The Houston Astros have seen their heavy AL West division odds take a hit in recent days as spring training games have begun and public backlash remains strong. Photo via @barstoolsports (Twitter).
To the surprise of Houston Astros owner Jim Crane (and pretty much nobody else), the firestorm of public scrutiny and backlash in the wake of the Astros sign-stealing scandal has continued to swell through the first week of spring training games.
Fans are taunting and bringing signs to games, opposing players are plunking Astros batters, and social media remains ablaze with thousands of trolls re-opening the wound of the 2017 season every day.
As a result, the three-time defending AL West champions have seen their odds of a four-peat take a bit of a hit. Houston opened at -275 in the 2020 MLB division odds. Now, they are -215 on average, and just -208 at BookMaker.eu.
Odds taken Feb. 26.
Still, Houston remains the heavy favorite, and for good reason, as explained below.
To put it bluntly, fans are not happy.
Heres a look at Jose Altuves first at-bat of the spring, against the Tigers (a team that finished dead-last in the standings and hasnt really been impacted by the sign-stealing).
Altuve was hit by a pitch during that game, one of seven Astros to be hit this spring in their first five games. Thats the most in baseball.
Heres another instance of a fan heckling Altuve, requesting to see his tattoo (an alleged bad tattoo was part of Altuves alibi for not taking his jersey off during a playoff celebration in 2018, though some believe he was hiding a buzzer under his jersey to learn what pitches were coming).
Last year, the Astros won the AL West by 10 games. In 2018, they won it by six games and, in 2017, they won it by a whopping 21 games. It is really their division to lose at this point.
And it really, really doesnt seem like theyre going to lose it. Baseball Prospectus PECOTA projections give Houston a 90.6-percent chance to win the AL West again, with a projected 98-64 record.
Fangraphs also has the Astros winning their division in its projections, with the Athletics coming up nine games short in second place.
More than fan jeers and beanballs, the greatest threat to the Astros division chances is probably the loss of ace Gerrit Cole, who signed with the New York Yankees this offseason after racking up an MLB-best 326 strikeouts and AL-best 2.50 ERA last year.
Cole is a bulldog of a player that instantly makes any team he joins significantly better. With that said, Houston still has Justin Verlander (last years Cy Young winner) and Zack Greinke (a combined 2.90 ERA over the past seven seasons).
In other words, theyre doing OK.
Look, if youre going to bet on a team other than the Astros to win the AL West, make sure you arent betting much, because you are going to lose.
The backlash theyre facing, as annoying as it is, will not stop a great team from being great, especially in a division filled with mediocre competition.
Pick: Houston Astros (-208)
NFL MLB NHL NCAAF Sports Writer
Jordan Horrobin is a sports journalist whose MLB, NHL, NFL and NCAA work has appeared in outlets such as The Athletic, MLB.com, the Detroit Free Press and more. He is currently based in Toronto, also working as a contributor for Forbes.com and a freelance editor for Sportsnet.
NFL MLB NHL NCAAF
Jordan Horrobin is a sports journalist whose MLB, NHL, NFL and NCAA work has appeared in outlets such as The Athletic, MLB.com, the Detroit Free Press and more. He is currently based in Toronto, also working as a contributor for Forbes.com and a freelance editor for Sportsnet.
See the original post:
Astros Odds to Win AL West Dropping Fast; Angels, Athletics Improve - Sports Betting Dime
