Cubs favored, but handicapper likes Dodgers to win World Series
While many Cubs fans left Las Vegas after Sunday’s 22-4 rout of the Reds at Cashman Field with a futures ticket on Chicago to win the 2017 World Series, Kyle Hendricks left with a case of food poisoning.
The Cubs pitcher said he made a late-night stop at a taco restaurant here Saturday and called it a “bad decision.”
Hendricks made all the right moves in 2016, when he led the majors in ERA (2.13) and helped Chicago to its first World Series title in 108 years. With its core group of young stars returning, the Cubs are the 7-2 favorite to repeat as champs. The season opens Sunday with a tripleheader.
“They’ve got so many bats, with (Anthony) Rizzo, (Kris) Bryant, (Kyle) Schwarber and (Jason) Heyward, who had such a terrible season he can’t do anything but go up,” Red Rock sports book director Jason McCormick said. “It’s going to come down to their pitching staff. The whole package is there.”
After years of fans futilely betting on the Cubs to win the World Series, McCormick — a Chicago native and die-hard Cubs fan — said many of the winning futures tickets from 2016 still haven’t been cashed and probably never will be.
“A lot of those tickets will end up as a souvenir,” he said. “Someone will get it framed on their wall. They’re never going to cash that ticket but will forever have a memory.”
The defending American League champion Indians are the second choice to win the World Series at 5-1 odds, followed by the Red Sox (7-1), Dodgers (7-1), Nationals (10-1) and Astros (10-1).
“The Cubs have a lot of depth, but I still think the Dodgers are the team to look out for,” McCormick said. “They’re a scary team.”
Handicapper Micah Roberts (Sportsline.com) is picking Los Angeles to win its first World Series since 1988.
“I think they get over the hump,” he said. “They’re got an outstanding starting rotation, and their bullpen is probably the best in baseball. But hitting will be the thing that sends them over the top this year.”
Roberts also likes the Royals (77½), Yankees (83) and Braves (75) to eclipse their win totals and the Reds (69½) to go under.
Cincinnati moved the most in season win totals at the South Point, getting bet down to 69½ after opening at 73½. Kansas City moved the most at the Westgate, getting bet up to 77½ after opening at 74½. Roberts also likes the Royals, who went 81-81 last season, as his sleeper pick to win it all at 60-1 odds.
“They’ll be vastly improved. I love their top two starters. Ian Kennedy had a nice spring and Danny Duffy, and they picked up Jason Hammel,” he said. “Their bullpen’s not as strong as it’s been, but with (Mike) Moustakas healthy all year, they basically have the same core and same manager.
“They’re definitely a .500 team and contending for a wild card.”
The Reds won only 68 games in 2016 and have since traded veteran pitcher Dan Straily and second baseman Brandon Phillips.
“They want to rebuild the Big Red Machine, but it’s really a Triple-A roster,” Roberts said. “If you have a (general manager) and organization that wants to lose, why would you bet them not to lose?”
Roberts is high on the Yankees, partly because of division rivals Boston and Toronto each losing their cleanup hitters in David Ortiz and Edwin Encarnacion.
“You just don’t pull No. 4 guys out of lineups and expect everything to be the same,” he said. “I love the Yankees lineup and the idea of seeing 1995 all over again, with the whole crop of young guys in their system ready to make a splash.
“They’ll be a fun team to watch with that lineup.”
Don’t want to wait until October to cash your ticket? Roberts is backing New York in Sunday’s 10:10 a.m. season opener against Tampa Bay. Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka, who allowed only one earned run in spring training, opposes Chris Archer.
Roberts projects New York to be a minus-145 favorite.
“It should be minus-160,” he said. “But Archer still has some semblance of a decent rating despite losing 19 games last year.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
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Here are MLB odds and prop bets for the 2017 season
BASEBALL BETTING BASICS
Money line: The odds on which team will win the game straight up, without a point spread. For example, the Giants opened as a -140 favorite in Friday's exhibition game over the Athletics, who were listed at +120. That means Giants bettors have to wager $140 to win $100, and A's bettors have to bet $100 to win $120.
Run line: The run line is equivalent to a point spread, which is always set at -1½ runs or +1½ runs. The favorite has to win by two runs or more, and the underdog has to win outright or lose by one run. For example, if the Dodgers are -1½ (-150) on the run line when Clayton Kershaw pitches, that means bettors have to wager $150 to win $100 and Los Angeles has to win by two runs or more. Conversely, if the Reds are +1½ (+130), bettors have to wager $100 to win $130 and Cincinnati has to win outright or lose by a run.
Total: This is the over-under for the total runs scored in the game. For example, if the total is 8½ (Ov -120, Un Even), that means bettors have to wager $120 to win $100 that the total runs scored will be nine or more. Under bettors have to wager $100 to win $100 that the total runs scored will be eight or less.
Five-inning line: This is the money line and total for the first five innings of the game only. This line is popular among bettors who are backing a solid starting pitcher on a team that doesn't have a good bullpen.
