They opened the year as the odds on favorites to win the World Series with 11/2 odds, however those odds slipped to 35/1 following the All - Star break, and continued to plummet to 75/1 after their trade deadline fire sale.
Everyone was injured, their pitching was either out of commission or straight up bad, and in a season where people assumed they would be buyers at the deadline, they were once again in a position to hold a firesale in July and August.