NL West: Injuries piling up in LA

Baseball Betting Lines

07/19/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Imagine the San Diego Padres trying to stay atop the NL West standings without Adrian Gonzalez, Chase Headley and Yorvit Torrealba.

The Los Angeles Dodgers would certainly enjoy seeing that happen, but they're the ones trying to stay healthy for a gigantic stretch run in the second half. The Dodgers, currently 5 1/2 games behind the division-leading Padres, are dealing with injuries to Manny Ramirez, Russell Martin and James Loney.

Ramirez hasn't played since Friday because of a tight calf muscle. That was the last time Martin saw action because of a thumb ailment and Loney recently tweaked a hamstring, forcing manager Joe Torre to make a late scratch before Sunday's 5-4 loss at St. Louis. All three are questionable for Monday's series opener versus rival San Francisco.

The Cardinals completed the four-game sweep of Los Angeles (49-43) with two runs in the bottom of the ninth and erased a 4-0 lead.

"It's tough. Very tough," Torre said on the team's site. "It looked like what should have been a good enough lead, we let get away, and we have nobody to blame but ourselves."

Torre was "celebrating" his 70th birthday and the loss may have added a few years. He is still mum on his future with the club, and has more to worry about with injuries and breakdowns in pitching. It's not as if the Dodgers can go out and make a big trade or sign someone since moving money around is not a subject the franchise wants to discuss at this point. What you see is what you get from this current group of Dodgers, and it's going to be tough making ground in the NL West for the remainder of the season.

PADRES PAINT FUTURE BLACK

It's safe to say San Diego Padres manager Bud Black has performed a mini miracle with the ballclub this season.

Upper management seems to feel the same way and handed him a three-year contract extension through 2013 with club options for 2014 and 2015. Black, whose deal was extended through 2010 with a club option for 2011 last August, has the confidence of his players and general manager Jed Hoyer.

"I am really happy to announce that the Padres have reached an agreement on a well-deserved contract extension for Bud Black," said Hoyer. "This news comes at time when the team is playing well, but my faith in Bud goes far beyond wins and losses. He and his staff are exceptionally well prepared, he embraces the challenge of teaching young players and, most importantly, the players compete for him every night."

During his three-plus seasons at the helm, Black has led San Diego to an overall mark of 281-297.

Many pegged the Padres to finish near the basement in the NL West this season and that they would probably trade All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Instead, San Diego has spent numerous weeks atop the division standings and owns the best record in the National League at 54-37. Atlanta is right behind with a 54-38 ledger.

Gonzalez isn't going anywhere as of now, and the Padres would be foolish to let their best left-handed bat go. The team locked up Black, so why not Gonzalez too?

San Diego has won four straight and will visit the Braves for three games starting with Tuesday's series opener.

GIANTS MUST PLAY BETTER IN NL WEST

With the Los Angeles Dodgers ailing and the Arizona Diamondbacks struggling, the San Francisco Giants' upcoming schedule should get a bit easier.

The Giants (50-42) will open a seven-game road trip in Hollywood and Arizona tonight, but have the worst division mark in the NL West. At 9-20 in division play, it's no wonder the Giants are 4 1/3 games out first place.

On a sour note, San Francisco has won only three of 14 road games against teams from the NL West this season.

"I think as much as anything it's the focus these guys came in with, knowing this is part of the schedule and how important it is to play on the road, especially when you have a long stretch, and that can determine your season," noted Giants manager Bruce Bochy. "That's how you have to look at it, how important it is, and come out every day and be ready to go."

On a more uplifting note, the Giants have won nine of their last 11 games and almost completed a rare four-game sweep of the visiting New York Mets before the bullpen imploded Sunday afternoon. Bochy has a strong trio of pitchers for the upcoming set with LA, as young prospect Madison Bumgarner, two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum and 2002 AL Cy Young honoree Barry Zito are scheduled to pitch in Hollywood.

HIT STREAKS END FOR COLORADO'S GONZALEZ, HERRERA

Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez and infielder Jonathan Herrera both had lengthy hitting streaks come to an end in Sunday's win at Cincinnati.

They are probably more relieved that the ballclub was able to halt a three- game losing streak despite combining to go 0-for-8 in the 1-0 win.

Herrera was riding a 13-game hitting streak and batted .396 with seven runs and seven RBI before an 0-for-4 showing yesterday. He had a 10-game streak going earlier this season and the longest streak by a Rockie this season was Clint Barmes' 14-game run from the end of June to the beginning of July.

Gonzalez had a hit in 10 consecutive contests before his 0-for-4 performance on Sunday. He hit .442 with 13 runs bated in over the stretch.

In other team news, All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is expected to join the team in south Florida this week. The injured infielder, who is hampered by a broken left wrist, could begin a Minor League rehab assignment in the next few days. First baseman Todd Helton is still on the disabled list with a back problem, but has been taking swings in the batting cage.

The Rockies (50-41) are four games off the NL West lead and have won seven of their last 10 games. They are 1-2 on an 11-game trek through Cincinnati, Florida and Philadelphia.

IF ONLY VASQUEZ COULD START FOR D'BACKS

The Arizona Diamondbacks have been through turmoil this season.

A lack of hits in the clutch and poor pitching has led the Diamondbacks to an abysmal 34-58 record this season, a manager change and a new GM. Arizona has the worst overall earned run average this season at 5.40, while its relievers own an MLB-low 6.78 ERA.

Relief pitcher Esmerling Vasquez has been able to put all of that aside and has worked 8 1/3 straight scoreless innings. Interim manager Kirk Gibson could use just about anything right now on the mound. Heck, he could test and see if the batboy has a good arm.

But it's been nice for Vasquez and his scoreless streak because there hasn't been much to talk about in the desert these days.

Arizona may even make some moves at the upcoming trade deadline, but don't expect them to break the bank or dump salary for the fun of it. Perhaps starting pitcher Dan Haren will be on the trade block or some other veteran who could bring in a package of prospects.

"I don't think anybody is really in a deal-making mode yet. We've been very open in discussing with teams what we'd be interested in doing," D'Backs GM Jerry Dipoto said on the team's site.

The Diamondbacks have lost four in a row and are last in the NL West standings, 20 1/2 games behind frontrunning San Diego. Meanwhile, infielder Kelly Johnson has ripped off four straight multi-hit games and has hit safely in 12 of his last 14 games, recording two triples, two homers and 10 RBI.

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What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.

Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).

If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).

Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.

How to Read Point Spreads

New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)

In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:

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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt

Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.

The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.

Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.

NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.

"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.

The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.

But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.

The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.

Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.

The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.

The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.

The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.

Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.

Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."

Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.

"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."

Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.

"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."

Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.

"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."

At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.

According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.

Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.

When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.

He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.

Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.

Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.

Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.

While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.

"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.

Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.

Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

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