The Boston Red Sox have not looked like one of the favorites at the sportsbook to win the World Series this season. The Red Sox began the season as the second favorite at the sportsbook to win the World Series behind the New York Yankees. They have done very little so far this season to validate those odds.
Sportsbook odds now list the Red Sox behind the Yankees, Phillies and Cardinals and even with Minnesota and Tampa Bay. Their marquee name and reputation is the only reason they are still given a chance this season. Boston manager Terry Francona said that his team has struggled but that they are not panicking. “The way we’ve set our team up in the winter, I don’t think we can just bail on our strategy a couple of weeks into the season,” Francona said. “I know it’s been a tough week all the way around. Not much has gone right.”
The Red Sox have a number of problems that have hurt their results vs. sportsbook lines. David Ortiz is getting a lot of the blame but he is not the only player underperforming this season. Victor Martinez has been terrible behind the plate, J.D. Drew hasn’t hit at all and some of the starting pitchers have not started well. Ortiz is the one getting all the heat though. “I know it’s a hot-button issue,” Francona said, “We try to do what’s right for our team, and communicate it to guys, and that’s what we have always done and that’s what we will continue to do.”
The Red Sox are not overreacting at the moment to the losses. Francona is a patient manager. “Any time you struggle, every negative thing is going to be pointed out. We have a responsibility to check ourselves. You are either doing enough to win or enough to lose. Those things get swept under the table if you are winning, and even though they probably don’t with our staff, but when you are losing everything is magnified. Everything you do wrong comes under the microscope.” Francona added.
All is not lost for Boston vs. odds at the sportsbook. They still have Josh Beckett and John Lackey at the top of the rotation and they have Jonathan Papelbon as the closer. They have a former MVP in Dustin Pedroia and another very good hitter in Kevin Youkillis. Will the Red Sox win the World Series? The answer is probably not but they are also not nearly as bad as they have been playing recently.