The start of the 2010 Major League Baseball regular season gets fully underway today with 13 home openers on the schedule. Every National League team has a dream of making it all the way to this year’s World Series, but in reality there are only a handful of teams that actually have a chance. Here is a look at my top four teams in the NL and their currents odds to win the Pennant and the World Series
Philadelphia Phillies Odds to Win the NL Pennant 3-1 World Series 6-1
The Roy Halladay era begins today in Philadelphia as gets the start against the Nationals in their season opener in Washington. While much of the Phillies success this season will revolve around how many games he is able to win, the two big question marks for this team are starting pitcher Cole Hamels and closer Brad Lidge. Both of these players were instrumental in helping this team win the World Series in 2008 and both could be held accountable for them coming up short against the Yankees in last year’s series. If they can both return to their previous form, Philly should be a lock to run away with East and return to a third straight Fall Classic.
St. Louis Cardinals Odds to Win the NL Pennant 15-4 World Series 8-1
This team has all the tools to not only win the NL Central, but stand toe to toe with Philadelphia in a seven game series to make it to the World Series. Their starting rotation is led by ace Chris Carpenter who is making his fifth straight opening day start, opening up this season against the Cincinnati Reds. Their rotation is rounded out by Adam Wainwright, Kyle Lohse, and Brad Penny. The power in their batting lineup is provided by 2009 NL MVP Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Brendan Ryan. Last year, this team went 91-71 and won the division by 7 ½ games over Chicago. There is no reason to believe this will not be the case again this season.
Los Angeles Dodgers Odds to Win the NL Pennant 9-2 World Series 9-1
While there are some question marks with Los Angeles’ starting rotation and bullpen, there is still a solid nucleus of talent on this team that should keep them in forefront of the NL West title race. Vincente Padilla got the call in their season opener against Pittsburgh in PNC Park. He is followed by Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, and Hiroki Kuroda in the rotation. If these four starters can remain productive all season, they can be just as good as last year’s team that won an NL high 95 games. Their batting lineup still contains guys like Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and Manny Ramirez. With the veteran leadership that manager Joe Torre provides in the dugout and the clubhouse, never count this team out of the race.
Colorado Rockies Odds to Win the NL Pennant 10-1 World Series 20-1
Colorado finished last season in second place behind the Dodgers, three games back. They earned the wildcard spot in the playoffs but were swept 3-0 by Philadelphia in the Divisional series. None the less it was a dramatic improvement from their 74-88 record in 2008. This year’s version could be even better as they should be able to battle the Dodgers right down to the wire again this season, with a good chance at ending up on top. Ubaldo Jimenez leads the starting rotation and got the call in today’s season opener against Milwaukee. Aaron Cook, Jorge De La Rosa, and Jason Hammel round out the starting rotation. From top to bottom this team is solid and has as good a chance as anyone to win the NL Pennant this season.
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