The defending champion Boston Red Sox begin the 2005 regular season riding the crest of an eight-game postseason winning streak. The Red Sox retooled their starting rotation over the winter, adding Matt Clement and David Wells and subtracting Pedro Martinez.

Will Boston be as successful in 2005? The oddsmakers at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas apparently don't think so. The Flamingo Road bet shop recently posted its over/under season win totals, and the Red Sox aren't at the top of the list.

The New York Yankees have that distinction. One can bet the Bronx Bombers win more than 102 games and lay $110 to win $100. New York, which came out on top 101 times last year, spent a ton of George Steinbrenner's cash in the offseason to bolster the pitching staff. The addition of Randy Johnson at the top of the rotation makes the Yankees favorites to win their first world title since 2000.

The Yankees weren't the only team to spend a king's ransom this fall. Arizona was the worst team in the majors last season at 51-111. The Diamondbacks hope the addition of sluggers Troy Glaus and Shawn Green and pitchers Russ Ortiz and Javier Vazquez will return them to respectability. Free-spending Arizona's win total was posted at 74 at the Palms, which would be a hefty 23-game improvement.

The New York Mets are another team that spared no expense upgrading their lineup after going 71-91 last season. The Mets are expected to compete with Atlanta, Philadelphia and Florida in the NL East due to several significant additions. Rookie skipper Willie Randolph welcomes center fielder Carlos Beltran, a player capable of carrying a team, and Martinez, who takes over at the top of a strong rotation. The Mets’ over/under win total is 86.

St. Louis led the pack with 105 wins last season. The Cardinals shuffled the deck after their World Series loss and will begin the season with a new double-play combination in shortstop David Eckstein and second baseman Mark Grudzielanek. Mark Mulder, a lefty ace with a career .659 winning percentage, hopes to have as much luck in the National League as he did with Oakland. St. Louis is on the board at 92 1/2 victories, with the 'over' listed as a $1.30 favorite.

Defending AL West champ Anaheim (92) and perennial NL East kingpin Atlanta (90) are the only other teams tabbed to win 90 games or more. There are five teams at the bottom of the barrel tabbed to win fewer than 70 games. Kansas City managed 58 victories last season and slight improvement is expected. The Royals win total is posted at 66 1/2. They join Toronto (68 1/2), Milwaukee (69), Washington (68 1/2) and Colorado (68 1/2) at the bottom of the Palms power poll.

The complete list, along with last season's victory totals on the right column, appears below.

TEAM          2005     2004

----          ----     ----

ANAHEIM       92       92

ARIZONA       74       51

ATLANTA       90       96

BALTIMORE     81 1/2   78

BOSTON        95 1/2   98

CUBS          89       89

WHITE SOX     84       83

CINCINNATI    78       76

COLORADO      68 1/2   68

CLEVELAND     83 1/2   80

DETROIT       77 1/2   72

FLORIDA       87       83

HOUSTON       84       92

KANSAS CITY   66 1/2   58

LOS ANGELES   86       93

MILWAUKEE     68 1/2   67

MINNESOTA     89       92

METS          86       71

YANKEES       102     101

OAKLAND       80 1/2   91

PHILADELPHIA  84 1/2   86

PITTSBURGH    74       72

SAN DIEGO     86       87

SAN FRANCISCO 88       91

SEATTLE       81 1/2   63

ST. LOUIS     92 1/2  105

TAMPA BAY     71 1/2   70

TEXAS         80       89

TORONTO       68 1/2   67

WASHINGTON    68 1/2   67*

*=Played in Montreal last year