The Houston Astros are +480 to win the World Series Joe Morgan Jersey , meaning $100 would win you $480.so there's still some value in backing the Astros.Baseball has hit the pause button on the 2018 season for the All-Star break. But before action resumes on Thursday, let take a look at the odds to win the World Series and determine which team is offering bettors the most value.Betting the 2018 Home Run Derby: Staff SelectionsRead nowTo determine a team probability of winning the World Series, we created a consensus projection using simulations from FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus. To find value, we then compared the model results to the betting odds.For example, the Boston Red Sox are +445 to win it all. In order for us to feel comfortable wagering on the Red Sox, they need to win it all 18.3% of the time the math is 100/(445+100). That’s how you calculate implied probability.But Boston is projected to win the World Series 11.3% of the time Dave Concepcion Jersey , meaning there is no value in placing a bet at +445 odds.So who is offering value? Let’s take a look below. As always, be sure to shop around to find the best odds before placing a bet.Houston AstrosCurrent odds: +480, Implied Probability: 17.2%Projections: Astros win the World Series 21.2% of the timeHouston has the best run differential in baseball (+188). The offense is one of five teams averaging five or more runs per game and is top three in Weighted Runs Created Plus (+114), a metric that quantifies total offensive value.The offense is clicking, but it’s the pitching staff that makes this team special. Last year, the Cleveland Indians finished with the highest pitching WAR total of all time (31.7). The Astros hurlers have 19.2 WAR at the All-Star break, which puts them on pace to flirt with that record. Houston 10.49 strikeouts per nine and 28.9% strikeout rate would also top records set by Cleveland a year ago.The ‘Stros are a lock to make the playoffs (99.9% per the models) and are the most likely team to win the World Series, according to the consensus projections. There hasn’t been a back-to-back champion in baseball since the Yankees won three straight from 1998-2000 http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-cliff-pennington-jersey , but I’m betting the Astros at +480 to pull off the feat.Other teams offering bettors value: Los Angeles Dodgers (+895) and Cleveland Indians (+1275).2018 World Series OddsBelow are each team鈥檚 odds and projected chance to win the World Series: KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Josh Donaldson plans to play in his first spring training game for the Atlanta Braves on Friday night against Philadelphia.After being slowed by injuries for two seasons, the 33-year-old third baseman signed a $23 million, one-year contract with the Braves and spent the first two weeks of the exhibition season strengthening his legs, feet and toes. He also tried to “to clean up some running technique issues that I’ve had in the past.”“It’s been awesome to come out here every day and to be able put some quality work in, and not have to tend to the calf,” he said. “Last year I had some shoulder issues to where I wasn’t really going into the season feeling right.”The 2015 AL MVP award winner with Toronto, Donaldson was limited to 113 games in 2017 and 52 games last season Ken Griffey Jersey , when he was traded from the Blue Jays to Cleveland on Aug. 31.Donaldson likely will get two plate appearances Friday, then not play Saturday. He doesn’t have a set amount of plate appearances in mind for spring training.“The last week or so I’ve been kind of chomping at the bit,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of conversations and we’re just trying to be smart about everything, check all the boxes off. I’m looking forward to be being able to go out there and play.”

