Cubs are favored to win the World Series

The Cubs, a franchise that hasn’t won it all since 1908, are favored to win baseball’s biggest prize.

After a last-place NL Central finish in 2014, the oddsmakers had the Cubs anywhere from 40-1 to 60-1 to win the World Series. But that was before Jon Lester was signed and Joe Maddon arrived in “Cousin Eddie,” improving their chances to 16-1.

With eight victories standing between them and history, the Cubs are now as low as 8-5 with some sports books to win the 2015 World Series.

The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook had the Cubs at 40-1 before the season. They are now listed at 5-2. MGM has them at 8-5.

When the playoffs began, the Cubs were 25-2 to win the World Series, while the Blue Jays were the favorite at 5-1. But after eliminating the Pirates and Cardinals—teams with the two-best records in MLB—the Cubs overtook the Jays (now 2-1) as the slight favorite, according to VegasInsider.com. The Royals are 3-1.

Bookmakers stand to lose a bunch if the Cubs end their championship drought, but the losses can’t possibly exceed their gains from all the Cubbies’ losing seasons.