win the 2011 World Series, snapping a decade-long streak during which either the Yankees or Red Sox were the future book baseball betting choice to capture the October Classic. Philadelphia, which may have one of the best starting rotations in Major League Baseball history if execution matches expectations, opened as the 3/1 favorite for a season that starts March 31.
It's hard to imagine the Phillies, with Cliff Lee joining Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in the starting rotation, Brad Lidge closing the door, and Ryan Howard and Chase Utley leading the offense, not reaching the World Series. Anything less will be a huge disappointment in Philadelphia.
At 9/2 and 5/1, respectively, the Red Sox and Yankees are the only other of the league's 30 teams to be offered at single digits. Boston, which finished third in the American League East last year behind TampaBay and New York, is expected to bounce back, in part because the Red Sox bolstered their lineup with the off-season acquisitions of the speedy Carl Crawford and the run-producing Adrian Gonzalez. If top starters Josh Beckett and John Lackey bounce back from sub par seasons and freshly acquired Bobby Jenks helps out in the bullpen, Boston could wind up in the World Series opposite Philadelphia.
The Yankees still have a solid lineup, a bull at the top of the rotation in CC Sabathia and a legendary closer in Mariano Rivera but failing to sign Lee and the retirement of Andy Pettitte leaves New York with weak starting pitching. A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes and Sergio Mitre will have to have banner years for the Bronx Bombers to be competitive with the Bosox.
After the big three of Philadelphia, Boston and New York, baseball betting fans can get future book odds of at least 15/1—and in some cases much more—on any other team winning the 2011 World Series.
Based mostly on its excellent pitching staff, solid defense and Rookie of the Year catcher Buster Posey, defending champion San Francisco is offered at odds of 15/1 to win consecutive world titles.
St. Louis, AL champion Texas and Minnesota each are listed at 20/1 while three more teams, Atlanta, Colorado and Cincinnati, check in at 25/1 and a quartet of teams, TampaBay, Detroit, Cincinnati and the LA Angeles, are quoted at odds of 35/1 each.
Future book prices escalate rapidly from there and, in case you're wondering, the longest shot on the board is Pittsburgh, at odds of 500/1 to win the 2011 World Series.
In addition to World Series futures, many sportsbooks also are offering odds on each team winning their league's pennant. Philadelphia is even money to walk off with the NL flag while Boston is 12/5 to edge 5/2 New York for the AL pennant.
What's more, some books also are offering odds on winning each of Major League Baseball's six individual divisions. For example, Philadelphia is 4/9 to capture the NL East. It's tighter in the NL Central where St. Louis and Milwaukee each are 5/2, Cincinnati is 11/4 and Chicago is 7/2. At 25/1, only Houston seems out of the race. In the NL West, San Francisco, 2/1, is a modest favorite over Colorado, 5/2, and Los Angeles, 7/2.
Boston, 4/5, is favored to beat New York, 9/5 and defending AL East champion TampaBay, 9/1 in that division while the AL Central is expected to be a shootout among Minnesota, 3/2, Chicago, 7/4, and Detroit, 9/4.
Texas is odds on at 10/11 to repeat in the AL West with LA, 5/2, and Oakland, 7/2, giving chase.
Most sportsbooks haven't stopped with World Series, pennant and division odds. Many also have over/under numbers for regular season victories for each team, as well. The total for Philadelphia is 97 1/2 with Boston, 96 1/2, and the New York Yankees, 93 1/2, also highly regarded. At the other end of this futures list are Pittsburgh, 67 1/2, Kansas City, 69 1/2, Houston, 70 1/2, and Washington and Seattle, each at 71 1/2.
What's more, many enterprising sportsbooks also are offering proposition wagers on which player will lead the league in home runs, RBIs, home runs plus RBIs, batting, base hits, wins, saves and steals. There's even a prop on whether Derek Jeter's 3000th career hit is a single (1/4), double (5/2), triple (12/1) or home run (8/1) and what the count will be when Jeter gets it.
You don't have to wait to hear the cry of "play ball" to take your first swing at Major League Baseball betting.
This article was written by Luken Karel for http://www.thegreek.com. The Greek Sportsbook & Casino is host to one of the top online sportsbooks offering college football betting and sports betting on NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and all other major sports. The Greek is a must have sports betting and entertainment portal with one of the largest wagering menus available online. Article reproductions must include a link pointing to http://www.thegreek.com
