Now that Spring Training has begun and we have all had ample time (aka one week) to check out how our veterans held up over the long winter (well-played, Carl) and make sure our go-to kids are still everything we wish them to be (gold stars for Jeter, A-Rod, Damon, Matsui), I think the time has come to buckle down and get serious about the season. By "get serious", I am of course referring to studying up on the odds and laying down some cold hard cash on these ponies!*

Bookies the world around have been grinding out the odds for the 2007 season, and anyone with any level of mature intelligence knows that if a bookie says it, it must be true. Not surprisingly, the Yankees are toppin' the ol' odds charts in multiple categories, and for some reason the Washington Nationals do not make many appearances anywhere near the top of anything odds-realted.

The top picks for the potential World Series champ are relatively obvious:

Team	Odds
NYY	7-2
DET	5-1
BoSox	7-1
NYM	9-1
CHI	9-1
LAA	10-1
ChiSox	10-1

I don't find any of these odds to be particularly enticing, as the top few teams in the league are generally pretty easy to predict (except for Los Tigres last year...). The Cubs line was a bit of a surprise, but those master bookies must see a glorious glimmer of hope in Lou Piniella's bald spot and Soriano's special bat.

Sportsbook.com also offers predictions on win-totals for each team.

Team	Projected Wins
NYY	96.5
BoSox	91
MYM	89
LAA	88.5
PHL	88.5
LAD	88
ChiSox	87.5
DET	87.5

These projections really provide little as far as insight or even entertainment, as I am pretty sure the bookies didn't even need to put their bookie-knowledge to full use to "calculate" these predictions.

Another favorite MLB bet to make (or take, if you are the bookie) is the home-run wager. Who do you think will hit the most regular-season home runs in '07? (this wager takes players from both leagues into account)

Player	Odds
Ryan Howard	4-1
Albert Pujols	5-1
David Ortiz	8-1
A-Rod	12-1
Alfonso Soriano	15-1
Jim Thome	20-1
Manny Ramirez	20-1
Andruw Jones	40-1
Vladimir Guerrero	50-1
Barry Bonds	100-1

This one I actually do find quite interesting. Andruw Jones, who just won the title in his league in 2005 and hit 41 last season, was given worse odds that Thome or Manny, who are both significatly older than he and have certainly shown signs of aging. As a Yankees fan, it would fill my little Yankee heart with joy to see A-Rod win it again, and so long as none of his immediately family members or poker buddies takes ill, I think A-Rod will do quite well this year. I, of course, would never place bets....but for all you heathens, 12-1 on A-Rod is looking like it could pan out very well come October.

*No bets were placed in the writing of this article. I will admit to nothing if questioned.