It's hard to say who will be favored as of right now because you don't know what's going to happen in free agency.

What happens if Mike Lowell isn't the same?

My question is... how was picked to win it this time last year? Would the Phillies and Rays have been even close?

So many changes to come, way to early for any real guesses.

Pretty knowledgable source... they don't even know the "Devil" Rays changed their name last year.

So do those 10/1 odds include the probability of the Rays changing their name back to "Devil Rays"?

With a healthy Josh Beckett the Sox will be favorites.

What are the odds that they can win 100+ games?

Arizona at 40:1 seems like a nice value bet. Lousy division, nice young offense, a couple of aces at the front of the rotation...

Based on current talent, maybe the Cubs should be number 2 as it says here. But C'mon, at this point how can you not take their complete and utter inability to perform in October from a historical perspective into account. I don't care if they're starting 9 All-Stars next year, until they can put up a fight in a playoff series, they should be starting dead last.

Put $100 on the Twins at 15 to 1.

I'm thinking: Washington Nationals on an early whim.

I don't know why?

$$$$$$$$$

; )

I think they call 'em the Devil Rays b/c it's a gambling website.

how about the D-backs? 40-1? That might be worth dropping something on, especially with the pitching they have and the weak division. If the dodgers don't get Manny back, the division is theirs to lose.

This is great news for the Nationals -- they're in the same spot the Rays were a year ago.

Red sox need younger players from farm players . Keep lowire and cash too
Red sox will win world series next year .

For the Sox to be my favorite, Varitek has to resign, Timlin has to retire. Need another bullpen arm or 2 depending on what happens with Masterson, and as much as I love Mike Lowell, and appreciate everything he has done for us, I can't help but salivate over the opportunity to sign Texiera. BTW my vote is for Alex Cora to become our new 1st base coach!!

I think Arizona at 40:1 would be a nice payday. Not a bad longshot. St. Louis at 30:1 would pay well too, but their owners still need to dial in on the pitching/hitting balance.

As long as the NL West is the way it is, a Dodgers pick at 15:1 isn't too bad either. Brewers at 15:1 could be good, but it depends on what they do with pitching.

One more thing, though - looking at the bottom of the barrell: Are the Washington Nationals really 3X as bad as the Kansas City Royals or the Seattle Mariners? Really?

It's an absolute lock.

Seriously Dbacks at 40/1??? I might have to go sign up for a Betonline.com account.

The "Devil Rays" no longer exist. So this is a made up list.

red sox could never win a ws with jacoby playing center

The Pirates and the Nationals are probably too big of long shots at this point, but I don't know if I'd categorically rule out any of those three 100/1 teams yet. If you're the betting type, at those odds they might be worth dropping $10 or $20 on.

Now that the Rays have gone back to the Devil Rays, are they going back to the green sleeve-less jerseys too? Retro. Cool

You don't have to be a sportswriter to get those dumb emails.

As much of a Sox fan as I am, I don't think they deserve that ranking. Lowell is a question mark, Beckett certainly is, Manny is gone, Ortiz is a mess, and there's a lot riding on young, relatively untested arms (Masterson, Buccholz, Delcarmen, etc).

Tampa, despite crapping the bed in the World Series, seems to be in a better position to repeat.

I am all good with us winning, but if we can't I really do hope the poor Cubs can pull it together! They deserve it by now!

Picking favorites 24 hours after the WS just ended and weeks before free agency has started is dumb. Sure the Red Sox and Tampa probably are already stacked and ready for another playoff push, but theres still a lot left to do. Free agency, trades, manager firings, manager hirings. The Yanks will probably open the vault and make themselves favorites very quickly.

This is a better question to debate in January or February, after the Hot Stove deals go down.

Look at the recent trend of WS winners: Angels (2002), Red Sox (2004), White Sox (2005), Cardinals (2006) and Phils (2008). All teams with long spells of not winning the WS. Aside from the obvious (Cubs), I'm thinking Detroit and Cleveland fall in this category. They both flopped in 2008 despite high expectations. At least one of those teams will rebound strongly in '09.

The Cubs will be loaded again. Can they get out of the 1st round?

What will the Yankees do? Count them out at your own peril. Girardi has a lot of pride. If they get rid of dead weight (Giambi, Abreu), and some of the touted young arms finally produce, who knows?

I think the Reds will make a few moves and be improved next year. Young bats (Votto, Bruce, Philips), some young arms ... if they could get, say, AJ Burnett, they could be dangerous. They should get in on the Peavy bidding.

Gun to my head, I'll go with an Anaheim-Cubs 2009 WS. One of these years, the Cubs will get over the hump. The Sox did in '04, right?

2009 - the year the Rangers finally win !!!
At 50 to 1, where did I put the kid's piggy bank?

Yes, It says Devil Rays, maybe next year they will suck again!

Please Please Please Please Please stop it !

Since Kansas City had the best record in September at 18-8, I'll try the Royals at 100 to 1.

Can't figure these Odds things out.How can something be determined,when you don't know the product? Maybe,someone knows that Teixera is coming?

"It's hard to say who will be favored as of right now because you don't know what's going to happen in free agency."

All you can do is assess what each team has now, and reassess as situations change. On the other hand, the Yanks could pick up Sabathia, Teixera, Guerrero, Sheets, and Manny and STILL finish third.

Glad to see the Sox are the early favs :)
Great longshot in '09>>Texas Rangers ! 50-1
They weren't far behind all year long....

put money on the reds...with that pitching, I would take a chance on them.

The Phillies might repeat in 2009... especially if Lidge stays perfect. They have a mostly young team.