Mets get boost for Series in Vegas

Thursday, January 31, 2008
Baseball: Roundup
Mets get boost for Series in Vegas
One bookmaker says putting Santana at the head of the rotation will be 'a huge thing.'
Detroit News wire services

LAS VEGAS -- The New York Mets are rated almost twice as likely to win the World Series today as they were Tuesday after gaining negotiation rights for two-time Cy Young winner Johan Santana, bookmakers say.

With the Twins' agreement to trade Santana if he can reach a contract extension with the Mets by Feb. 1, the team passed the Yankees among the favorites to claim the title.

The odds on the Mets winning the World Series are 5-1, an improvement from the 8-1 odds they had just after Boston won the title in October, according to Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which advises Nevada sports books on betting lines.

That places Santana's likely new team as the second choice to the Red Sox, who are 9-2, and ahead of the Yankees, third at 11-2.

"It certainly is a huge thing to put Santana in the front of your rotation, especially when in the Mets' situation, they really didn't have a No. 1 or 2 starter," Tony Sinisi, Las Vegas Sports Consultant's director, said.

In the American League, the Red Sox have 5-2 odds to reach the World Series, followed by the Yankees at 3-1 and Indians at 9-2.

At Caesars Palace, the Las Vegas hotel and casino owned by Harrah's Entertainment Inc., odds on the Mets to win the World Series were improved to 4-1 from 8-1. There, the Red Sox are 3-1 favorites, and the Yankees are 6-1.

Santana has agreed to be traded to the Mets if he can reach agreement on a six- or seven-year contract extension, USA TODAY said.