All of Jose Ramirez’s helmets http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-chad-bettis-jersey , "Normal people who follow other sports or enjoy the -3 degree weather when baseball isn’t in season might not know the joy of the annual truck day. But you’re here, so I know you get it. Today is the day for the Cleveland Indians, when all of their equipment is loaded onto trucks and a bunch of reporters gather round to photograph it and feed the images to baseball-starved fans on the internet. For one beautiful day, we can all stop arguing about the outfield and enjoy the sight of that big, beautiful baseball pi ata rolling down Interstate 44 on its cross-country trip. You won’t hear that wonderful sound of the first fastball hitting a catcher’s glove until pitchers and catchers report on February 12, but for now you can rejoice that the wheels of the 2019 baseball season are in motion. Literally and figuratively. I’ll be posting and grading the tweets as they come in from beat writers covering this momentousness occasion, because I’m inside on a nice comfy chair and not leaving any time soon. A few nice shots of the loading process. Points off for not showing the outside of the truck. Even if it’s inaccessible to media right now, I expect folks to be rapelling down nearby buildings to get a clean shot. Bring me pictures of Spider-Man that truck.Grade: B-A minimalist approach to covering truck day. What does the scooter mean? Is it a metaphor for baseball “scooting” us through life? Are the Indians on the verge of acquiring Scooter Ginnet and Zack Meisel has inside knowledge? What does it mean?!Oh, right. Tito rides it around and it’s fucking rad. Grade: AThis scooter picture took an extra half-hour to get out, but the time was worth it. Better lighting and a better crop; less background noise. Grade: A+THIRD SCOOTER PICTURE, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I apparently started the bar way too high on pictures of Tito’s scooter, because this is by far the best. There are also some alternate angles of the inside of the truck. Just a work of art all around. Grade: A+Somebody really screwed the pooch on this one. Managed to get a lingering shot of the plain, advertisement on the rear truck and completely missed the Tribe branded leader of the caravan. Entire baseball reason is now ruined. Grade: D- They are mostly fine, with one that I’m not wild about."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Red Sox StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Red Sox NewsYahoo Red Sox Team PageYahoo Red Sox ReportYahoo Red Sox Depth ChartYahoo Red Sox TransactionsYahoo Red Sox PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub 鉁昅LB RoundupMLB Roundup 3/14: MLB, Players agree to new rules for 2019 and 2020New Greg Holland Jersey ,7commentsThey are mostly fine, with one that I’m not wild about.EDTShareTweetShareShareMLB Roundup 3/14: MLB, Players agree to new rules for 2019 and 2020Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY SportsRules Changes set for 2019 and 2020The league and the players don’t agree on a hell of a lot right now, and the economic side of the game is in for a reckoning very, very soon. Sometimes, when you’re looking ahead to negotiations that are sure to be contentious like the ones for baseball’s economic system, it can be helpful to start with something a bit smaller. If you can agree on the smaller stuff, then you can start to work your way up with some semblance of good faith for you to hang your hat on. That’s what MLB and the MLBPA have done, having reached an agreement for rule changes that will be implemented either for the upcoming season or for the 2020 season. All of this comes from ESPN’s Jeff Passan, who broke the news Wednesday night. Let’s go one-by-one and look at the changes.Starting this year, the All-Star game voting will be changed to an Election Day style format. We discussed this not too long ago when it was first rumored, and I still pretty much have the same thoughts. Basically, it’s fine I guess. Their hope is that it will put their stars on a bigger stage and allow them to better market the best and most exciting players. I’m not sure it will work as well as they hope, but its nice to at least see them trying to market their stars more.Sticking with All-Star weekend, the two sides have agreed to up the Home Run Derby prize to a cool $1 million. Here, they are hoping to get more stars to participate in the headlining event of All-Star weekend. Again http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-chad-bettis-jersey , I am good with that. There will be no more August waiver deadline, ridding us of one of the more confusing aspects of the summer. Now, the league will have just the single trade deadline on July 31, meaning acquisitions like Justin Verlander to the Astros a couple of years ago won’t be possible. Their hope is that this will make the July 31 deadline more exciting, as teams will now be forced to make decisions on their season by that date. They’re