Place your bets: Albert Pujols and Nelson Cruz are favorites for World Series MVP

Bodog has betting odds on which player will be named World Series MVP and not surprisingly Albert Pujols and Nelson Cruz lead the way:

Albert Pujols       5/1
Nelson Cruz         6/1
Adrian Beltre       7/1
Josh Hamilton       7/1
Field              10/1
Ian Kinsler        10/1
Michael Young      10/1
David Freese       11/1
Matt Holliday      11/1
Lance Berkman      14/1
Yadier Molina      15/1
C.J. Wilson        18/1
Chris Carpenter    18/1
Elvis Andrus       18/1
Jon Jay            18/1
Mike Napoli        18/1
Jason Motte        25/1
Neftali Feliz      25/1
Allen Craig        30/1

In terms of the best value bets, Lance Berkman at 14-to-1 and Mike Napoli at 18-to-1 are probably the most underrated relative to the other top hitters on each team. And both Game 1 starters at 18-to-1 seem like decent bets, because if either Chris Carpenter or C.J. Wilson win two games in the series their MVP odds would be pretty strong.

Also worth noting: There are six guys at 10-to-1 or better and Pujols is the only Cardinals player, which makes some sense given that the Rangers are favored to win the series.

Blue Jays closer Ken Giles hasn’t exactly turned things around since joining the Blue Jays on July 31, when the club sent embattled closer Roberto Osuna to the Astros. Giles posted a 4.99 ERA in 30 2/3 innings with the Astros, then put up a slightly less miserable 4.58 ERA in 17 2/3 innings with the Jays. Still, he’s much happier with the Jays than he was with the Astros, even after winning the World Series with them last year. He said to Rosie DiManno of the Toronto Star, “I’m actually enjoying the game more than I did for my entire tenure in Houston. It’s kind of weird to say that because I won a World Series with that team. But it’s like, I just felt trapped there. I didn’t feel like myself there. Overall, I felt out of place.”

Giles also said “the communication was lost” with the Astros and it was something that came easy with the Jays. He said, “When I came here, they stayed patient with me. I said hey, I want to work on this thing till I’m comfortable. All right. OK, I’m comfortable, let’s move on to this next thing. Pitching, you can’t just try to fix everything at once. For me, I had to take baby steps to get my groove back. The Jays allowed me to do that. Yeah, the team was out of contention, but it doesn’t matter. It’s still my career. I still have to prove myself. Them being so patient with me, understanding what I want to do, was very, very big.”

Giles, 28, has two more years of arbitration eligibility remaining. He has shown promise despite his overall mediocre numbers. In non-save situations this season (with both the Astros and Jays), he has a 9.12 ERA. But in save situations, his ERA is a pristine 0.38. Giles could be a closer the Jays find themselves leaning on as they attempt to get back into competitive shape. Since it sounds like Giles is quite enamored with Toronto and with the Blue Jays, a discussion about a contract extension certainly could be had.

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