The Cincinnati Reds have not only gained a few players in their own right, but theyve watched division rivals lose their cornerstones in the offseason. Hopes are high in Southwestern Ohio.

Cincinnati Reds

If you are interested in betting on baseball this season, the Cincinnati Reds would make an attractive choice in the National Leagues Central Division. This team is not the clear hands-down favorite, but it has a better chance than most of walking away with the division flag. Manager Dusty Baker is viewed as one of the best dugout leaders in the sport, and whats more is that Cincinnati has been able to make overall improvements to its roster. First of all, the Reds went out and grabbed starting pitcher Mat Latos from the San Diego Padres. Latos was an excellent starter for San Diego last season, showing the ability to be the kind of hurler who can take the ball and deliver not just solid innings, but dominant ones.

Latos has imposing stuff that’s likely going to be better than most of the number two starters that can be found in the National League. Cincinnati has therefore upgraded a starting rotation whose number five starter, Bronson Arroyo, is still a very capable professional, the type of veteran who will got out to the mound every five days and offer 5 2/3 innings of decent ball. As long as the top end of the rotation – Latos and staff ace Johnny Cueto – can regularly pitch into the eighth inning once summer arrives, the bullpen should remain fresh, thereby preserving the arm of fireballing lefty closer Aroldis Chapman, who has regularly exceeded 100 miles per hour on the radar gun in his burgeoning career.

For plenty of MLB betting experts, the Reds are a legitimate choice in the N.L. Central not just because they acquired Latos, but because they held onto another player – first baseman Joey Votto. If Latos was the big fish Cincinnati reeled in, Votto – who won the National League MVP award in 2010 – is the fish that didnt get away. Votto will hit third in the order and make sure that Scott Rolen, who will hit behind him in the clean-up spot, sees a lot of good pitches to hit. Thumper Jay Bruce is hitting fifth, so the Reds will be able to smack the ball in their home ballyard. The Great American Ballpark is a hitters park, and the Reds have a team thats suited for it. This is something that will give Cincinnati a (Red) leg up on the competition in 2012.

When you do your homework and assess your best best sportsbook on this team, youll also be inclined to trust the Reds because of the ways in which their foremost adversaries have been reshaped in the offseason. The St. Louis Cardinals watched Albert Pujols go to the Los Angeles Angels for an obscene amount of money, and the Milwaukee Brewers were powerless to prevent slugger Prince Fielder from moving on to the Detroit Tigers. Cincinnati is the most stable team in the division, making the Reds the safest choice in the N.L. Central, though St. Louis will certainly have something to say about the matter.

The Chicago Cubs have a new team president and a new general manager. Thats the good news. The bad news is that executives dont play on the field. This will be a season of struggle.

Chicago Cubs

If you are interested in betting on baseball this season, you should bet on the Cubs to finish in the lower half of the six-team National League Central Division. This long-suffering franchise has basically acknowledged to everyone else in Major League Baseball that it is starting from scratch. The Cubs retooled their organization in the offseason, hiring a new manager – Dale Sveum – and tabbing new executives in the front office. Theo Epstein, formerly of the Boston Red Sox, will come to the Windy City as the new president of the Cubs. Hell be joined by Jed Hoyer, the new general manager. The Cubs are trying to import the men who enabled the Red Sox to snap their 86-year World Series drought, making a transparent bid to steal some old-time baseball magic. However, theres only so much that a set of new leaders can do in one season. This is a multi-year plan – three years at the very least – for the Cubs. They wont become champions in 2012 or 2013. Theyll need some time to remake themselves and begin the long, slow climb up the ladder in the big leagues.

This is, in other words, not the kind of team that has to stand out as a very attractive choice for legions of MLB betting experts. A lot of light and not very dependable hitters fill the Cubs projected opening day batting order. A top three of David DeJesus, Starlin Castro, and Marlon Byrd does not inspire much confidence. Alfonso Soriano (batting fifth) and Geovany Soto (sixth) are the biggest bats in the lineup. That shows how much of a problem the Cubs have on their hands. Teams that play at Wrigley Field need to be able to mash the ball out of the ballyard, and the Cubs dont have dynamic power hitters. Theyre simply not equipped to make a run at the brass ring this season, and their lineup will almost certainly look quite different as this season progresses. It should be substantially transformed 12 months from now.

