by The Daily Upper Decker’s Tommy Gimler
World Series Odds
The final two months of the MLB regular season are poised to be crazier than Amanda Bynes. By our count, there are still 20 teams who have a legitimate shot of making the postseason as either a division winner or wild card participant.
Of course, that’s great news for degenerates like myself, as the fact that so many teams are still alive means you can still find some pretty solid values when looking to drop some Bitcoin on predicting this year’s World Series champion.
Throw in the fact that there are still a few days left before the trade deadline, and that means the odds on some of these squads are sexier than Kate Upton jumping out of a swimming pool, especially if you lock in on them now before they land a Chris Sale or Jonathan Lucroy.
Of course, you could always just throw a dime on the favorites like the Cubs (7/2) or the Giants (6/1), but where’s the fun in that? It’s like throwing yourself at the fat girl at the bar without even at least trying with one who owns a treadmill. Plus, especially in baseball, very rarely do the favorites actually make it all the way to the promised land.
With that in mind, here are a few teams we’re thinking have the potential to stuff your wallet with something other than free rubbers:
Los Angeles Dodgers (20/1)
Despite living in the City of Angels for the last 11 years, I’m not a Dodgers fan. For starters, it’s a tough fan base to fall in love with. I mean, hey, let’s shank that guy in the Reds hat once he gets out to the parking lot because he cheered when they announced Joey Votto. Awesome.
But there is something about this Dodgers team that makes me think they have a legitimate shot to be there in the end. For starters, they’re a pretty garbage team offensively (23rd in batting average, for example) that for whatever reason just keeps winning games. Never mind the fact that stud pitcher Clayton Kershaw has been on the shelf with a shit back since June 26. Since then, Los Angeles has gone 16-9 despite trotting guys like Scott Kazmir and Bud Norris out to the mound.
Plus, the Dodgers spend money like a Kardashian, so you know they’re going to bring in at least one big name at the deadline in an effort to make Vin Scully’s last season a winner…
Houston Astros (15/1)
The Astros are hotter than Charlotte McKinney scissoring Mila Kunis on my wife’s kitchen table. Since May 24 when they were a pig shit awful 18-28 and at the bottom of the AL West, Houston has won 37 of 55 games and are now just one game out of the AL Wild Card picture and 2.5 games behind the division-leading Texas Rangers.
The star power is there, the starting pitching is coming around and there are still enough prospects left to deal at the deadline for the one or two players that could get them over the hump…
Cleveland Indians (9/1)
How many times have you seen it, where one franchise brings a championship to a city and then another one almost immediately follows suit? That could be the case for Cleveland this year, as the best pitching staff in the American League clearly belongs to the Indians.
Manager Terry Francona has been there before, and he has created another solid clubhouse atmosphere mixed with crafty veterans and thirsty youngsters. More importantly, Cleveland has made the AL Central their bitch, winning 30 of 43 games against their AL Central foes so far this year. That could be key down the stretch, as their final 23 games are all against the Twins, Royals, White Sox and Tigers.
And if that dominance continues, it could mean that Cleveland will all of sudden be known as the hub for sports championships instead of the home of heroin overdoses…
Tommy Gimler is the founder and head writer of The Daily Upper Decker: Nothing but sports and crap. While he’d love to see the Cleveland Indians win the World Series, all of his picks were purely for entertainment purposes. Well, unless one of them hits. In that case, then you’re welcome.
