The countdown is on to three of the greatest words of the Spring: “Pitchers and Catchers!” That means that it is time to start to make our World Series picks for the upcoming year, and we are set to analyze some of the best teams in the league and how they are going to look this season.

List Of Past World Series Champions (Since 2000)
2011 World Series Champions: St. Louis Cardinals
2010 World Series Champions: San Francisco Giants
2009 World Series Champions: New York Yankees
2008 World Series Champions: Philadelphia Phillies
2007 World Series Champions: Boston Red Sox
2006 World Series Champions: St. Louis Cardinals
2005 World Series Champions: Chicago White Sox
2004 World Series Champions: Boston Red Sox
2003 World Series Champions: Florida Marlins
2002 World Series Champions: Anaheim Angels
2001 World Series Champions: Arizona Diamondbacks
2000 World Series Champions: New York Yankees

The favorites to win the World Series this year for the second straight season are the Philadelphia Phillies (2012 Favorites On The Odds To Win The World Series – 4.85 to 1 at SportBet Sportsbook). They have had a heck of an offseason, adding Jonathan Papelbon to solidify the back end of a bullpen that has historically been shoddy. The prognosis for Ryan Howard’s Achilles tendon injury are good at this point, and he might not miss all that much of the season. Sure, there are some other issues, but this starting pitching rotation is still remarkable even though Roy Oswalt is no longer a part of it. The NL East is going to be tough this year, as the Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves are both going to be solid teams as well. However, this team is clearly the class of the division and the National League as a whole, and once the team gets into the playoffs, it will once again be a remarkable choice to win it all.

The team that has jumped to the front of the class in the American League is the Detroit Tigers (2012 World Series Odds – 6 to 1 at BetOnline Sportsbook). The Tigers started off this offseason in terrible shape, losing Victor Martinez for the season to an ACL injury. However, give Detroit some credit. It went out and stole Prince Fielder in free agency from some of the other teams that might have been a heck of a lot more conducive to give him the big bucks. Now, having Miguel Cabrera and Fielder in the same lineup is tremendous, and a pitching staff anchored by Justin Verlander is going to be great as well. To make matters even better, the rest of the AL Central really has gone backwards this year, and unless the likes of the Minnesota Twins end up with a huge turnaround this season, there shouldn’t be a team that is going to challenge the Tigers this year.

The Texas Rangers have won the AL West for the last two seasons, but after losing out on all of the big time free agents this year, they clearly aren’t the team to watch in their own division. The Los Angeles Angels (2012 World Series Lines – 6.50 to 1 at SportBet Sportsbook) are instead. Albert Pujols has joined the Anaheim lineup, and CJ Wilson has been added to the pitching staff as well. The bullpen has the potential to be suspect, but all of a sudden, this is a team that looks awfully formidable. The Angels have done everything right over the course of the last few seasons, and they have all of the pieces in place to get back to the top of the AL West once again. Don’t be shocked if they end up being one of the top teams in the league this year.

Of course, all eyes are going to be on the New York Yankees (Odds To Win the 2012 World Series – 6 to 1 at BetOnline Sportsbook) once again. Think about the Bronx Bombers from last season. Alex Rodriguez was hurt for a good chunk of the year. The pitching staff at times was in shambles. The additions in the bullpen just never really panned out for the most part. And yet, the team still won the AL East and was in the playoffs. This year though, New York has a team that is a lot more conducive to succeed in the postseason. Trading for Michael Pineda was genius, not just for now, but for the future as well. He will team with Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes in this rotation for the future, and this trio will only further complement CC Sabathia. Signing Hiroki Kuroda was a smart move as well, and there are still others like AJ Burnett and Freddy Garcia that can help out as well. The Big Apple definitely could be back on top of the baseball world this year.