When you do your homework and assess your best best sportsbook on this team, youll find that the pitching is not going to be enough to compensate for the lack of power hitting in the batting order. Ryan Dempster and new acquisitions Paul Maholm and Chris Volstad are serviceable pitchers, but not special ones. Matt Garza is a very solid number two starter, but nobody on this staff would qualify as a reliable shutdown ace, a guy who can repeatedly give the bullpen a day off in the middle of summer. Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood will anchor a quality bullpen, but the big question that jumps off the page is this: Will the Cubs have the lead in the eighth inning on a frequent basis this season? Probably not. Fourth place would be a decent year for this team, all things considered.

Kansas City’s online betting odds are better than they have been in a long time as they feature one of the league’s youngest teams, and there is plenty of talent to go through the lineup. But they still have a lot of questions on their pitching staff, from the starters to the bullpen, and that will keep them down for at least one more season.

Lineup

The Royals were fourth in the majors in batting average in 2011 and 10th in runs scored, but they sacrificed hitting for pitching when they traded outfielder Melky Cabrera to San Francisco for Jonathan Sanchez. He’ll be replaced by Lorenzo Cain, who will bat second in the order and the Royals already think he’ll better defensively than his predecessor. Left-fielder Alex Gordon and first baseman Eric Hosmer are the leaders of the offense and will look to build on promising campaigns from last season, and there are some who feel Hosmer could be in line for an All-Star berth. Gordon received a big extension in the offseason, so he’ll have to deal with the pressure of living up to big expectations. Designated hitter Billy Butler can slot in at first if need be, and right-fielder Jeff Francoeur adds a veteran presence to the lineup.

However, the lineup goes south when you get to the bottom third, although the Royals will be able to alternate catchers between Humberto Quintero and Brayan Pena. Quintero is better defensively, so he’ll likely start the season as the Royals try to make their pitchers comfortable.

Pitching

Pitching is what is going to spark the Royals’ MLB betting odds this season, and the potential is there for the rotation, they just have to fulfill it. Bruce Chen gets the nod as the starter, but he doesn’t inspire a whole lot of confidence among Kansas City fans. Sanchez is known for throwing a no-hitter with the Giants in 2009 and he gets a lot of strikeouts, but he also walks far too many batters and that is usually how he runs up high pitch counts, which keeps his innings down more than they should be. Luke Hochevar has to start living up to his potential sooner than later, although he did have a solid second half to the season. Danny Duffy and Luis Mendoza round out the rotation for now, but they can be replaced.

Right now, the major worry in Kansas City is the bullpen as closer Joakim Soria is out for the season due to Tommy John surgery, which leaves the job to Greg Holland, who doesn’t have much experience, and Jonathan Broxton, who is coming off his own elbow surgery. Aaron Crow went to the All-Star game last year, but the Royals need him to get stronger as he faded later in the season. The rest of the bullpen is average at best, and even though the concern coming into the season was the starting pitching, it is the bullpen that may decide Kansas City’s fate.

Intangibles

Manager Ned Yost has been with the Royals since 2010 and will be here through 2013, says his contract, although we all know that can be axed in a hurry. Yost is a defensive-minded manager who is tasked with the progress of the one of the youngest teams in the league, and one that showed a lot of promise in 2011, but now it is a matter of living up to it. Yost has come under fire at times with some of his management strategies in regards to pitching, and that is going to be under the microscope in 2012 as the Royals’ hurlers could damage their MLB betting chances.

Kansas City is tied with Houston with an average age of 26.8, which is the youngest in the major leagues, so there are going to be some growing pains that their fans are used to. The older players, such as Francoeur and Gordon will have to steer the team in the right direction if they want to improve, and the fans will want to see some sort of improvement soon.