not going to get this much coverage, but looking at the NBA trade deadline and NFL free agency and it’s not hard to see why MLB wants to get more out of its most exciting transaction period on the calendar. I like this one as well.The changes for 2020 are even more extreme. For one thing, teams will get an extra roster spot for the entire season. This one’s pretty straight forward. Extra spots are good. The will also be eliminating the 40-man rosters in September, instead reducing the expanded roster size to only 28. That still gives teams a chance to add a couple extra players, but not nearly to the same extreme extent. I have gone back and forth on this a million times. I understand the positives for the expanded rosters, but ultimately I think it’s wild that the most important month of the regular season is played under drastically different rules. I think this is more good than bad.The change that is likely to be most controversial is the implementation of the three-batter minimum for pitchers. So, essentially, we won’t see any one-batter specialists starting in 2020. I don’t really like this one, though I’m open to seeing it in action. I’m curious how they battle fake injury claims to get around this rule. For what it’s worth, players didn’t technically agree to this one, but instead just agreed to not fight it when the league unilaterally implements it. In return, the league tabled the implementation of a pitch clock.Players are now going to be designated as position players http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-chad-bettis-jersey , pitchers or two-way players, and position players will only be allowed to pitch in extra-inning games or a game with a run differential of seven or more. In concert with the the three-batter minimum I think this could work, and I like it. Call me a curmudgeon but we’ve seen way too many position players pitching of late. It’s fun when it’s a novelty, but not so much when it’s happening somewhere every night.Most importantly, the two sides have agreed to start negotiations on the economic stuff soon. That is a huge deal, as the CBA doesn’t expire until the end of 2021, and typically negotiations wouldn’t begin for at least a year. Clearly it is understood that these are going to be intense and important negotiations, and while starting early won’t guarantee an agreement before the CBA expires it is a good sign.Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY SportsTony Sipp agrees to one-year deal with NationalsBefore the rule changes were announced, the big news for the day was another reliever signing with a team that is not the Red Sox. That would be Tony Sipp, who agreed to a one-year deal worth $1 million with Washington. Sipp is someone that many around these parts have mentioned of late as the best non-Kimbrel arm on the market. That was probably true, but says more about the market at this point than Sipp’s talent. The former Astros lefty is fine, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not sure he provides a chance at finding a third late-inning arm for this team, which is what they really need in this writer’s opinion. I certainly wouldn’t have objected had the Red Sox signed him to this deal, but I’m not sure it’s too big of a deal that they didn’t.

MESA Robbie Grossman Jersey , Ariz. (AP) — his hair cut in a Mohawk style.After Friday’s efficient outing, the right-hander will likely keep it trimmed.Gray retired all nine Oakland Athletics batters he faced on 30 pitches at Hohokam Stadium in his second spring start. He struck out three.“It felt efficient, it felt like I was getting strike one, attacking the zone, not picking around the zone so much,” Gray said. “I was just going after guys and throwing every pitch for strikes. My defense was great behind me and saved a couple hits. It made it really clean.”Gray has been the Rockies’ opening day starter the past two years and wouldn’t mind getting the call this season when Colorado opens against the Miami Marlins on March 28. He went 12-9 with a 5.12 ERA in 31 starts last year. Rockies manager Bud Black may consider Kyle Freeland (17-7, 2.85 ERA) or German Marquez (14-11, 3.77 ERA) as well.“I would love to (start opening day) but we’ve got a really good group of guys,” Gray said. “After the years Freeland and Marquez had last year, I’m hoping everybody brings their ‘A’ game this year and I know we’ll finish well in the end.”It worked last season as the Rockies reached the postseason for the second consecutive year, securing a wild-card berth. The Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card game, but lost to the Milwaukee Brewers in the Division Series.Gray said the Rockies are motivated this season.