The Boston Red Sox fell off a cliff last year, suffering through the franchise’s worst campaign since the abbreviated 1994 season. Boston finished up a horrific 69-93, giving them sole possession of the cellar in the American League East. The odds makers at TheGreek.com are expecting a bit of a bounce back from the Red Sox this season, though. 2013 World Series Odds at the offshore bookmaker have Boston listed as a +2000 moneyline play ($100 wins $2000), a line which projects a middling finish for the Sox rather than another bottom of the barrel effort.
Boston endured more turmoil than, perhaps, any team in the league last year as the short lived Bobby Valentine tenure proved disastrous on a number of levels. The painful season resulted in the front office dumping a truck load of salary (i.e. Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka) before the trade deadline as well as Valentine’s eventual dismissal.
The Red Sox hired former pitching coach John Farrell, who served as the Blue Jays manager last season, to pick up the pieces and transform the team back into a contender. Boston also added a few potentially valuable players in Mike Napoli, Ryan Dempster, Lyle Overbay, Jonny Gomes, Stephen Drew, and Joel Hanrahan.
Nonetheless, in order for Boston to truly turn the corner this year it must get improved play from its starting rotation. The Red Sox starters produced a 5.19 ERA last season (ranked 27th in baseball) as Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester, and Daniel Bard all struggled with consistent and command.
Boston will need those three hurlers to rebound and have John Lackey make a successful return from Tommy John surgery. And, of course, the recently acquired Dempster must perform better than he did as a member of the Rangers in the second half of last season.
2013 Boston Red Sox World Series Odds: Provided by TheGreek.com
To Win World Series +2000 (14 of 30)
To Win American League East +450 (four of five)
To Win American League Pennant +1000 (seven of 15)
Regular Season Wins: Over 84 (+105), Under 84 (-135)
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