How It Will Play Out

The Royals are playing with MLB betting house money as they’re rated at +8000 to win the World Series, and +3300 to take the American League pennant, but they are listed at +900 in the Central, which puts them behind only the favorites from Detroit. They were brutal on the road last season at 31-50, and if they can improve on that by even a few games, that’ll make a huge difference in the standings.

However, the Royals need to sort out their pitching and hope that the bullpen holds up for a year because they won’t be able to get by with just their hitting. The future is bright in Kansas City, but they’re probably one more season away from being a legitimate sports betting contender.

When the Detroit Tigers first lost designated hitter Victor Martinez to a season-ending injury this past offseason, it seemed very unlikely that their MLB betting odds as World Series contenders would actually improve by the time that Opening Day 2012 arrived. However, after shocking the baseball world with the free agent signing of Michigan-native Prince Fielder the Tigers shot up the list of American League contenders, and are now listed at 15/2 odds. Whether or not Detroit will live up to those heavy expectations is another story altogether, but from what we know so far, there is every reason to think that the Tigers will have an excellent chance at representing the AL in this year’s World Series.

While the addition of Fielder to many of the teams that were supposedly interested in his services wouldn’t have automatically elevated them to the best sportsbook list of World Series contenders, the circumstances under which Detroit added Fielder are unique in that they already had many of the pieces required to make a run, something that ownership undoubtedly considered before landing him. The Tigers already have enough offensive talent aside from Martinez in Miguel Cabrera, Delmon Young, and Alex Avila, and with Fielder slotted right in to Martinez’s No. 4 spot in the lineup, the team won’t miss a beat.

The question for Detroit at this point is whether or not they have the arms to beat out the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, and potentially the Boston Red Sox in the AL. Tigers’ ace Justin Verlander became the first pitcher since Dennis Eckersley in 1992 to win an AL MVP last year, by capturing the pitching Triple Crown with 24 wins, a 2.40 ERA, and 250 strikeouts. The fact that the 28-year old was able to lead the majors in all three of those categories made him a unanimous Cy Young award winner, and in the prime of his career he will once again anchor the club’s rotation this season. The Tigers added Otavio Dotel to shore up its bullpen, but there are question marks about the overall strength of the club’s rotation beyond Verlander. The club still has high hopes for both Doug Fister and Max Scherzer, but with Rick Porcello and Andrew Oliver slotted in to round out the top-five, they could run in to trouble if they aren’t able to pick up at least one more arm.

Based on the numbers, Detroit should be able to win around 95 games in an AL Central division that is lacking talent, but how well they fare beyond that only time will tell. The Tigers have one of the top hitting tandems in the majors with Cabrera and Fielder, and arguably the most talented pitcher in the game in Verlander, but they still have enough holes in the rest of the rotation and the bullpen to run in to trouble against best best sportsbook contenders like the Yankees and Angels once the postseason begins, unless they are able to address those issues during the regular season.

The Cleveland Indians ran out of steam last season, losing the American League Central Division to the Detroit Tigers. What does the new season have in store for the Tribe? Well find out soon enough.

If you are interested in betting on baseball this season, you should bet on the Cleveland Indians to finish closer to the middle of the American League Central Division than the top. The Minnesota Twins suffered through a very difficult and injury-plagued 2012 campaign, meaning that they should be better this year. The Chicago White Sox remain an enigmatic and inconsistent club, having failed to sustain much of any momentum after the 2005 World Series championship. The heavy favorite in the A.L. Central is the Detroit Tigers, the team that has to stand out as a very attractive choice for legions of MLB betting experts. Detroit has made some high-profile acquisitions, particularly first baseman Prince Fielder, that will make it very hard for Cleveland to overthrow the Tigers over the course of the next six months.

The big reason why Cleveland is not likely to finish particularly close to the very top of its division is that it cant hit with power in the American League. The National League will enable a light-hitting team to play deep into October, but the A.L. simply demands a copious supply of big bats, and the Indians just dont have them. The only three players who have hit with any appreciable degree of consistency this past spring are Chin-Soo Choo, Travis Hafner, and Shelley Duncan. Everyone else in the lineup has performed rather poorly. Yes, Spring Training does not count toward regular season standings, but Clevelands performance at the plate has been so markedly dreary that its hard to find enough reasons to trust this team over a 162-game schedule.