Current 2012 World Series Odds @ SportBet Sportsbook (as of 2/7/12):
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Philadelphia Phillies 4.85 to 1
Detroit Tigers 5 to 1
New York Yankees 5.75 to 1
Los Angeles Angels 6.50 to 1
Boston Red Sox 8.50 to 1
Texas Rangers 9.50 to 1
Tampa Bay Rays 15 to 1
Miami Marlins 18 to 1
St. Louis Cardinals 18 to 1
San Francisco Giants 20 to 1
Atlanta Braves 21 to 1
Cincinnati Reds 25 to 1
Washington Nationals 25 to 1
Arizona Diamondbacks 27 to 1
Milwaukee Brewers 28 to 1
Colorado Rockies 38 to 1
Chicago Cubs 40 to 1
Toronto Blue Jays 40 to 1
Los Angeles Dodgers 45 to 1
Chicago White Sox 55 to 1
Cleveland Indians 75 to 1
Minnesota Twins 80 to 1
Kansas City Royals 85 to 1
New York Mets 85 to 1
Oakland Athletics 90 to 1
Pittsburgh Pirates 100 to 1
Baltimore Orioles 125 to 1
San Diego Padres 125 to 1
Seattle Mariners 150 to 1
Houston Astros 175 to 1

Odds To Win 2012 World Series @ BetOnline Sportsbook (as of 2/7/12):
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Arizona Diamondbacks 16.50 to 1
Atlanta Braves 18.50 to 1
Baltimore Orioles 85 to 1
Boston Red Sox 8.50 to 1
Chicago Cubs 35 to 1
Chicago White Sox 50 to 1
Cincinnati Reds 24 to 1
Cleveland Indians 42 to 1
Colorado Rockies 30 to 1
Detroit Tigers 6 to 1
Houston Astros 100 to 1
Kansas City Royals 66 to 1
Los Angeles Angels 6.50 to 1
Los Angeles Dodgers 25 to 1
Miami Marlins 13 to 1
Milwaukee Brewers 28 to 1
Minnesota Twins 55 to 1
New York Mets 70 to 1
New York Yankees 6 to 1
Oakland Athletics 70 to 1
Philadelphia Phillies 4.50 to 1
Pittsburgh Pirates 70 to 1
San Diego Padres 90 to 1
San Francisco Giants 15 to 1
Seattle Mariners 75 to 1
St. Louis Cardinals 16.50 to 1
Tampa Bay Rays 16 to 1
Texas Rangers 8.70 to 1
Toronto Blue Jays 32 to 1
Washington Nationals 26 to 1

Here at Bankroll Sports, we’ve always got our pulse on all of the best MLB betting action, and as a part of all of the action, we’re taking a look at the Top 10 money pitchers in the league through games ending June 4th.

1: Dillon Gee, New York Mets (8-0, +$876) – Is Gee that lucky or that good? The answer is probably a little from Column A and a little from Column B. Gee does have a 3.33 ERA, but he only has 39 strikeouts in 54 innings of work. He also has 20 walks. Still, the 25 year old righty has a bright future with the Mets, and he certainly knows that he isn’t goingt o get that much run support when he comes out to pitch. Gee also spent plenty of time in the New York bullpen this year, which also doesn’t give us all that much confidence that this is going to keep up.

2: Jason Marquis, Washington Nationals (8-3, +$809) – The Nats are finally getting their money’s worth on Marquis after bringing him in from the Colorado Rockies. Marquis had a disastrous year last year, going 2-9 with a 6.60 ERA, and this year, he is already 6-2. No, we aren’t all that impressed with a 4.13 ERA for Marquis, but he definitely continues to get the job done. Of course, it helps that in his last 10 starts, Marquis has gotten at least seven runs of support six times. The righty still has only started 24 games since coming to DC, something that concerns us for a man that had thrown at least 28 starts in his previous six seasons.

3: Aaron Harang, San Diego Padres (9-3, +$708) – The big right hander is absolutely loving his new digs at Petco Park, and he is putting up some phenomenal numbers this year. Harang has a 3.77 ERA, and he hasn’t had a loss since May 2nd. Amazingly, for as well as Harang has pitched at home, he hasn’t lost a start on the road this season. Three of his four starts on the road have been stellar, and the dud at the Colorado Rockies in which he allowed seven runs in 4.1 innings was overcome by his normally shoddy offense.

4: Kevin Correia, Pittsburgh Pirates (8-4, +$686) – We can’t even remember the last time that the Pirates had a pitcher in the Top 10 on the MLB lines this late in the season. Correia doesn’t get a lot of strikeouts (just 34 this season), but he does a great job keeping the ball on the ground and trusting the defense behind him. Correia has three straight wins, two of which came as underdogs, and he is about to notch his third straight season with double digits worth of wins.

