Early baseball

The first baseball markets have come out and while it's too early for any real assessment of the MLB, the new "World classic" seems an interesting market. I've tried to research it a bit more but there is very little up-to-date information. USA and Dominican Republic are clear favourites as they hold most of the superstar sluggers. But there are a few other variables: the tournament comes pre-season when form, particularly for batters has not been established (I made money last year by simply backing the biggest price side in pre-season games as the bookies still side with the bigger club despite the lowkey nature of the games- I'll always take better than evens on a coin toss); it is unclear how many players will want to play, and how many owners will allow their players to play just before season start- the USA would seem to be worst affected by this, with Steinbrenner an unlikely supporter. I think the winner will be heavily MLB-player loaded which rules most other teams out, and though Canada look solid at a good price, Venezuela have a strong a side, without the heavyweight batting lineup, but should have the strongest pitching which may well prove crucial, and would appear to be taking the competition seriously and patriotically. Of course events may have occurred which weigh against them, and as a new tournament there's always huge unpredictability, but there's always a chance that the early price has just been placed too high and I'm willing to take a risk at 8-1.