Its true that the new 2012 playoff format will encompass 10 teams, five in each league, meaning that a second wild-card team will now be part of the postseason. This will give Cleveland and other not-quite-annual playoff teams the chance to sneak into October with 85 or 87 wins. If the non-division winners in the American League do not produce excellent seasons, its very possible for a team to win fewer than 90 games and still crash the postseason party. This will have to be Clevelands path to the playoffs, because the Tribe do not have dynamic hitters, particularly on their infield. Only Asdrubal Cabrera at second base is a bat that conveys a certain degree of fear to opposing pitchers.

Speaking of pitchers, when you do your homework and assess your best best sportsbook on this team, youll find that Derek Lowe is the most high-profile acquisition this team made in the offseason. Thats not particularly impressive, given that Lowe is a solid No. 4 starter, maybe a third starter at best. Ubaldo Jimenez, acquired from the Colorado Rockies last season, has a weaker arm and is nothing close to the pitcher he was in Colorado. An 85-win season would seem to be a good accomplishment for this team. Something close to a .500 finish and a third-place showing in the A.L. Central seems likely for this ballclub.

Heading in to the 2011 MLB regular season, the Chicago White Sox were expected to contend for a division title in the American League Central, make some noise in the postseason, and maybe even have a chance to represent the AL in the World Series. Fast-forward through a year that could basically be summarized by the absolutely pathetic display by free agent addition Adam Dunn and a handful of Ozzie Guillen sound bites, and suddenly the White Sox have transformed from contenders to rebuilding mode with no celebration in between. Chicago heads in to the 2012 regular season with a new manager in Robin Ventura, but not much in terms of upgrades to their actual roster after finishing last year below .500, which makes it hard to assess best sportsbook expectations heading in to a rebuild under general manager Kenny Williams.

In his entire tenure with the club, Williams not once mentioned the word rebuilding, but after more than a MLB betting decade he must have felt that now was the perfect time to make the necessary changes to recover from last year’s collapse. The starting rotation took a major hit with the loss of Mark Buehrle to the Miami Marlins in the offseason, and will now likely rely on John Danks at the top of the rotation. Danks had an ugly 4.33 ERA a year ago, but there isn’t much there in terms of depth for Chicago, since Jake Peavy hasn’t made more than 18 starts in a season since 2008, and Gavin Floyd pitched his highest ERA since 2007 a year ago with a 4.37 mark. Williams also traded a couple of quality relievers in Sergio Santos and Jason Frasor, the former in which was a total fleecing by the Toronto Blue Jays, which will now use him as their closer.

As far as the offense is concerned, it can’t get much worse for Dunn, who batted just .159 with 11 home runs and 177 strikeouts in his first year in Chicago, among the many illustrations of just how bad things got for the White Sox. Paul Konerko continues to produce despite the fact that he is now 36-years old, but he isn’t getting any younger, and there isn’t much power behind him in the order. Alex Rios is another bust that is coming off the worst season of his career with a batting average of just .227, and it’s unlikely that a move to right field will be enough to resurrect his career.

The bottom line here is that for as bad as many White Sox players were last year, it would be difficult for them to be any worse, which leads to a small amount of optimism for players like Dunn and Rios and the possibility to be better. However, with the losses of Buehrle, Santos, and Frasor, Chicago lost a ton of pitching talent including their ace and closer, and did nothing to address that area in the offseason. Where that leaves a team that finished below .500 even with those players a year ago only time will tell, but in what Williams has openly called a rebuilding year, it doesn’t seem to make much sense to put much in to the White Sox best best sportsbook stock for this coming season.

After finishing the 2011 regular season with an 80-81 record, the Washington Nationals made a couple of strong additions to their bullpen this past offseason, which in correlation with the arrival of Stephen Strasburg has baseball fans in the nation’s capital feeling optimistic about the coming year. In addition to Strasburg pitching his first complete professional season, Gio Gonzalez has come over from the Oakland Athletics to throw behind him at the top of the rotation, with Edwin Jackson also occupying a spot in the top-five. The Nationals feel they have done enough to be considered a legitimate MLB betting contender this season, and with the season set to get underway, there are definitely some promising pieces in place.

