Phils slight NLCS favorites

A guy from Bodog sent me (and a few thousand other sportswriters, I imagine) some betting odds for the Phillies-Dodgers series, and there is an anomaly in the numbers. The Phillies are listed as slight favorites in the series against the Dodgers -- Phils are minus-120, Dodgers are even -- but the Dodgers are listed as having a slightly better chance to win the World Series.

Series odds:

Red Sox.......7/4

Rays............5/2

Dodgers.......3/1

Phillies.........13/4

So, what gives? A Bodog executive is quoted on the release saying,  "Although the Phillies are favored over the Dodgers to win the NLCS, the Dodgers are favored over the Phillies to win the World Series. This seems to stem from a public perception that the new look Manny Ramirez led Dodgers are a legitimate threat to whichever team emerges from the ALCS. The same cannot be said for the Phillies, who the public seem to believe are too strong a favorite in the series. This belief most likely rises from the popular opinion that the Dodgers regular season record is somewhat deceiving, in that had they had Manny for the entire season, the Dodgers would have entered the NLCS as the team with the best record and thus would have been afforded home field advantage along with being the series favorite."

Make of that what you will. I have no earthly idea what this stuff means, other than that it's a close call.

Anyway, here are the odds on who will be the NLCS MVP. Knock yourself out:

Manny Ramirez 3/1

Brad Lidge 5/1

Chase Utley 5/1

Ryan Howard 5/1

Cole Hamels 6/1

Derek Lowe 7/1

James Loney 7/1

Jimmy Rollins 7/1

Jonathan Broxton 8/1

Matt Kemp 8/1

Pat Burrell 8/1

Russell Martin 9/1

Andre Ethier 10/1

Takashi Saito 12/1

Casey Blake 15/1

Jayson Werth 15/1

Shane Victorino 15/1

Field Even