2009 World Series Futures
by Badger of Predictem.com
The 2009 World Series Champions Will Be
A closer look at World Series Future Odds in 2009
Now that youve read Predictem.coms division-by-division season
preview and formed your own opinion on which teams
will win their respective divisions and qualify for the postseason,
lets take it to the final step and take a closer look at the futures
odds for the 2009 World Series.
In this article well list the teams and their respective odds to win
it all, then well offer some picks and futures betting strategies at
the end. There wont be a lot of depth of analysis since weve
already broken them down backwards and forwards in their team
previews and the division-by-division preview.
All of the future odds listed in this article can be wagered on at www.Sportsbook.com.
THE FAVORITES
New York Yankees : 2.8-to-1
Boston Red Sox : 7-to-1
Chicago Cubs : 7-to-1
New York Mets : 8-to-1
Philadelphia Phillies : 10-to-1
Tampa Bay Rays : 10-to-1
Im not sure if its an enviable position or not, but the Yankees go
into the 2009 season as the top favorite on the board. All six of
these teams played in the postseason last year, but I do find it
ironic that the two teams that played in the Fall Classic last
season, the Phillies and Rays, are the two 10-to-1 longshots out of
the top tier of contenders. But thats speaks more about the
difficulties of repeating as champs in any sport, and less about what
the oddsmakers really think about the teams.
Its no secret that all of these teams are loaded with enough talent, both pitching and hitting. Its just a matter of staying healthy and putting it all together over the course of a 162-game grind.
THE TIER OF CONTENDERS
Los Angeles Angels : 12-to-1
Cleveland Indians : 15-to-1
Atlanta Braves : 20-to-1
Arizona Diamondbacks : 25-to-1
Chicago White Sox : 25-to-1
Los Angeles Dodgers : 25-to-1
Minnesota Twins : 25-to-1
This second tier of teams offers some interesting odds for some
interesting teams. Ideally, this is the tier where you want the
winner to come from because of the better odds, but most of these
teams have issues that are keeping them from being in the above list
of favorites.
The Angels have a hard time getting past the AL East teams in the
playoffs. The Indians might not have enough pitching. Ditto for the
White Sox. The Braves, not enough hitting. And the Dodgers odds
should drop a few points with everyday that Manny Ramirez and his
agent Scott Boras refuse to play for such a meager pittance of $25
million.
LETS TALK LONGSHOTS
Detroit Tigers : 30-to-1
Oakland As : 30-to-1
Cincinnati Reds : 40-to-1
Florida Marlins : 40-to-1
Milwaukee Brewers : 40-to-1
San Francisco Giants : 40-to-1
St. Louis Cardinals : 40-to-1
Technically these teams are not the biggest long shots of the bunch, but Im not going to waste your time or mine analyzing the Pirates,
Nationals, Padres, Royals or Orioles and their 100-to-1 shot which
will never come. Go buy a scratch off, or a lottery ticket instead of
wasting money on those dogs.
However, this tier does include teams that still have an actual shot, if all of the moons and stars align correctly and the ball bounces
their way more than not. Lets not forget that last years AL champs,
Tampa Bay, came from this list last year (at 50-to-1) and nearly
pulled it off.
FINAL ANALYSIS & PREDICTIONS
As always, when betting World Series futures the best practice is to
diversify your bets with a few different levels of action. You want
to put most of the loot on a solid, short-odds favorite, then dabble
some action down to the middle and longshot tier to try and turn it
into a windfall.
Here are my picks for the 2009 season based on the above World Series
futures odds.
SHORT FAVORITE Boston Red Sox Believe me, I HATE having to take anything Boston or Yankees. But at solid 7-to-1 odds, I almost have to
advocate taking the Sox here. In my mind, they have the least amount
of warts out of any of the other top contenders. The Yankees will
have issues with their outfield before the season is over. The Cubs
will have outfield problems too, although Im convinced that trading
away Mark DeRosa will end up haunting them in the end. The Mets are
choke-artists. The Phillies will have a hard time repeating, and the
Rays wont have the luxury of sneaking up on teams this year. You almost have to take the Red Sox by default.
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD Arizona Diamondbacks If the D-Backs can find an answer to their question about who will be their closer, I really think they
could be this years Tampa Bay Rays. They have solid starting
pitching, along with a balance of speed and power in the lineup that
makes them one of the best all-around teams in the National League.
At 25-to-1, Ill take a chance and hope they can beat the AL
representative in the World Series in a long series.
LONGSHOT St. Louis Cardinals As a true 40-to-1 long shot, Ill take
the Cardinals here. The Cards season hinges on the health of pitcher
Chris Carpenter. In his first few spring outings hes looked the guy
who won a Cy Young award, and hes done it while remaining pain-free.
If he can assume his position at the top of the rotation, the Cards
will have enough pitching. A lineup with triple-crown threat Albert
Pujols will always have a chance. Again, the Cards current closer by
committee issue in the bullpen will have to perform beyond
expectations, but thats why they call it a longshot.
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