What’s a Good Pay Per Head for Baseball?
Our friends at WagerHome.com are offering one of the best Pay Per Head businesses for the new Baseball season (2014) here plus they give us some insight into the verdict on Sydney and how the Dodgers could go unopposed in NL West.
As PPH bettors at WagerHome.com were able to see, baseball really triumphed recently in the form of the "Opening Series," which was played in Australia, breaking new ground for MLB as an entity. It was truly miraculous what they were able to do with the Sydney Cricket Grounds, converting it into a major league-caliber baseball field, and there were special events that took place aside from the pair of games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
For example, Ryan Rowland-Smith, who pitches for Arizona but was born in Sydney, threw an inning for Team Australia against the Dodgers in an exhibition game before the regular series started. That was cool. And all the major league baseball players from Australia who could be found (don't joke – there are over 20 of them) were honored.
As for the games themselves, the Los Angeles Dodgers executed a two-game sweep, which already puts them on top of the National League West. The question on the minds of PPH baseball bettors is, will they ever relinquish that lead?
We are actually being semi--serious there. The Dodgers have probably replaced the New York Yankees as the Best Team Money Can Buy. And why not? They did sell for a record price before the start of last season.
Just to give you a rundown on where the Dodgers stand at WagerHome.com, they are the very clear favorites to win the World Series, priced at +450, with the Detroit Tigers coming next at +700 and the Washington Nationals at +750. One of the reasons is that they are perceived to have perhaps the easiest time getting out of their division (the NL West), where they are -260 favorites in the baseball futures odds.
We would like to be able to tell you that there is another team that could challenge them, but we are not seeing it at the moment.
Some baseball bettors might disagree, but we simply don't believe in the ability of Tim Lincecum to once again be a formidable pitcher for the San Francisco Giants (+300 at WagerHome to win the NL West), and we even have our doubts as to whether he can be a serviceable one. Pitchers with small frames who throw heat have a tendency to develop physical problems that don't facilitate them lasting very long, and that could be the case with Lincecum. We are not necessarily saying that just because he got blasted for 11 hits, seven runs and three homers against Kansas City in an exhibition game on Sunday, although we are figuring that doesn't show good form.
Just look at the progress, or lack of same. After two Cy Young award-winning seasons and two pretty good years after that, he has posted earned-run averages of 5.18 and 4.37 the last two seasons. His innings are down. His strikeouts are down. His record is 20-29 over the last two campaigns. So if San Francisco is counting on him to be even a fourth starter, they might eventually have to look in another direction for answers.
The newly-acquired Tim Hudson is coming off a broken ankle, and Matt Cain had a mediocre season at best in 2013. Of course, the Giants are always found wanting for offense. So where does that leave them?
The Diamondbacks (+700 at WagerHome.com to win the division) should be much more interesting offensively, now that they have acquired Mark Trumbo from the Angels, and he will combine with Paul Goldschmidt (36 homers, 125 RBI) to be among the most potent 1-2 combinations in the majors. But the jury is very much out on this pitching staff; Brandon McCarthy and Trevor Cahill would help Arizona's hopes for wild-card if they could come through on the back end of the rotation.
The Colorado Rockies (+1500 in PPH baseball betting to win the division) did their level best to add a lot of pitching in the off-season, trying to strengthen the bullpen, and we do look for some improvement there. But former AL MVP Justin Morneau, who was a new face here, is a real question mark as to achieving respectable levels of offense. Believe us, that's no slam dunk. And keeping Troy Tulowitzki healthy is always a chore. The Rockies don't have enough. And the San Diego Padres (+1000 at WagerHome in the NL West) really don't have enough payroll to compete. It would be nice to get to get a monster year out of Josh Johnson to combine with some promising young arms, but then there is the problem of scoring enough runs to make those arms really pay off.
When you look at the Dodgers, you are looking at a team that can take Chris Perez and Brian Wilson out of the bullpen just to set things up for the closer, Kenley Jensen. Those are on the days when Cy Young winners Clayton Kershaw or Zach Greinke don't take the ball and go eight innings or so. Sure, they need someone at the back end of their rotation, and if Josh Beckett comes through, it's a bonus. But what can you say about a team that has such an embarrassment of riches in the outfield that they have to ask questions about whether Andre Ethier or Carl Crawford will be in the lineup? We're not telling baseball bettors at WagerHome that the Dodgers don't have any potential holes, but in the second half of the season they went through a stretch that was as dominant as any team in recent years.
And that could happen again. We see Dan Haren as a possible key; he has, by and large, been a much better pitcher after the All-Star break, when the Dodgers will really need him. If he is not certifiably slowed down at age 33, he strengthens a rotation that could take this team all the way to a World Series title.
What do you think?
Follow us and join the discussion on Twitter:
