2015 World Series Odds Against Yankees

As a betting man, I’m always on the lookout for a decent sporting proposition that puts me in an advantageous position. With the 2014 season still warm in its grave, the early odds on the 2015 World Series winners have been posted by online sports book Bovada as reported in a blog post by Chad Jennings. I immediately wanted to run to my computer and start betting.

It seems that Bovada, hoping for a little easy money, has placed perennial Fall failures such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals as favorites in the National League at 15/2 and recent (and some might say, historical) flops the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim, Irvine and most of Orange County) as American League favorites at 10/1. Now I won’t get too far into the weeds, however, since we have no clue how the rosters will be constructed for any of these teams, the odds seem a little dubious.

The unproven Nats just declined options on 1B Adam LaRoche and RP (and former Yankee) Rafael Soriano and have other holes to fill; the Tigers are in a free agent fights with SP Max Scherzer and DH Victor Martinez; the Dodgers are poised to lose SS Hanley Ramirez and have a new chief in Andrew Friedman; and the Angels have OF Josh Hamilton and 1B Albert Pujols one year closer to their AARP cards.

Meanwhile, sitting at 22/1 are three teams with proven track records, piles of cash, and solid organizations – the Atlanta Braves, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Now, granted, the 2014 season did nothing to give any of the oddsmakers any reason to shorten the odds for those teams, but why give bettors a chance? These teams constitute the middle of the pack, and with free agency, trade bait and demanding fan bases, none of them can afford another down year.

The Yanks are starting this off-season two years removed from playoff contention, after making the playoffs 16 out of 17 years.  Fans are torn between blowing up the roster and throwing more money (and age) and the problem. As decisions begin to get made, the Yankee organization understands the real odds are against them as injury uncertainty and bad contracts pile up. But Winter offers optimism, and we’ll all be checking our phones and computers as signings and trades commence.

But one thing rings true – another year without the Yanks in the playoffs will mean rebuilding, more empty seats at an overpriced stadium, and way longer odds in 2016.