“It’s an unspoken thing Kyle Gibson Jersey ,” he said. “It’s what all of us expect and probably what we expect of each other. I don’t have to be like, ‘Hey, I wonder if everyone is thinking the same thing I am this year’ because we’re right there. That’s all we’ve been thinking about the whole offseason. It’s that time of the year, we’re excited to play, get out there and see what we’ve got.”So, what about his hair? Gray usually has long, blonde hair sticking out from under his cap. In 2017, he had eight inches cut to donate to “Locks of Love”, a public nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children who have medical long-term hair loss.This time, Gray’s hair wasn’t long enough to donate, but it was long enough to force him to get a trim a few days ago. However, that wasn’t good enough.“It didn’t look the way I thought it would so I said Logan Morrison Jersey , ‘You know what, let’s go get another one,'” Gray said. “Let’s take it a little bit shorter, we’ll do a mohawk and let it ride out a little bit. Sure enough, today I had a good game so it’s going to stay, it’s going to stay for a little bit.”NOTES: Manager Bud Black was not with the team but in San Diego to be with his daughter for the arrival of his first grandchild. Bench coach Mike Redmond was the acting manager against the Athletics. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Blake Snell didn’t stick around long enough to win his 10th straight start, but the Tampa Bay Rays left-hander felt he solidified his chances for the Cy Young Award in his final appearance.The Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 on Saturday night.“I feel like I have a pretty good case,” said Snell, who leads the American League in wins (21) and ERA (1.89). “They’re going to pick who they pick. I don’t have a say, but the work that I did put together, it’s a great case to have.”Snell gave up a run in the first inning and left after five with the score tied at 1. He gave up three hits and four walks (three in the first inning) and struck out 10.“Three walks in the first inning Orlando Arcia Jersey , that’s rough,” he said. “I’ve got to be in the zone more, but in between that was very good. I’m happy the way the season ended.”Snell, whose last loss came on July 12, finished with a 21-5 record. In 14 starts at home, he never gave up more than two runs and finished with an ERA of 1.27. He was trying to become the first pitcher to win 10 straight starts within a season since Justin Verlander with Detroit in 2011.The last 10 pitchers to lead the American League in wins and ERA won the Cy Young Award, and Rays manager Kevin Cash thinks Snell will make it 11.“There’s really not much debate, in my opinion,” Cash said.Diego Castillo (4-2) got the win with two innings of relief. Sergio Romo pitched the ninth for his 25th save despite giving up a pinch-hit homer to Reese McGuire.C.J. Cron’s 30th homer got Tampa Bay on the board in the second against Toronto starter Ryan Borucki (4-6), and Austin Meadows put the Rays ahead for the first time with another homer off Borucki in the seventh.It was the sixth homer of the season and the first as a Ray for Meadows, who was acquired along with pitcher Tyler Glasnow in the July 31 trade that sent pitcher Chris Archer to Pittsburgh.Jon Berti led off the game with an infield single, stole second and scored the run off Snell on Rowdy Tellez’s sacrifice fly.With Snell out of the game Jonathan Villar Jersey , Teoscar Hernandez hit his 22nd home run off Castillo to put the Blue Jays up 2-1.Tommy Pham led off the Tampa Bay sixth with a single, extending to 31 his streak of games in which he has reached base safely, the longest active streak in the majors. He scored on Brandon Lowe’s two-out single, tying it at 2 in the sixth.Borucki gave up four runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings, and finished September 1-3 despite a 2.65 ERA over 34 innings.“It was just good to prove myself and get that confidence that I can get these guys out, these hitters out,” said the rookie left-hander. “For so long you think these guys are invincible and they never get out, but just being up here and just really proving to myself I can do this is definitely a confidence boost going into ’19.”RUSSELL’S REIGNBlue Jays manager John Gibbons has decided to let 35-year-old catcher Russell Martin manage the team in Sunday’s regular-season finale. “I’m having a little fun with it,” Gibbons said. “Let him see how tough it is.”Martin hasn’t played since Sept. 3 because Toronto is looking at younger catchers.The team announced Wednesday that Gibbons will not return as manager next season.TRAINER’S ROOMBlue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada, bothered by lower back soreness, will not make his final scheduled start Sunday. “We talked about it,” Estrada said. “Obviously http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey , I’ve been feeling some stuff, so they kind of figured what’s the point. Done enough, let’s just rest now.” Estrada, 7-14 with a 5.64 ERA in 28 starts in what could be his last year with Toronto, becomes a free agent after the season.UP NEXTRHP Sam Gaviglio (3-9) will make his 24th start for the Blue Jays, his fourth against the Rays, in Sunday’s season finale. The Rays will finish with a “bullpen day,” starting with RHP Ryne Stanek (2-3).