The pitching is the biggest area where the Nationals are expected to show improvement, and the trio of Strasburg, Gonzalez, and Jackson are the biggest reasons for it. Washington’s starting pitchers combined for a 3.80 ERA and 1.32 WHIP last season, which isn’t that bad considering that they managed just 79 quality starts. One of the biggest problems was the team’s inability to strike out hitters, but those numbers have been reviewed by the sites listed on the best sportsbook docket, and should change with Strasburg and Jackson in particular. The Nationals’ bullpen had a 3.20 ERA, which ranked fourth in the National League, and returns closer Drew Storen and setup man Tyler Clippard, so they should be fine in that department.

As for the offense, Washington was certainly not among the elite MLB teams in terms of numbers, with its 624 runs and .242 team batting average both ranking near the bottom of the National League. With Bryce Harper set to start the season in Triple-A after failing to land a spot with the team out of spring training, the Nationals will need to rely on improvement from within, and that includes the health of a couple of key players in Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth. Werth was a bust in his first season with the club after inking a long-term deal in the offseason, and will be expected to bounce back, while Zimmerman will need to be healthy for the full year after missing some time with an abdominal strain. Michael Morse hit .304 with 31 home runs on the year, and was consistent all the way through, so Washington has to believe that they he will be just as good this year.

While we won’t go as far as to believe Brad Lidge’s comments about this being the most talented team that he has ever been a part of, there is some stock to be found in how much at least on paper this club has improved. The Nationals went out and signed the arms they needed to complete their starting rotation, and with Strasburg finally ready for the spotlight in the nation’s capital, there is some real promise there. But with Harper not ready for a full season just yet, and the Miami Marlins also making a splash in the offseason in an already crowded NL East division that features the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves at the top, it could still be another year before Washington can be considered a legitimate sports bet betting option as a potential playoff team.

Online betting players shouldn’t worry too much about the New York Mets this season as they’re trying to get a few of their big-name stars back on track, and an off-field scandal is still hanging over the team like a dark cloud.

The Mets also lost their best player to a division rival in the offseason and they’ve yet to figure out how they’re going to counter his loss. It’s going to be an arduous season in the borough of Queens and Mets fans should take moral victories when they can, such as their ace making it through the season in one piece.

Lineup

The Mets lost two of their most dynamic players as outfielder Carlos Beltran was traded to San Francisco last year, and then shortstop Jose Reyes signed with the new-look Miami Marlins, leaving a large load to carry for third baseman David Wright. He’ll have to get help from first baseman Ike Davis and outfielder Jason Bay, who is trying some new things with his stance after his power production has dropped over the last couple years, but Wright is clearly the star of the lineup and the face of the team now. The leadoff spot that was held by Reyes may now go to outfielder Andres Torres, but he is now 34 and was limping around camp with an ailing calf. Second baseman Daniel Murphy and outfielder Lucas Duda should be watched as well, especially Duda because the Mets need some power.

It’s going to be tough generating runs without Reyes’ average and speed at the top of the lineup, and Reyes isn’t a player that you can replace with only one person. It’s going to take a team-wide effort to get on base more because there isn’t a lot of speed or power throughout the squad.

Pitching

It’s all about a return to form from Johan Santana, the two-time Cy Young winner who is coming off shoulder surgery and if he can get back to the player who earned a massive deal from the Mets in 2008, that takes a lot of pressure off the rest of the rotation, which has the ability to be decent to above-average. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey is now 37, but last year his record would have been better if he had gotten some run support. Dillon Gee, Jon Niese and Mike Pelfrey round out the rotation for now, and this group may be the key to the Mets’ MLB betting odds this season because they’re not going to score a lot of runs and the bullpen has been revamped.

Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch came over from Toronto, and Francisco has earned the closer role after a solid second-half last season and a good spring. Rauch can handle some work as well, but is probably better suited for a set-up role. The biggest issue with this bullpen is that it is dominated by right-handers, and even more now with Tim Byrdak out with knee surgery.

