World Series Betting – Yankees Still The Team To Beat
Online betting fans have saw the New York Yankees finally end their short drought last year and as the 2010 season progresses, it’s hard to bet against them. While the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals might be able to give them some trouble, the Yankees have to be considered the favorites to repeat.
The Favorites
The New York Yankees are the sports betting favorites in the American League by a long shot. Their main competitors, the Boston Red Sox, simply don’t have the hitting anymore and the pitching has even been so-so.
In the Central, the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers should fight it out but realistically, neither of those teams can even hold a candle to the Yankees. In the West, the Mariners are a mess, the Rangers don’t have the pitching and the Angels are a first-round playoff exit waiting to happen.
Overall, you’d be hard pressed to bet against the Yankees making it all the way to the World Series. Their batting lineup is arguably among the best in baseball and their pitching is quite stellar as well.
In the National League, it looks like it’s a two-horse race between the Phillies and Cardinals, as those are the two favorites in the sportsbook. Some people like to include the New York Mets into the conversation or even Los Angeles Dodgers, but neither team has enough starting pitching to do damage.
One team that could sneak up is the San Francisco Giants, but they lack the hitting. Their pitching is among the best in baseball, though.
The Long Shots
If you’re going to throw darts at the board, you might try the aforementioned Giants in the National League and the Twins in the American League.
The Twins are the annual whipping boys of the Yankees in the playoffs but there is an aura about them this year that it might be a magical season. They re-signed Joe Mauer and they have a new stadium. If the 2010 MLB season was a Disney movie, the Twins would be the champions.
In the National League, it just feels like the Giants could ruin somebody’s big plans if they make the playoffs. With Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, the Giants already have arguably the best one-two punch in all of baseball. When you throw in Barry Zito, who has fantastic this year, and Jonathan Sanchez, and you start to realize that the Giants would be a nightmare to face in the playoffs.
This is a young team that has grown up together so team chemistry is high. Throw in a couple of unexpected bats getting hot in the postseason and this could be your World Series Champ.
The National League Pick
And we’ll stick with that. Considering the Phillies and Cardinals don’t offer a ton of value, we’ll take a flier with the Giants. As mentioned, their starting pitching is incredible and don’t be surprised if they add a bat at the trade deadline that gets them over the hump.
Pitching wins Championships and while the Cardinals have Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday, and the Phillies have Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, the Giants have the pitchers that can shut all of those guys down.
NL Pick: Giants
The AL Pick
Straight up, the pick here is the Yankees. How can you argue with it?
The pressure is off of them after winning last year and now they are just flat out rolling. There’s no talk of whether C.C. Sabathia was worth the money, whether Alex Rodriguez is on performance enhancing drugs, whether to fire or keep Joe Girardi or what George Steinbrenner will do if they fail again.
The pressure if off and all they have to do is go out there and have fun.
The Red Sox aren’t ready to compete with the Yanks and the Twins, Tigers, Rangers and Angels are – as usual – a step behind.
Pick: Yankees
The World Series Pick
The Yankees are the World Series favorite and there is no better choice to win it. They are a complete team and from an MLB betting perspective, there isn’t anything that they are really missing.
They got younger in the offseason and they didn’t skip a beat. They’ll face some challenges from teams like the Tampa Bay Rays, the Phillies and Cardinals, but they are the best team in baseball without a doubt.
