Ask Vegas

You look at all of the teams still in contention in baseball, and trying to figure out who is going to be in the World Series seems ridiculous. Yet that is exactly what oddsmakers have to do all of the time, and they stay in business, so let's see what they think. Here are the ten potential World Series matchups given the best chance of happening. I'm putting them in reverse order to build a little false suspense, and I'm also guessing what the mainstream storyline will be, and what it should be.

10. Houston vs the Yankees 18-1
Mainstream Story: Clemens finishes his career with an epic battle in Texas.
Real Story: Astros have a big bullpen advantage.

8 tie. Cubs vs. New York 15-1
Mainstream Story: Hapless big market club vs. the legendary big market club.
Real Story: Cubs have advantage in starting pitching.

8 tie. Atlanta vs. Minnesota 15-1
Mainstream Story: Replay of the 1991 World Series.
Real Story: Two teams in similar sized markets, one who has used it as a foundation to build a powerhouse, the other has attempted to bleed their town dry.

7. San Francisco vs. Minnesota 13-1
Mainstream Story: A great opportunity for Barry.
Real Story: A great opportunity for Barry.

6. Atlanta vs. Boston 10-1
Mainstream Story: Some team with Boston roots will win.
Real Story: The two highest scoring teams in baseball.

5. San Francisco vs. Boston 9-1
Mainstream Story: Bonds who's never won vs. the Sox who never win.
Real Story: This is really Mainstream Story II, but it's too cool to pass up: replay of the 1912 World Series.

4. Atlanta vs. Oakland 8-1
Mainstream Story: The Braves semi-Dynasty vs. Billyball
Real Story: Two great franchises with shitty fans.

2 tie. San Francisco vs. Oakland 6-1
Mainstream Story: Earthquake II.
Real Story: This is tougher than I thought. Bonds vs. Billyball?

2 tie. Atlanta vs. New York 6-1
Mainstream Story: You need to be rich to win.
Real Story: Ugh! The one series that no one wants to see.

And the big winner is (I was surprised) . . .

1. San Francisco vs. the Yankees 4-1
Mainstream Story: Bonds in the Big Apple
Real Story: Go Barry!

The odds will change dramatically once the playoff teams are set. Whoever

Damnit! Todd Walker just made his 17th error of the season! That bastard should never be let on a field except to run around the bases.

Whoever becomes the NL wildcard team will certainly creep into there somewhere.

Had a great idea today: If the baseball series are set early enough, I'm going to put together BAP previews of them. I'm thinking Sox-A's is pretty safe, provided that Walker has some kind of accident. And while I'm at it, Millar returned to the Sox lineup today after being out with food posioning. Has there ever been a team that lost four players in a pennant race to SICKNESS? Millar joins Pedro, Manny, and Nomar in the Doctor's Note Club.

Going to flick the channels between the Sox and Va Tech - Texas A&M.

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