Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Wallets: Bovada Releases Props for 2013 Season Win Totals

The surest sign of spring is when the oddsmakers start listing their props for the upcoming season. Here is how Bovada sees the final standings when the dust settles at the end of September:

AL East			AL Central			AL West
New York Yankees	88.5		Detroit Tigers	92.5		Los Angeles Angels	92.5
Toronto Blue Jays	87.5		Chicago White Sox	80.5		Texas Rangers	86.5
Tampa Bay Rays	86.5		Kansas City Royals	78.5		Oakland Athletics	83.5
Boston Red Sox	82.5		Cleveland Indians	76.5		Seattle Mariners	77.5
Baltimore Orioles	78.5		Minnesota Twins	67.5		Houston Astros	59.5
NL East			NL Central			NL West
Washington Nationals	92.5		Cincinnati Reds	91.5		Los Angeles Dodgers	91.5
Atlanta Braves	88.5		St Louis Cardinals	85.5		San Francisco Giants	87.5
Philadelphia Phillies	83.5		Milwaukee Brewers	81.5		Arizona Diamondbacks	81.5
New York Mets	74.5		Pittsburgh Pirates	77.5		San Diego Padres	74.5
Miami Marlins	63.5		Chicago Cubs	72.5		Colorado Rockies	71.5

The story lines are set. Among them:

• There's not much faith in the Pirates snapping their 20-year streak of losing seasons.
• Toronto's mega-trade with Miami and other roster moves may not produce the happiness that Yankee money buys.
• Speaking of the Yankees, did their win projection go up because Alex Rodriguez will miss much of the season?
• Speaking of money, with a payroll north of $214million, the Dodgers are projected to spend $2,349,727 per win.
• Is Josh Hamilton worth a 10-win swing? Last year, Texas won four more games than the Angels. (And yes, Zach Greinke might have something to do with this number, too.)

It also appears that Kansas City is considered to be the surprise of the season, as Bovada's oddsmakers look for a six-win improvement out of them. Given the prospects they traded to Tampa Bay, they had best hope for at least that sort of gain.

There will surely be more surprises than that. Just ask the Orioles and Athletics of last year. The game now is to find them.