Sports betting almost always had the Chicago Cubs overvalued. Everyone it seems wants to be the Cubs to finally win the World Series. Even though it never happens, the public still bets the Cubs and that means they are overrated in sportsbetting.
Sports betting had the Cubs in the range of 20-1 to win the World Series. The more realistic range would be 40-1. You won’t find those types of sportsbetting odds though because people love the Cubs. Chicago has some talent but they also have some weaknesses heading into the 2010 Major League Baseball season.
One of the biggest problems for Chicago is in the bullpen. They were counting on Angel Guzman to be their setup man but he is out for the season with a tear in his shoulder. The Cubs bullpen was not very good anyway and now there are real problems. Manager Lou Piniella still seems to think his team will find a way but the reality is the Cubs are simply not an elite team. The Cubs don’t even have a solid fourth or fifth starter right now. Ted Lilly will get one of the spots when he comes back but that probably won’t be until May. The rest of the contenders look weak. When you are trying to find two starters out of Sean Marshall, Tom Gorzellany, Jeff Samardzija and Carlos Silva you know you have problems. Chicago also has no bench. They are hoping that Kevin Millar still has something left.
Chicago does have some talent with players like Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano. They also have some good players like Ryan Dempster, Marlon Byrd and Ryan Theriot but this is not a team that is going to win a division and challenge for the World Series.
Piniella believes that the Cubs will be better this season but he is one of the few. “Last year we finished second with all those injuries,” Piniella said. “We scored 148 fewer runs. I think we’ll score more runs. I’m looking forward to a good year.” The Cubs are not off to a good start since Guzman was considered a future star in the bullpen. They also have to find a way to find a fifth starter for the rotation and they will need a fourth starter until Lilly comes back. The Cubs at 20-1 to win the World Series seems like a huge stretch of the imagination but it won’t keep people from taking them in sports betting.