Intangibles

Manager Terry Collins led the Mets to a 77-85 record in his first year with the team which, to be honest, could have been much worse and the club has already decided to pick up his option for the 2013 season as well, although that could change.

The Mets are basically playing with MLB betting house money as they’re in the middle of a transition after the Bernie Madoff scandal; no one expects much of them. But they have some solid veterans in the lineup like Wright (although a spring training injury may leave him on the bench for Opening Day), as well as Santana and Bay. Those veterans are going to be important as the Mets navigate what could be a long season.

How It Will Play Out

MLB betting odds have the Mets at +32500 to win the World Series, and even that may be generous in a National League East division with Philadelphia, Atlanta and Miami. Even Washington has taken some steps to improve and has a good young nucleus, which the Mets may be fighting just to stay out of the East basement and there are a lot of question marks going into the 2012 season.

Santana’s health is probably the main goal as the Mets need him to make it through this season without any major injuries. This season is basically a write-off for the Mets as they try to figure out their identity for the future, and they shouldn’t be a consideration for MLB betting players at all.

It should be no surprise to sports betting cappers that Philadelphia is one of the favorites to win it all this season, with their incredible pitching staff that doesn’t seem to be regressing any time soon. However, the ability of their offense to stay healthy throughout the season is going to be the difference-maker.

Lineup

The Phillies’ lineup is in flux due to injuries to first baseman Ryan Howard (Achilles) and second baseman Chase Utley (knees); Howard will be out for the first month of the season and that may be optimistic, while there is no timetable for Utley’s return. Veteran Ty Wigginton takes over at first, and 22-year-old Freddy Galvis will fill in for Utley, and this means the rest of the lineup has to pick up the slack. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins, third baseman Placido Polanco, and outfielders Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence will have to carry the load with Howard and Utley out, and the Phillies also picked up Jim Thome during the offseason. The Phillies are hoping that he can get in and play some first base in Howard’s absence, while also adding power to the lineup.

The rest of the lineup isn’t that strong, however, and the bench was hurt by the broken foot of Michael Martinez, who could fill in a number of roles for the Phillies and they’re going to miss him through the early part of the season.

Pitching

Pitching is obviously the strength of Philadelphia’s MLB betting chances this season, and in particular, the rotation. They have a pair of former Cy Young winners in Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, while Cole Hamels has some postseason hardware of his own and all three were in the running for last season’s Cy Young as well. Joe Blanton is coming off elbow surgery, but the Phillies may be able to plug in Kyle Kendrick if he needs more time to recover. The wild card is 24-year-old Vince Worley, who was brilliant in 2011, but now teams have had an offseason to look at tape and study his tendencies. They’re going to adjust to him, and Worley will have to do the same on the other end.

The bullpen lost closer Ryan Madson, who signed a deal with Cincinnati and then promptly was lost for the season because of elbow problems. The Phillies signed former Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon, so they know they have a guy who has been through the battles and he is out to erase his role in Boston’s collapse last season. Kendrick can handle some long relief, while Chad Qualls, Mike Stutes and Jose Contreras will be counted on for right-hand relief. Antonio Bastardo looks to be the lone southpaw in the bullpen, which is protected by one of the best rotations in all of baseball.

Intangibles

Manager Charlie Manuel has a firm grip on this team, which he has led to five straight National League East titles and of course, there was the World Series win in 2008. He is very even tempered and doesn’t get flustered in the face of injuries, which the Phillies have had a lot of over the last couple years, especially to their lineup and his presence makes them the favorites to win the East once again.

This is a tough veteran team that knows how to win and even when Atlanta jumped out to their big lead last season, the Phillies never gave up and kept putting pressure on the Braves, who eventually fell and handed the title to Philadelphia. This is a team that could survive the brutal American League East.

How It Will Play Out

The Phillies are the MLB betting favorites to win the World Series at +475, and it’s difficult to bet on a team that has been as good as Philadelphia has been over the last five years with all their division title, two trips to the World Series which resulted in one win, and last season’s loss to eventual World Series champion St. Louis was their first NLDS loss since 2007.