5: Kyle McClellan, St. Louis Cardinals (8-2, +$590) – McClellan hadn’t started a game in his entire career before this year. We guess he has a newly found trade at this point. Manager Tony LaRussa really didn’t have a choice but to go with McClellan in his rotation this year when Adam Wainwright went down, and he certainly answered the bell. The righty is 6-2 with a 3.86 ERA. He’s on the DL now with a hip flexor injury, but when he comes back, we’d have no reason to believe that McClellan won’t be able to continue on his torrid pace in his first year as a starter.

6: Bruce Chen, Kansas City Royals (6-1, +$554) – We just don’t know how Bruce Chen continues to stick around in this league. He has been around since 1998, has bounced around to a million different franchises, and yet he already has the third most wins that he has ever had in a season in his career with four. Chen is on the DL right now, and when he comes back, we would be fading him on the MLB odds all the time until he and the Royals come back to earth.

7: Josh Tomlin, Cleveland Indians (8-3, +$552) – The Tribe are still in the driver’s seat in the AL Central, and Tomlin is a big part of the reason why. He has had back to back iffy starts against the Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays, but both of those games were on the road. This year at home, Tomlin has been unhittable, and this is why he has a 3.27 ERA and a 7-2 record for the season.

8: Kyle Drabek, Toronto Blue Jays (8-4, +$526) – Drabek is one of the few pitchers that have stayed on this list as one of the best arms to make MLB picks with for the majority of this season. The problem that Drabek has right now is that he is coming off of the worst start of his career. He allowed four runs in just 0.2 innings against the Cleveland Indians in a 13-9 loss. However, he was on the heels of throwing 121 pitches, a career high against the Chicago White Sox the game before, so we tend to give him the benefit of the doubt.

9: Ian Kennedy, Arizona Diamondbacks (8-4, +$506) – Really, since allowing nine runs in just three innings against the St. Louis Cardinals back on April 14th, Kennedy has been fantastic, dropping his ERA down to just 3.16. He has 63 strikeouts against 22 walks this year, and as a result, he has a 6-2 mark. Kennedy is really one of the main reasons for which the D’Backs have come all the way back this season to compete in the NL West, and he needs to keep it up if they’re going to stay in it.

10: Jake Peavy, Chicago White Sox (4-0, +$505) – The last pitcher this year to have at least $500 worth of profits on the MLB lines is a man that has only had four starts under his belt. Peavy has been absolutely electric this year since coming back off of shoulder surgery. He has a 3.24 ERA in 25 frames, and he has a whopping K/BB ratio of 16/1. If Peavy can regain his form of the past with the San Diego Padres, the White Sox really might not be out of the AL Central race yet even though they still have a lot of work to do to get back anywhere near the top of the division.

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World Series picks have to be in by 7:57 ET on Wednesday, October 27th, and before the first pitch of the Fall Classic, we are here to pick out the odds to win World Series MVP. Don’t miss all of the best World Series coverage here at Bankroll Sports!

It seems awfully unlikely that the favorite to win the World Series MVP is the man with the lowest batting average on the team that is just the slight favorite to win the series, but that’s what the case is right now with Josh Hamilton (4 to 1 @ BetUS Sportsbook). Hamilton clearly has the ability to go off at any given moment for some huge hits, and he is still the most feared man in this lineup in spite of the fact that he only batted .237 in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Want some more proof of how feared the cleanup man in this lineup is? He already has ten walks in the playoffs, and in spite of the fact that he has that low batting average, he is just one RBI shy of the postseason lead for any team in these playoffs.

There’s no way that we can argue with Cliff Lee (5 to 1 @ BetUS Sportsbook) to win this award either. Lee is going to be pitching at least twice in this series in all likelihood, and if the Rangers are going to win their first World Series ever on their home turf by the end of Game 5, Lee is probably going to end up with a pair of wins. It is unlikely that Lee is going to be pitching on three days of rest, so he would be throwing in Game 1 and Game 5, and presumably, that fifth game would be the end of the series. Lee has gone 3-0 in his career against the Giants, and he is already 3-0 in these playoffs as well. No man has pitched better in these playoffs than the southpaw free agent to be. With every great pitch, Lee is hitting the cash register button more and more, and it doesn’t seem like there is anything that can stop him from pitching this well, especially against a team that has struggled offensively in the playoffs.

