02-06-2002, 03:56 AM
I, being a baseball bettor mostly, have already come up with a juicy longshot since all you guys seem to love the longshots.
Padres 30-1 to win the NL
Something about the NL just brings out the longshots. Last year I took a flier on the Marlins that didn't do much, but this year I think I have found a big gem. This team looks to be the best of the West. I think the DBacks will fall back to the pack and no one else scares me out of the division. If they survive that, I think the Padres are in great shape. They should have an excellent rotation that goes 5 deep, something most NL teams will lack this year. Their outfield looks fairly strong if Ray Lankford can regain some form and they have two very good young middle infielders that will have productive years provided they don't start out error prone. I really like the way the team was built patiently, but I think Towers and Bochy are going to start expecting things right now. They spent the money on Nevin and they still keep big luxury Hoffman around, I don't think they will accept being close to a .500 team any longer. Besides Towers has tons of bait in the minors and he isn't afraid to use it to get contributors mid-season if he can win. All in all this is a highly underrated team and it won't take that much to win the NL, despite the Mets and their little spending spree they are still throwing Steve Trachsel for goodness sakes! At 30-1 I love the value and think at the very least you are looking at a good bet to win the division at a price. Bet it early because futures are usually only good value until around the start of spring training when they start getting action.
Padres 30-1 to win the NL
Something about the NL just brings out the longshots. Last year I took a flier on the Marlins that didn't do much, but this year I think I have found a big gem. This team looks to be the best of the West. I think the DBacks will fall back to the pack and no one else scares me out of the division. If they survive that, I think the Padres are in great shape. They should have an excellent rotation that goes 5 deep, something most NL teams will lack this year. Their outfield looks fairly strong if Ray Lankford can regain some form and they have two very good young middle infielders that will have productive years provided they don't start out error prone. I really like the way the team was built patiently, but I think Towers and Bochy are going to start expecting things right now. They spent the money on Nevin and they still keep big luxury Hoffman around, I don't think they will accept being close to a .500 team any longer. Besides Towers has tons of bait in the minors and he isn't afraid to use it to get contributors mid-season if he can win. All in all this is a highly underrated team and it won't take that much to win the NL, despite the Mets and their little spending spree they are still throwing Steve Trachsel for goodness sakes! At 30-1 I love the value and think at the very least you are looking at a good bet to win the division at a price. Bet it early because futures are usually only good value until around the start of spring training when they start getting action.