Are the Phillies going to win the World Series? They have as good a chance as any team as pitching has taken over in the post-steroid era and they have arguably the top rotation trio in all of baseball. But it’s all about their ability to drive in runs and stay healthy throughout the lineup, and that will be the key to the Phillies’ online betting chances in 2012.

One of the most intriguing MLB betting options for this year’s World Series is Miami, formerly known as the Florida Marlins, and the Marlins made a series moves to show that they were going to be a player this season. However, it takes teams some time to gel and truly become a World Series contender and the Marlins may be overvalued this season.

Lineup

The Marlins flirted with Albert Pujols, but the future Hall of Fame slugger went to Los Angeles to join the Angels. Instead, they picked up a player that was familiar to them in the National League East as shortstop Jose Reyes (formerly of the New York Mets) signed with the new-look Marlins, and he gives them, when he is motivated and happy, the best leadoff player in the game. However, you have to keep Reyes motivated and that isn’t always the easiest thing in the world. Also, Reyes has to stay healthy to be effective for a Marlins lineup that was 22nd in batting average and 23rd in runs scored.

Rightfielder Giancarlo Stanton just turned 22 in November, but he lit up the big leagues with 34 homers and 87 RBIs last year. Now the question is, can he do it when the rest of the league knows how powerful he is? Also, can he recover from a few spring-training injuries?

Another major question is Hanley Ramirez, who was switched from shortstop to third to accommodate Reyes, and right now it appears as though he is content with his new position. When he is ready to go, Ramirez is an All-Star and he was reportedly unhappy with the move to third, but has come around since. The Marlins will need him, along with outfielders Logan Morrison and Emilio Bonifacio.

Pitching

Pitching is where the Marlins are looking to significantly improve their MLB betting chances from the mound, signing free agents Mark Buerhle (who spent his entire career with Guillen and the White Sox), Carlos Zambrano (a former Cub) and Heath Bell (the ex-Padre). Buerhle adds a veteran lefty arm to a rotation that has a chance to be strong, but it can also implode. Josh Johnson is coming back from a shoulder injury which ended his 2011 campaign in May, you never know what kind of performance you’re going to get from Ricky Nolasco, Anibal Sanchez was having problems with his shoulder in the spring, and Zambrano is a hothead (it’ll be interesting to see him in the a clubhouse with new manager Ozzie Guillen). Buerhle is coming from the American League, and he may be the steadiest option the Marlins have.

Bell gives the Marlins a legitimate 40-save closer, but there isn’t a lot of consistency in front of him. Steve Cishek is the closer of the future, and he and Edward Mujica are the setup men for Bell, although they’re both right-handers. The Marlins do have a couple southpaw options in the bullpen, but Cishek and Mujica are, hands down, the best that Miami has.

Intangibles

Guillen brings a feisty energy to the Marlins after seven seasons and a World Series with the White Sox, but he was also a coach on the Florida Marlins team that won the World Series in 2003, so this isn’t a new area to him. But there are high hopes in Miami with a new stadium, money to spend on free agents and a move to a new city, and Guillen has to be able to manage all that while staying competitive in the tough East.

Guillen’s biggest mission and the key to Miami’s MLB betting odds will be keeping the clubhouse together. The Reyes/Ramirez issue seems to be solved, but you never know when it’s going to flare up. As for Zambrano, he could toss a no-hitter and then fight a reporter in the post-game conference. Guillen has to let these personalities express themselves, but rein them in when needed. The players are veterans themselves, but Guillen has to take control of the room early.

How It Will Play Out

Miami is rated at +1400 according to MLB betting odds to win the World Series, and a wild-card spot is well within their reach. But the Marlins have to battle with Philadelphia and Atlanta in the East, and even Washington is considered to be one of the up-and-coming teams.

Let the Marlins come together for a season before you bet on their World Series odds; it’s rare that a team goes through such a large transformation before they begin to win and the Marlins essentially changed their identity, from their city to uniforms to players to their manager. They’re a definite threat to make it to the postseason via the wild card, but right now, we would stay away from Miami’s World Series odds in your online betting book.