There are a ton of candidates with the same odds for the Giants, but we love the possibility of Buster Posey (8 to 1 @ BetUS Sportsbook) becoming a rookie MVP of the World Series. Posey, a Florida State product, was one of just two men in these playoffs for the Giants that hit at least .300 in the first two rounds. This is quite possibly the best home run threat on San Fran even though he has yet to go yard in the playoffs. Common thought would suggest that it is only a matter of time until the rook connects with one and drives it a long way, and if Posey catches fire, he could be a real dominating force in this series.

If you’re looking for a longshot, don’t be afraid to go with Freddy Sanchez (18 to 1 @ BetUS Sportsbook). Sanchez might not be the best run producer in the world, nor might he be a big time run scorer, but he is seeing the ball well right now and can make things happen. Sanchez has nine hits in his last five games, reaching base safely in all five. We’re talking about a man that has batted over .300 in his career before and could do it once again in this, his first ever World Series.

Odds to Win World Series MVP @ BetUS Sportsbook (as of 10/26/10):
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Andres Torres 20 to 1
Aubrey Huff 15 to 1
Bengie Molina 25 to 1
Brian Wilson 10 to 1
Buster Posey 8 to 1
CJ Wilson 25 to 1
Cliff Lee 5 to 1
Cody Ross 10 to 1
David Murphy 25 to 1
Edgar Renteria 20 to 1
Elvis Andrus 15 to 1
Freddy Sanchez 18 to 1
Ian Kinsler 12 to 1
Josh Hamilton 4 to 1
Juan Uribe 8 to 1
Matt Cain 8 to 1
Michael Young 12 to 1
Mitch Moreland 25 to 1
Neftali Feliz 30 to 1
Nelson Cruz 12 to 1
Pat Burrell 8 to 1
Tim Lincecum 8 to 1
Vladimir Guerrero 12 to 1

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The World Series comes down to the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers! Here at Bankroll Sports, we’ll be updating the World Series odds from a ton of sportsbooks, and we’ll keep updating our World Series schedule.

The Rangers are the slight favorite to cash in on the Fall Classic, and the reason for that is because LHP Cliff Lee is likely to be able to pitch in Game 1, Game 5, and in relief in Game 7 if necessary. Texas has also had a fantastic offense in this postseason and has had a ton of batters hit at least .300. Speed has also killed both the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays so far in the playoffs. The Rangers have been making a ton of deer antlers in the dugout, especially for the 15 stolen bases in 11 games.

The Giants have a fantastic pitching staff though, and should not be messed with. RHP Matt Cain has yet to give up a run in the playoffs, and RHP Tim Lincecum already has a shutout, a win over Philadelphia Phillies’ RHP Roy Halladay, and a hold to his credit in this postseason. The only problem is that the offense has been iffy at best, as there are only two men, C Buster Posey and OF Cody Ross, that are hitting at least .300 for the playoffs.

Pitching Probables for the World Series

Game 1: Wednesday, October 27th, 2010, 7:57 ET: Cliff Lee (L) @ Tim Lincecum (R)
Game 2: Thursday, October 28th, 2010, 7:57 ET: CJ Wilson (L) @ Matt Cain (R)
Game 3: Saturday, October 30th, 2010, 6:57 ET: Jonathan Sanchez (L) @ Colby Lewis (R)
Game 4: Sunday, October 31st, 2010, 8:20 ET: Madison Bumgarner (L) @ Tommy Hunter (R)
Game 5 (if necessary): Monday, November 1st, 2010, 7:57 ET: Tim Lincecum (R) @ Cliff Lee (L)
Game 6 (if necessary): Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010, 7:57 ET: CJ Wilson (L) @ Matt Cain (R)
Game 7 (if necessary): Thursday, November 4th, 2010, 7:57 ET: Colby Lewis (R) @ Jonathan Sanchez (L)

Texas Rangers (-145) vs. San Francisco Giants

Latest Odds To Win The 2010 World Series @ 5 Dimes Sportsbook (as of 10/26/10):
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Texas Rangers (-136) vs. San Francisco Giants

Latest Odds To Win The 2010 World Series @ Oddsmaker Sportsbook (as of 10/26/10):
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Texas Rangers (-150) vs. San Francisco Giants

Current 2010 World Series Odds @ BetUS Sportsbook (as of 10/26/10):
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Texas Rangers (-145) @ San Francisco Giants

Say hello to the new Tampa Bay Rays.

