Baseball Handicapping Articles

2012 MLB Predictions: NL Central Outlook and Betting Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/26/2012

Defending champion St. Louis is hoping that the losses of Tony LaRussa and Albert Pujols can be overcome with ease. Chicago is hoping that a new general manager will magically be able to transform this loser organization and get the Cubs their first World Series win since the horse-and-buggy were all the rage. Pittsburgh is hoping that its cup of tea in first place last July is a sign of good things to come and Cincinnati is hoping that it can bounce back and fulfill the promise that its 2010 division title seemed to bring.

2012 MLB Predictions: AL East Outlook and Betting Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/23/2012

I feel like Major League Baseball added an extra Wild Card spot in each league this season just to give someone outside of the American League East an actual chance at the postseason. Or maybe they just wanted to give some of the other teams inside the East – which has been responsible for five straight AL Wild Card teams and eight of the last nine – a shot.

2012 MLB Predictions: NL East Outlook and Betting Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/23/2012

The 2012 NL East looks like it is shaping up as a contest between the old guard and the scrappy upstarts. Philadelphia and Atlanta have won the division title every year but one over the last 20 seasons. However, these aging organizations will be challenged by the young, up-and-coming rosters building in Miami and Washington, who are looking to overtake the men at the top and usher in a new reign in the East.

2012 MLB Predictions: AL West Outlook and Betting Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/21/2012

The poor, poor Seattle Mariners. It’s going to be a long season for the boys in the Pacific Northwest because, through no fault of their own, they now find themselves in the middle of a clash of titans. The Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers are both gearing up for what should be one of the most competitive and best division title races in recent AL West memory.

2012 MLB Odds: Season Pitching Props and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 3/8/2012

We are now less than three weeks from the first regular-season baseball game of the year –Opening Day is Thursday, April 5, but the Mariners and A’s play two official games in Japan starting March 28 – so it’s time to really roll out the MLB props stories in between all of the March Madness stuff heading your way. Today, I will look at various pitching totals props for the season, with odds provided by Sportsbook.com.

MLB Handicapping: Potential Breakout Pitchers
by T.O. Whenham - 3/7/2012

Every year in baseball there are a handful of pitchers who take a dramatic step forward in their productivity. It could be that they are young pitchers that have yet to establish themselves who become productive throwers. Or it could be that solid pitchers develop into great ones. Or maybe a journeyman pitcher suddenly finds a new level and outperforms what we have come to expect from him.

MLB Handicapping: Betting Season-to-Season Fluctuations
by Darin Zank - 3/6/2012

How often do we see this in baseball: team plays above expectations one season, but then takes a step back the next? Or a team plays way below expectations one season, but bounces back the next? From what I can figure this happens to about eight to 10 teams every year. The prime examples from last year would be the San Diego Padres, who a season after shocking most of the baseball world by winning 90 games came back to Earth by going 71-91. And the Cincinnati Reds, who unexpectedly won 91 games in 2010, went 79-83 last year.

2012 MLB Predictions: Home Run Leader Odds and Betting Picks
by Alan Matthews - 3/1/2012

It’s time to eat a little crow here. About this time a year ago, I wrote the Home Run Leader Odds story for the 2011 Major League Baseball season. Well, let’s just cut to the chase. I wrote: “Sportsbook.com lists (Toronto’s Jose) Bautista at +1500 to repeat as the MLB home run champion, but that is clearly wasted money. I’m not saying Bautista is completely a one-year wonder, but I’d be stunned if he ever hits more than 35 homers again. And with Vernon Wells having been traded, that’s just one more reason for pitchers to pitch around Bautista.”

MLB Futures Odds: Gauging Public Overreaction
by T.O. Whenham - 2/21/2012

With the start of each new baseball season there is one certainty on which you can rely — that the betting public will dramatically overreact to the offseason had by several teams. In some cases they will assume that teams will be headed for a 162-0 record because they have improved so much. After a rough winter, though, the assumption will be that other teams will be lucky to win 20 games.

MLB Futures Odds: Potential Longshot Payouts
by T.O. Whenham - 2/15/2012

Baseball is a sport, more than some others, in which teams can rise from the gutter one season to the penthouse the next. The Twins twice climbed from the basement one year to World Series champs the next — in 1987 and 1991. Florida was below .500 the year before both of their titles. Tampa Bay won 66 games in 2007 and won the American League the next year. Last year, Arizona won the NL West after consecutive last-place finishes. The list goes on and on.