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Eric Hosmer Leonys Martin Jersey , wasn’t as good as he needed to be in what was supposed to be a steppingstone season for the rebuilding Padres.The burst of energy provided by Hosmer’s signing during spring training didn’t last long. The Padres, who have had three waves of young talent come up since beginning their deep rebuild during the 2016 season, staggered through another dismal year, finishing last in the NL West at 66-96, five losses worse than in 2017.Hosmer’s average of .253 was down 65 points and his on-base percentage was his lowest in four seasons. His 18 homers and 65 RBIs were also his lowest in four seasons.“Not where I want to be,” said Hosmer, who was an All-Star and World Series champion while with Kansas City. “It was just a down year, definitely not the way I wanted to perform here the first year. Nothing I can do about it now. All I can do is go put in the work in the offseason and try to be ready to go next spring.“There’s no excuse for it, I just didn’t perform the way I wanted to perform. I think if I performed the way I wanted to, it translates into more wins.”It certainly wasn’t all Hosmer’s fault, considering that the Padres continued to rank at the bottom of the majors in key offensive stats.Also struggling was Wil Myers, whose $83 million, six-year extension had been the biggest contract in team history until Hosmer came along. Myers had yet another injury and struggled after being moved from the outfield to third base.And in an oh-so-Padres moment, Myers was heard criticizing manager Andy Green during a livestream of the video game Fortnite with Carlos Asuaje, who had been optioned to Triple-A late in the season.“The Padres are doing cutoff and relays tomorrow at 3 o’clock — in September, dude.” Myers was heard saying. “Oh my God. It’s so miserable http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey , man. It’s insane. Andy could not be any worse than he is right now.”Asuaje then said, “Dude, I’m streaming this.”Myers apologized to Green. Around that same time, he also committed three errors in a game.Other things to know in the wake of the Padres’ eighth straight losing season and 12th year out of the playoffs:TIMETABLERon Fowler, the executive chairman, had said he expected the Padres to be better this season than last, and to be .500 in 2019.“I’m not going to throw out record stuff anymore,” Fowler said. However, he heard general manager A.J. Preller say during a function for season ticketholders that gradual improvement will lead to a tipping point. “And I leaned over to him and said, ‘I’m an old guy. Let’s get to the tipping point sooner rather than later.’ He laughed. He thinks we’re closer than people think. Whether that means next year or sometime in 2020, I think we’ve got the talent.”BIG DECISIONSWith so much young talent in the farm system, particularly pitchers, the Padres have to decide who to protect on the 40-man roster before the Rule 5 draft. And with the big league roster, there are decisions to make at several positions. They need to figure out if they’ll keep Myers at third, try to get him back into a crowded outfield or try to trade him, although his value is low. Outfielder Hunter Renfroe solidified his status by hitting 26 homers again and rookie Franmil Reyes hit 16 homers. Franchy Cordero is due back from elbow surgery.FREDDY GALVISThe Padres want to keep the shortstop, who is eligible for free agency but might want to move on with top prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. set to come up sometime next season. Galvis was acquired from Philadelphia for prospect Enyel De Los Santos and played in all 162 games http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey , including 157 starts at shortstop and five at second base. Viewed as a placeholder for Tatis, Galvis solidified the position and was a mentor to several young Latino players.TATIS JR.He broke his left thumb sliding headfirst for Double-A San Antonio in July and has been cleared to play winter ball. While the Padres will certainly control his service-time clock, “Everybody in our baseball front office would be shocked if he wasn’t up here somewhat early in the season,” Fowler said.WAVES OF YOUNG TALENTLeft-handed starters