Speaking of futures...
DiscreetCat
Moderator
Putting on my "Peter Gammons" hat for a moment here. I'm not sure how close you guys follow baseball, or even if you have access to betting baseball, but i just made a future bet last week on the Seattle Mariners to win the AL pennant @ 35/1. I believe it was the best price in town when i took it, and the same place has dropped then down to 27/1 when i checked earlier tonight, but i'm not sure what price you can get then at online (if you guys are into that sort of thing).
Here's my rationale. The M's are a much-improved club this year, and i've found myself betting on them far more often than any other team this year. That's due largely to their fantastic pitching, which now (in addition to King Felix) includes the rookie phenom Michael Pineda and a finally-healthy Erik Bedard. In my opinion, if the M's can make it into the post-season, those "Big Three" starters can make them extremely dangerous in any playoff series. What the Mariners lack is offense, and even that may be about to improve, as their prized minor league prospect Dustin Ackley is being called up this week. Who knows what effect that will have (or even if the kid will stick), but it can probably be considered a positive going forward, at least at this point in time. There's also a chance the M's could land a trade for some offense as the trade deadline nears, if they're still in contention.
The main issue figures to be the continued health of Bedard, as we all know that guy could go down at any time, but right now he looks as good as he has since his Oriole days.
This team has a very legitimate chance to win their division, and if they can do it, and then win just a single playoff series, you'd be looking at a whale of a ticket 35/1 with just one series left to go. Obviously, you could turn around at that point and just bet the other side, and turn a big profit either way. Seems like excellent value on a team that, for the moment, is still flying way underneath the radar.
Here's my rationale. The M's are a much-improved club this year, and i've found myself betting on them far more often than any other team this year. That's due largely to their fantastic pitching, which now (in addition to King Felix) includes the rookie phenom Michael Pineda and a finally-healthy Erik Bedard. In my opinion, if the M's can make it into the post-season, those "Big Three" starters can make them extremely dangerous in any playoff series. What the Mariners lack is offense, and even that may be about to improve, as their prized minor league prospect Dustin Ackley is being called up this week. Who knows what effect that will have (or even if the kid will stick), but it can probably be considered a positive going forward, at least at this point in time. There's also a chance the M's could land a trade for some offense as the trade deadline nears, if they're still in contention.
The main issue figures to be the continued health of Bedard, as we all know that guy could go down at any time, but right now he looks as good as he has since his Oriole days.
This team has a very legitimate chance to win their division, and if they can do it, and then win just a single playoff series, you'd be looking at a whale of a ticket 35/1 with just one series left to go. Obviously, you could turn around at that point and just bet the other side, and turn a big profit either way. Seems like excellent value on a team that, for the moment, is still flying way underneath the radar.