MLB trading season is the height of all rumor-related ramblings.
Moreso than any other time of the year, now is when you hear absolutely b-a-n-a-n-a-s rumors that don't make any sense.
Or, alternately, that just don't seem believable.
But that's okay -- just because someone is hearing that the Giants might make a move for Carlos Beltran and give up Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain and Buster Posey for him doesn't mean ... okay, well, that one's not true.
But you get the point -- insane things get said and wild speculation gets thrown about like champagne in the locker room after a World Series title win.
There IS one place, however, that provides some reliability when it comes to calculating the likelihood of a deal: Las Vegas.
Yup, Vegas, baby. And you know why? Because the dudes doing the guesswork there aren't being told stuff by agents. And they're not basing it on what should happen according to the way baseball teams work.
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They're basing the odds on whether or not they will get torched by people betting on the various prop bets.
Plus, everyone knows that people in Vegas know more about sports than anyone else.
So how does this affect the Giants? Well, according to BoDog.com, San Francisco is the favorite to land Carlos Beltran at 2/1.
The Braves slot in second at 3/1, the Rangers are 5/1, the Red Sox and Phillies are 15/2, the Reds are 15/1 and "Any Other Team" is 7/4.
So, yes, technically "Field" is the favorite, but that's happens all the time and it's standard betting procedure.
And yeah, the Giants are crushing the field in terms of how much they're favored. But they're still favored. And if you're hoping for some sort of offensive push for the team in 2011, your best bet might be listening to Vegas.
