A group weblog for Oakland A's fans
Saturday, March 13, 2004
Flores dealt to Dodgers
In an incredibly minor move, reserve infielder Jose Flores was sent to the Dodgers for cash. Flores is already on the wrong side of 30 and he isn't even on the 40-man roster, despite putting up a decent batting average and drawing good reviews for his defense at Sacramento. The most important thing about this trade is that it may herald the opening of a two-way shuttle between Oakland and Los Angeles (now run by Beane protege Paul DePodesta), much in the same manner as the A's have become frequent trading partners with Toronto since J.P. Ricciardi became the GM there.
In an incredibly minor move, reserve infielder Jose Flores was sent to the Dodgers for cash. Flores is already on the wrong side of 30 and he isn't even on the 40-man roster, despite putting up a decent batting average and drawing good reviews for his defense at Sacramento. The most important thing about this trade is that it may herald the opening of a two-way shuttle between Oakland and Los Angeles (now run by Beane protege Paul DePodesta), much in the same manner as the A's have become frequent trading partners with Toronto since J.P. Ricciardi became the GM there.
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Nevada Odds for A's to Win 2004 World Series
I went Skiing at Homewood near Lake Tahoe Tuesday, it was beatiful. We stayed in Reno monday night and just for fun I looked at the Sports book odds for the A's to win the World Series. They had the A's at 10:1. That is the worst odds I have seen for the A's in March for the last 3 years. Maybe it is a good year to sneak up on everyone. I woulda put $5 on them to win it, but it was 2 am and the sportsbook was closed. I noticed the Cubs, Yankees, Angels, Astros, M's and Red Sox were the only teams with odds less than 10:1. I didn't write down the list but here are some of the odds from www.vegas.com
What strikes me is that Vegas thinks the Pirates are ten times worse than the Padres? If you wanted
a "longshot" to pay I guess the Reds and the Pirates are a better bet than the Brewers, but all 3 of
those teams play in the NL central which looks like it will be dominated by the Cubs and Astros, I guess
causing the huge odds for the other teams in the NL central. If I wanted a "safer" bet which still paid
pretty good, how about the A's at 12:1, Giants at 15:1 or the Marlins at 17:1? Those teams are not 6x
to 8x worse than the Yankees. In the last official game played those Marlins dominated the Yankees. It
wasn't that big a fluke.
I went Skiing at Homewood near Lake Tahoe Tuesday, it was beatiful. We stayed in Reno monday night and just for fun I looked at the Sports book odds for the A's to win the World Series. They had the A's at 10:1. That is the worst odds I have seen for the A's in March for the last 3 years. Maybe it is a good year to sneak up on everyone. I woulda put $5 on them to win it, but it was 2 am and the sportsbook was closed. I noticed the Cubs, Yankees, Angels, Astros, M's and Red Sox were the only teams with odds less than 10:1. I didn't write down the list but here are some of the odds from www.vegas.com
Yankees 2:1
Red Sox 5:2
Cubs 3:1
Angels 7:1
Astros 8:1
Mariners 8:1
Dbacks 10:1
A's 12:1
Giants 15:1
Marlins 17:1
Padres 20:1
Blue Jays 35:1
Reds 120:1
Pirates 200:1
Brewers 300:1
What strikes me is that Vegas thinks the Pirates are ten times worse than the Padres? If you wanted
a "longshot" to pay I guess the Reds and the Pirates are a better bet than the Brewers, but all 3 of
those teams play in the NL central which looks like it will be dominated by the Cubs and Astros, I guess
causing the huge odds for the other teams in the NL central. If I wanted a "safer" bet which still paid
pretty good, how about the A's at 12:1, Giants at 15:1 or the Marlins at 17:1? Those teams are not 6x
to 8x worse than the Yankees. In the last official game played those Marlins dominated the Yankees. It
wasn't that big a fluke.