For the better part of the last 20 years, Ewing Kauffman, the man responsible for bringing the Royals to Kansas City, must’ve been turning over in his grave. He built a proud franchise that won six divisional championships, two AL pennants, and the 1985 World Series, and he did it through youth and solid spending manners. He passed away in 1993.

At that point, the Royals were without an owner and began dumping salaries left and right. In fact, in 1995, the team only spent $18.5M on salaries, which was easily the lowest in baseball. It was only $16.5M, less than contracts that some individual players were signing, by 1999.

Under Manager Tony Pena, the Royals won 83 games in 2003, marking their first winning season since 1994 when things began to fall apart. Since then though, Kansas City has been nothing more than a loveable loser. 2004, 2005, and 2006 were all 100+ loss seasons, and since that point, they haven’t won more than 75 games.

If the end of this story sounds familiar, you’re probably reading some article on the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays as well, who were a god awful franchise before putting all the pieces together for one of the more memorable runs in baseball history that took them all the way to the World Series.

The difference for the Royals this year? They don’t have to contend with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

We’ll start right there. It’s pretty clear that the Minnesota Twins aren’t the same team that they normally are without closer Joe Nathan for the entire season. The Chicago White Sox feel like they’re one Ozzie Guillen moment in front of the media away from the entire franchise just imploding from the inside, out. The Detroit Tigers only had a prospective win total by the oddsmakers of just 80.5 this year.

What do you want, Cleveland to challenge for the AL Central crown?

Someone has to win this division this year, and if there’s a season in which the Royals can really get it done, this is it.

On Friday night, the newly acquired OF Rick Ankiel (and yes, I said “outfielder,” and not, “excuse for a starting pitcher) went 4/4 and drove in three runs, including the two that won the game in the 8th inning against the mighty Red Sox.

Some may say, “Ok, it’s one game.” And that’s true. Until October, baseball generally isn’t made off of one game or even one series.

But let’s go back to the Rays again. The moment that changed that team’s entire season in 2008 had nothing to do with even a regular season game! Tampa Bay picked a fight with these same Red Sox in a Spring Training game that brought the team together. It came out of the blocks on fire and just never looked back, essentially going wire-to-wire in the AL East.

Things looks gloomy for the Royals on Friday night, as they couldn’t figure out how to hit that tricky knuckleball of Tim Wakefield’s. Normally, the Kansas City team that we all remember would’ve just folded up shop, someone would’ve given up a three-run homer, and the team would’ve lost 6-1 or something of the sorts.

Not on this night. SP Kyle Davies became the fourth straight starter for the Royals to allow three runs or less to start the season. They might be a combined 0-0, but they’ve done their job. Thank C Jason Kendall for that, who has come to Kansas City and brought a veteran presence behind the dish, something that this city hasn’t had in years.

The bullpen threw three spotless frames after allowing 18 hits and six walks, to go with three blown saves in as many games to start this season.

Today, AL Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke is taking the mound against Boston’s Josh Beckett. Not only is it a chance for the Royals to get back above .500, but it’s also a chance to say, “Hey, we beat the Sox in this series.”

Baseball may not just be a game or a series, but the lowly Royals… the team that we’ve just love to beat up on in years’ past… can take a major step in the right direction if it can just reverse that losing mentality.

If that the case, wouldn’t it be just awesome to see the AL East winning Tampa Bay Rays playing the AL Central winning Kansas City Royals in the playoffs?

You can still get Kansas City at +2100 to win the AL Central, +5000 to win the American League, and +13500 to win the World Series at 5Dimes Sportsbook.