Yanks favorites in wide-open field

If teen phenom Bryce Harper is swinging for the fences and running the bases like a daredevil in the World Series, don’t be surprised. Harper and his Washington Nationals have about as good a shot to get there as the New York Yankees.

For that matter, all 10 teams still standing on the first Friday in October have a good shot, because this baseball postseason race is as wide open as a Wyoming highway.

“I don’t discount any team that’s in the playoffs at all,” LVH sports book oddsmaker Jeff Sherman said.

Initially, I agreed with him. On second thought, I will discount one long-shot team, and that’s Baltimore. But that could prove to be a foolish move.

It’s easier to count out one team than it is to pick one winner. In the past week, I asked several handicappers and media members to predict the World Series champion and received seven different answers, including Atlanta, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Washington, Detroit and Texas.

The other choice came from local ESPN Radio host and handicapper Dave Cokin, who said, “I hate to say this, but it’s the Yankees.”

Cokin is a Boston Red Sox fan, and his team finished 24 games under .500 and 26 behind first-place New York in the American League East. As a Yankees fan, I enjoyed typing that sentence.

But I’m not all that optimistic about the Yankees, because it’s debatable if their starting pitching can hold up, and this is the time of year Alex Rodriguez always seems to pop out or strike out with two outs and runners in scoring position.

“The Yankees are playing their best ball right now,” said Cokin, one of the few people who still handicaps baseball every day after the football season starts. “Their pitching is pretty good, and they have a good lineup that can match up against lefties and righties. I want so much to be wrong about that prediction.”

What does look right is the Yankees’ status as the World Series favorites at 5-1 odds. New York played the best down the stretch and did so under pressure while fending off the Orioles. It has two top starters – CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte – and few weaknesses in a veteran lineup.

Aside from A-Rod, the Yankees’ big guns are firing. Robinson Cano went 24-for-39 in the last nine games. Derek Jeter has reached base in 34 straight games and ended the regular season with a major league-high 216 hits. Curtis Granderson strikes out a lot, but he hit two home runs Wednesday to finish with a career-high 43. Ichiro Suzuki was a great pickup from Seattle.

Still, the Yankees appear only a hair better than Detroit, which has power pitchers (Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer) and power hitters (Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder.) The Tigers were weak on the road (38-43), but they are not a bad bet at 6-1 odds.

Detroit drew the amazing A’s, who were at 100-1 odds to win the AL West at the All-Star break.

“We had the A’s at 100-1, and no one bet them,” Sherman said. “It’s nice to say after the fact, but who would have thought it at the time?”

Oakland, with the majors’ lowest Opening Day payroll, has a major league-best 72-38 record since June 2. The A’s swept a season-ending series from Texas, and their reward is getting stuck with Verlander and Cabrera. The Tigers are minus-160 favorites in a best-of-5 series that begins Saturday at Detroit.

“I think the worst possible scenario for the A’s was getting Detroit,” said Mike Colbert, vice president of Cantor Gaming sports books.

Colbert likes both underdogs – Baltimore and St. Louis – in today’s wild-card games. The Orioles visit Texas, the World Series favorite until last week. The Cardinals visit Atlanta, which has won 23 consecutive starts by right-hander Kris Medlen.

Cincinnati won 97 games and earned home-field advantage yet opens its series against the Giants at San Francisco, where I see Matt Cain as a good bet to win Game 1.

Two years ago, Harper was swinging for the fences for the College of Southern Nevada in the Junior College World Series. Now he has a chance to play in the real World Series, with the Nationals at 6-1 odds. But without ace Stephen Strasburg, they probably won’t win it all.

“I’ll tell you one thing I won’t do is bet on the Rangers,” said Cokin, who is sticking with his Yankees pick, like it or not.

■ CLOSING NUMBERS – Last month, a reader left a voice mail and claimed I couldn’t pick college football winners. I went 3-1 last week to go 8-2 the past two weeks. So there are your winners, and here are six plays for Saturday (home team in CAPS):

SOUTH CAROLINA (-1) over Georgia; Michigan (-3) over PURDUE; Oklahoma (-5) over TEXAS TECH; Unlv-LOUISIANA TECH (Over 69½); OHIO STATE (-3½) over Nebraska; FLORIDA (+2½) over Louisiana State.

Contact sports betting columnist Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. He co-hosts “The Las Vegas Sportsline” weekdays at 2 p.m. on ESPN Radio (1100 AM, 98.9 FM). Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.