A couple months ago, Las Vegas was none-too-high on the Red Sox. Let's look at some of the odds set before the start of the spring training schedule, and again right before Opening Day:
February 20 | March 29 | April 17 | |
Odds to win the World Series | 30/1 | 30/1 | 20/1 |
Odds to win the American League | 14/1 | 14/1 | 10/1 |
Odds to win the American League East | 5/1 | 11/2 | 11/4 |
Odds courtesy of Bovada.lv
So spring training certainly didn't convince them, but these first two weeks are another story entirely.
The question, of course, is whether or not you put any stock in Las Vegas oddsmakers. Personally, given how much money is wrapped up in this sort of thing, I'm of the mind that they at least have some idea of what's going on.
If you do, though, well hey, this is pretty nice. A few things to note:
- The Red Sox are second only to the Blue Jays for odds to win the East. The Yankees are 3/1, the Orioles and Rays both 9/2.
- The 10/1 figure to win the American League pennant kind of makes the Red Sox the "best of the rest" behind the teams you'd expect to be contending this year: Detroit, Los Angeles, Texas, Toronto, and Oakland. You may also notice that this puts them sixth, or one place shy of a playoff spot.
- Unfortunately, they're also tied with the Yankees in that respect, and come in just ahead of the Rays and Orioles. What's really noticeable is how bad the rest of the West in the Astros and Mariners is, which could help that division snag both wild card spots, even with the increased competition at the top.
- The AL East stays clumped together in the World Series odds, with the Yankees and Sox still tied under the Jays and above the Rays and Orioles.
Outside of the A.L. East, the Tigers are leading every category. They'll need to go deep in the playoffs to call it a job well done, though. With the Twins, Indians, White Sox, and Royals occupying spots 10-through-13 in the American League pennant odds, they're playing on easy mode.