MLB Opening Day: Signs of Things to Come

Prior to the Masters betting getting under way, Major League Baseball opened up their 2010 season with MLB opening day. The first day of the season was April 4 and it featured only one game; the New York Yankees at the Boston Red Sox.

The sports book makers had the New York Yankees as the 3 to 1 favorites to repeat as world champions when the 2010 season started. That makes the Yankees the odds on favorites to win. The Red Sox were 13 to 2 favorites to win the World Series when the season started. The game was a battle of offense that the Red Sox eventually won 9-7. However the Yankees went on to take the next two games and win the opening series of the season from the Red Sox. Now the Yankees are 14 to 5 favorites and the Red Sox are 11 to 2. Obviously the sports betting experts saw something in the Red Sox they liked, even in the face of a losing series.

The next day opened up the schedule for the rest of the league, and there were very few surprises in the results.

NBA betting is sometimes based on a team’s performance for the past few seasons if that team has been together for a while. The same can be said for the Philadelphia Phillies. The current Phillies team, for the most part, has won a World Series together and they are 6 to 1 favorites to win the World Series this season. They opened up their season with their new pitching ace Roy Halladay and hammered the Washington Nationals 11-1. Good teams know how to beat the weak teams and that is what the Phillies showed on opening day.

New York Mets fans will be happy to hear that the Mets opened up the season with their pitching ace Johan Santana and promptly beat a good Florida Marlins team 7-1. The Mets lost to the Marlins in the second game of the series and exposed their weak rotation once you get past Santana. The Mets are 20 to 1 to win the World Series this season and the Marlins are 30 to 1. It is doubtful that either team will be competing for a pennant in September, but at least the Mets fans know that Santana can still toss the ball.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 150 to 1 favorites to win the World Series, but on opening day they looked like world beaters. The Pirates clobbered the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-5 on opening day in front of an ecstatic home town crowd. The Dodgers are 9 to 1 favorites in the World Series odds and it is doubtful that the Pirates will have many chances to enjoy a win over the Dodgers like the one on opening day.

One of the more intriguing results of opening day was the game between the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs that took place in Atlanta. The Braves have a lot of young talent to show off this season which dropped them to 12 to 1 favorites for the World Series. The Cubs have been advertising a turn around season, and they upgraded their talent enough to gain 14 to 1 World Series odds.

But the Braves won the first game of the series 16-5 and then took the second game 3-2. Are the Braves back in contention for the National League pennant? They probably will not challenge this season, but look for the Braves to compete in the coming years.