Bookmaker – Braves Lose Two Starters but Bookmakers have not Adjusted their Odds. The Atlanta Braves are still getting a lot of respect from the bookmaker even though they have lost two starters to injury. The Braves have lost starting third baseman Chipper Jones and starting pitcher Kris Medlen to injury and both will miss the rest of the season. The online bookmaker hasn’t even noticed though as the Braves are still 5-1 to win the World Series.
Bookmaker odds on the Braves are surprisingly low. In fact, the Braves have the lowest odds of any National League team at 5-1 along with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Philadelphia Phillies are defending National League champs and they are 7-1 at Sbg sportsbook. The Phillies are just two games back of the Braves and Philadelphia is going to get healthy this week with the return of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. It might be time to say bye-bye to the Braves in the National League East.
The Braves have survived this season thanks to pitching but now even that strength is being tested. Losing Medlen to a season-ending injury hurts as he was the fifth starter. He is having elbow ligament-replacement surgery on Wednesday and is out for the year. In fact, Medlen could miss most of next season as well since recovery from Tommy John surgery takes about a year. The surgery is being performed by Dr. James Andrews who is seemingly the surgeon of choice for every athlete. Maybe Medlen can get the inside scoop on Brett Favre’s ankle…………lol.
Medlen had been a very good pitcher for gamblers to wager on this season at the bookmaker. He went under the radar and was oftentimes listed at plus odds. He was 6-2 with a 3.68 ERA in 31 games, including 14 starts. Now the Braves will have to hope that rookie Mike Minor can fill in at the back end of the rotation.
The Braves are also without Chipper Jones as he won’t return from an ankle injury until next season. Chipper was having just an average season but he added credibility to the lineup. Opposing pitchers still respected Chipper and that meant that other players in the Braves lineup got better pitches to hit. That isn’t happening as much now.
You may want to be very careful about taking the Braves in MLB futures at the online bookmaker. Your money might be better spent on the Phillies at 7-1 rather than the overpriced Braves at 5-1.