BOSTON -- The bubbly had scarcely stopped flowing in the Chicago Cubs' clubhouse last week when the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook handicapped next year's World Series winner. At 10-1, the Boston Red Sox were installed as the American League favorite.
Apparently, the oddsmakers didn't notice the David Ortiz-sized hole in the middle of the lineup.
OK, to be fair, the Red Sox will return almost the entirety of a roster that won 93 games and the AL East. And save for the world-champion Cubs, there may not be a team in the majors that can match the under-25 core of Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Andrew Benintendi, Eduardo Rodriguez and (eventually) top prospect Yoan Moncada.