Cubs favorites to repeat
The Chicago Cubs are the favorites to win the World Series, according to Las Vegas bookmakers, and the Cleveland Indians have the best odds to win the American League pennant — which would set up a rematch of the riveting 2016 World Series.
At the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook, the Cubs are 7to-2 favorites to repeat as champions, followed by Cleveland at 5 to 1. Next are the Boston Red Sox at 7 to 1, the Los Angeles Dodgers at 8 to 1 and the Washington Nationals at 10 to 1.
On the home front, Westgate had the San Francisco Giants this week at 12 to 1. The Oakland A’s were back in the pack at 100 to 1.
“I feel like the Giants are just hanging on,” said Jay Kornegay, who sets the odds at Westgate. “They made a couple of little adjustments, but it feels like they’re on the decline.”
The team has “some question marks,” Kornegay added. “(Johnny) Cueto had a great year last year, but he’s got some miles. Hunter Pence, I think, has been hurt three straight years. (Denard) Span’s not looking that great. It’s been four years since (Matt) Cain has been good. I just don’t see that much youth on the Giants.”
And, well, the A’s “are not contenders.” But if everything goes right for the team, the A’s could slip into the playoffs, he said.
“The A’s overmanaged their payroll. They’re always looking for the diamond in the rough,” Kornegay said, adding that “they had talent right in front of them,” a reference to players such as Josh Donaldson who were shipped out despite being under contract at reasonable salaries.
The favored Cubs, on the other hand, have a good mix of youth, talent and experience, Kornegay said, though he noted it’s difficult to repeat. (Giants fans know this as the team failed to make the playoffs in the seasons after winning championships in 2010, 2012 and 2014.)
The Giants’ main rival in the NL West again appears to be the Dodgers. “Their pitching staff (led by Clayton Kershaw) is incredible,” Kornegay said. “It looks like they could go eight or nine deep. Their whole roster is deep.”
Another bookmaker, William Hill’s Nick Bogdanovich, agrees the Dodgers appear to have the edge in the NL West but said, “If the Giants make a run, it wouldn’t surprise me because they know how to win. Bochy is a winning manager; the organization is a winning organization. Sometimes you plug in different pieces and win.”
Westgate’s Kornegay likes seeing longtime cellar dwellers at the top of the odds sheets, calling it “a nice change of scenery.”
“Cubs and Indians fans have supported these organizations through the thinnest of years for decades,” he said. “They deserve a champion.”