Joey Lucchesi and Eric Lauer, plus right-hander Jacob Nix made their big league debuts this year. Coming up late in the year were rookie second baseman Luis Urias, who showed nice flashes in the field and at the plate before injuring a hamstring. Also coming up was catcher Francisco Mejia, obtained from Cleveland for All-Star closer Brad Hand and reliever Adam Cimber. The Padres could try to find room for both Mejia and Austin Hedges, or trade one of them. ATLANTA (AP) — Sean Newcomb is fighting for a spot in the rotation for the Atlanta Braves‘ hopeful march to the postseason.The way he’s been going recently at home, Newcomb is leaving doubt that he can handle the job.“It’s just more a mentality,” he said. “I’ve got to go out there and get right after guys and not worry about too much about what’s going on as far as what’s working and what’s not.”Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon hit two-run homers, 19-year-old rookie Juan Soto added an RBI single in the ninth inning and the Washington Nationals beat the Braves 6-4 on Sunday.Atlanta maintained a 6½-games lead in the NL East over second-place Philadelphia but has lost two straight following a season-best, six-game winning streak. The Braves are 38-36 at home, where they have lost eight of their last 11.Tanner Roark (9-15) allowed two runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings, and Sean Doolittle pitched a perfect ninth for his 24th save in 25 chances.Newcomb (12-9) made 31 pitches in the first and allowed five runs and six hits in three innings. He has lost four of five home starts since coming within one strike of a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Atlanta on July 29, and he has an 11.32 home ERA over that span.“I wasn’t commanding the fastball, so it was hard to get everything else going,” Newcomb said. “You could tell they were laying off pitches Jeimer Candelario Jersey , waiting on their pitch to kind of do something with.”Washington built a 3-0 lead in the first when Harper hit his 34th homer and Ryan Zimmerman’s grounded into a run-scoring forceout. Rendon hit his 20th homer in the third to make it 5-0; he has reached safely in 25 straight games.Soto singled in the first to extend his on-base streak to 21 straight games, tying Mickey Mantle in 1951 for the second-longest by a teenager behind Mel Ott’s 22 in 1928. Soto is batting .357 during a 10-game hitting streak.“He’s been a blessing for us all year long,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “Just watching him play, he’s just out there having fun and playing the game the right way.”Atlanta closed to 5-4 on two-run homers by Tyler Flowers in the fourth and by Charlie Culberson in the eighth against Greg Holland.Roark’s streak of 27 2/3 consecutive innings without a walk ended in the third, and he struck out Freddie Freeman to strand two runners.Rendon dove to field a grounder at third in the fifth and jumped to throw off one leg to get pinch-hitter Preston Tucker at first. Late in the inning, center fielder Victor Robles ran hard to his left and chase down Ozzie Albies’ liner at the wall.But it was the Nationals’ offense that dominated the last two games. Harper just hopes Washington can stay in contention despite being 7½ games back of Atlanta.“It’s a bummer when we’re not winning ballgames,” Harper said. “That was the biggest thing on my mind. I’m not really worried about my numbers or anything like that because I am who I am. That sounds bad, but I am. Any given night I’m able to go out there and do some things for this team that are special, and I was able to do that again today.”TRAINER’S ROOMBraves 3B Johan Camargo missed his fourth straight game with left groin tightness, but manager Brian Snitker said he should be back in the lineup on Monday. … Atlanta RHP Arodys Vizcaino was not available after pitching a scoreless ninth inning Saturday, the former closer’s first appearance after he missed 55 games with right shoulder inflammation.UP NEXTRHP Erick Fedde (2-3, 5.12 ERA) will make his first career appearance against the Marlins when the Nationals begin a two-game series Monday at Miami. RHP Mike Foltynewicz (11-9, 2.66 ERA) will face 15-game winner Miles Mikolas when the Braves begin a three-game series against St. Louis.