MLB Baseball Odds and Predictions: Prince Fielder Betting Props
by Alan Matthews - 1/26/2012

Major League Baseball’s pitchers and catchers report in about a month, and it has been a memorable offseason indeed. Albert Pujols shocked the experts by leaving the champion St. Louis Cardinals for the Los Angeles Angels, who also plucked free-agent pitcher C.J. Wilson from the division-rival Rangers to become AL favorites.

MLB Odds and Predictions: Where Does Albert Pujols Land?
by Alan Matthews - 10/31/2011

It has already been a tumultuous offseason for the world champion St. Louis Cardinals, with manager Tony La Russa surprisingly retiring on Monday rather than come back to defend the Cards’ title. Yet I guarantee you that any Cardinal fan would take the trade off of losing La Russa but being able to bring back franchise icon Albert Pujols, who is now a free agent for the first time in his lock Hall of Fame career.

World Series Picks: Rangers vs. Cardinals Betting Odds
by Darin Zank - 10/18/2011

It's not the most glamorous of World Series matchups, but it’s a meeting of two pretty good teams and could feature a lot of scoring when the American League champion Texas Rangers take on the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals starting with Game 1 Wednesday night in St. Louis. Here's a quick breakdown of these two teams, the various matchups and our fearless World Series picks

Texas Rangers vs. Detroit Tigers – ALCS Odds and Betting Predictions
by Darin Zank - 10/7/2011

The defending American League Champion Texas Rangers are one more series victory away from returning to the World Series. The Detroit Tigers are four wins away from making it back to the Series for the second time in the last six seasons. So it's Texas and Detroit in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series, which starts with game 1 Saturday in Arlington.

MLB Picks: Diamondbacks vs. Brewers NLDS Odds and Predictions
by Darin Zank - 9/30/2011

The most surprising of all playoff-bound baseball teams of this season is the Arizona Diamondbacks, who, after finishing last in the NL West the last two seasons, won the division this year. The Milwaukee Brewers, meanwhile, parlayed a couple of key off-season pitching pick-ups with a couple of MVP-type seasons from Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder into the NL Central championship.

MLB Picks: Tigers vs. Yankees: ALDS Odds and Predictions
by Darin Zank - 9/30/2011

The American League regular season ended with a bang Wednesday night, with late-night drama in Baltimore and Tampa. Now the AL playoffs begin with a battle of division champions as the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees hook up for a best-of-five divisional-round series starting Friday night in the Bronx.

AL Wild-Card Race Predictions: The Final Day of MLB Season
by Darin Zank - 9/28/2011

On Sept. 2 the Boston Red Sox led the Tampa Bay Rays by nine games in American League Wild-Card standings. Since then the Sox have lost 17 of 24 games, while Tampa has won 16 of 24. So as we go into the final day of the regular season the slumping Sox and surging Rays are tied atop the Wild-Card standings.

MLB Picks: Giants at Diamondbacks Series Odds and Predictions
by Darin Zank - 9/23/2011

It's last-gasp time for the San Francisco Giants as they try to defend their World Series title of last season. Meanwhile, it's almost champagne time for the Arizona Diamondbacks, as they close in on clinching the National League West title. Combine those two storylines and you've got the makings of some good baseball when the D-Backs host the Giants for a three-game series at Chase Field starting Friday night.

MLB Odds: Rays at Yankees Series Predictions and Baseball Picks
by Darin Zank - 9/20/2011

The New York Yankees lead the American League's East Division as they close in on securing the top seed in the upcoming American League playoffs. The surging Tampa Bay Rays are trying to track down the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild-Card race. So there's a lot at stake as the Rays and Yanks meet for a key four-game series in the Bronx starting Tuesday night, which includes a day-night doubleheader on Wednesday.

2011 World Series Matchup Odds and Predictions
by Darin Zank - 9/19/2011

The field has been narrowed in this year's chase for a World Series championship, so our attention has returned to World Series futures odds. And while some of us might consider the prices on the Philadelphia Phillies or New York Yankees to win the Fall Classic too short to play, we might want to take a shot on a better payout by picking the World Series matchup. Fortunately, 5Dimes is offering World Series odds for just that proposition.