Should the New York Mets 6-1 opening day beat down of the St. Louis Cardinals on the road serve as a sign of things to come in 2007? Absolutely! There's no tougher thing to do than to get back to the World Series in consecutive seasons. Just ask the Red Birds. St. Louis made the trip in 2004 then found an early departure in 2005 before getting back to series last season.
The Mets showed opening night that they are ready to pay back the Cards for sending them home in last year's NLCS. The Mets will also learn from last season. Playing in a weak division with a huge lead can make you very lethargic down the stretch when you need to be tuning things up for the playoffs. The Mets fell into that trap last season and surely won't let it happen again.
Overall, as almost always is the case, the New York Yankees are the odds on favorites to win the 2007 World Series at 7/2 odds followed by division rival Boston Red Sox at 6/1. I don't think we are on pace for another Subway series as we saw in 2000. Heading into the season, the Yankees rotation doesn't appear to have the necessary arms to hold up throughout the regular season and the playoffs. If Roger Clemens puts on the pin stripes after the All-Star break, I could change my tune.
I hope you haven't forgotten about the Chicago White Sox. Yeah, these were the guys who won it all in 2005. You may have already forgotten if you aren't a Southside fan as Chicago didn't make the 2006 postseason despite winning 90 games. A scorching second half out of the Twins and a surprise season from the Tigers didn't give the then defending world champs a chance to defend. For the same reason that St. Louis won't get back to the series this year, the Sox didn't last year.
I love the National League because it is league which plays different styles of baseball and is asked to use more strategy because of the absence of the DH. With that being said, it's a tough pill for me to swallow saying that the Chicago White Sox are my favorite to win the 2007 World Series. There are more top notch teams in the American League right now and the American League Central is a much stronger division than the National League East. I believe this is why it was so tough for those great Atlanta Braves teams to get the job done in the 90's. I believe playing tougher competition day in and day out will get the White Sox over the hump in October.
Arizona Diamondbacks: 50/1
Atlanta Braves: 30/1
Baltimore Orioles: 90/1
Boston Red Sox: 9/1
Chicago Cubs: 9/1
Chicago White Sox: 90/1
Cincinnati Reds: 45/1
Cleveland Indians: 20/1
Colorado Rockies: 100/1
Detroit Tigers: 5/1
Florida Marlins: 35/1
Houston Astros: 35/1
Kansas City Royals: 85/1
Los Angeles Angels: 10/1
Los Angeles Dodgers: 15/1
Milwaukee Brewers: 45/1
Minnesota Twins: 22/1
New York Mets: 9/1
New York Yankees: 7/2
Oakland Athletics: 20/1
Philadelphia Phillies: 15/1
Pittsburgh Pirates: 100/1
San Diego Padres: 30/1
San Francisco Giants: 10/1
Seattle Mariners: 100/1
St Louis Cardinals: 9/1
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: 200/1
Texas Rangers: 40/1
Toronto Blue Jays: 15/1
Washington Nationals: 150/1
