Editorials

Oddsmakers Set Dodgers Win Total, World Series Chances For 2015

Adrian Gonzalez, Juan Uribe

With the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning their Spring Training schedule Wedneday, Bovada.lv updated their World Series odds. The Washington Nationals’ odds to win the Fall Classic improved from 13/2 to 7/1, though the Dodgers maintained the same odds at 17/2.



The Boston Red Sox odds to win the World Series are 10/1, followed by the St. Louis Cardinals at 12/1.

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As per custom, oddsmakers have released their numbers for several bets that can be made pertaining to the 2015 MLB season well before any player has officially stepped foot on a field.

For the Los Angeles Dodgers, World Series expectations remain for a team that underwent a significant roster shakeup during the offseason, however they are not the favorite to win the World Series, much less reach it.

According to Sportsbook.ag, the Dodgers are second behind the Washington Nationals to win the National League pennant and 2015 World Series. As for win total, Sportsbook.ag sets the Dodgers’ over/under at 92.5 games, which also falls behind the Nationals whose bar is set at 93.5 games.

For comparison’s sake, Bovada.lv has the Dodgers a 19/4 favorite to win the NL pennant, behind the Nationals’ 13/4 odds. The Nationals also are considered the favorite by Bovada to win the World Series at 13/2 odds, while the Dodgers come in second at 17/2. Bovada also set the Dodgers’ over/under win total at 92.5 games.

The computer projection system PECOTA has the Dodgers winning 97 games, running away with the NL West division title and pacing MLB in wins, finishing five games ahead of the Nationals.

Last season the Nationals finished 96-66, good for first place in the NL and tied for second-best in all of baseball. Comparatively, the Dodgers finished two games behind the Nationals in the standings with their 94-win season.

Although the Dodgers and Nationals finished as the top-two teams in the NL, neither managed to make it out of the NL Division Series. The Nationals were defeated in four games by the eventual World-Series champions San Francisco Giants, and the Dodgers were unable to overcome the thorn in their side that is the St. Louis Cardinals.

Looking to improve on their 2014 success, the Nationals signed Max Scherzer and now boast the best starting rotation in all of baseball. While the Dodgers didn’t spend as lavishly as their NL counterpart, they appear to have improved defensively and in the clubhouse with the additions of Howie Kendrick and Jimmy Rollins.

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Vin Scully Speaks At Dodgers FanFest


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7 Comments

  1. Okay, first off these polls mean bupkis. Nobody can predict how this team will even play together as a unit, let alone how many wins they will have. My personal opinion is that come the end of August they will have some idea how good or bad change was….anything before that is guessing.

    1. There’s virtually no “unit” in any baseball analysis. It’s a team sport played by individuals acting as individuals – nobody blocks for nobody and nobody saves a team mate from striking out or booting a grounder. The double play involves teamwork but at the major league they’re all great at turning two. Finally, club house discord means absolutely nothing. Many World Series champs had cliques and brawls. When you’re at bat with a runner on second and two outs you don’t strike out on purpose because the guy on second gave you a shiner the night before. You get paid to drive the jerk in.

      1. Team chemistry means nothing? Tell that to the Giants players and watch them laugh their butts off

        1. It’s only my opinion based upon the facts of the game and the randomness of it all. I don’t believe in team chemistry in baseball because the idea only applies to games where teamwork is obvious like in baskets or football where working together on plays translates into wins. As for the Giants’ “chemistry,” sure that idea is perfect if the team were a molecule and Madison Bumgarner was the nucleus then you could say they had it. But a baseball team isn’t a molecule. BTW I wouldn’t have brought up such a thing but I love talking baseball and you spoke about one of my many media created myth busting quirks – Our media creates templates of structure to make the games more interesting – and they work at that level but that doesn’t make their bases true as they relate to success or failure.

  2. I think Im gonna place two bets this year.. both teams will surpass the total wins mark, but can I get insurance if key players get injured??? yea right buddy!! These articles are always fun but when an injury/reality sets in, well all you can do is laugh at your lost money 😉 Baseball is almost here.. I can smell it 🙂

  3. Good. Last year the Dodgers reckoned they could do no wrong since all believed they would go to the World Series. The Dodgers must remain hungry, for they really have lots to do to convince everybody that they are for real. The media should rank them lower so that they can prove themselves day in and day out.

  4. relief pitching will again be a major issue for the Dodgers….as for the loss of Kemp and Dee Gordon…..I suspect they will both be better than last year….and although I love Jimmy Rollins and Kendrick….let’s hope they both can produce offensively…their defense is a plus. Puig and Gonzales will need to put up big numbers in order for this team to go anywhere. Kershaw and Greinke are money but the rest of the starting rotation is questionable!

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