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05/14/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After six weeks of play, delving into the Chicago White Sox' laundry list of problems is like opening Pandora's Box.
Chicago (14-20) has not won back-to-back games since the final week of April, a feat the team has accomplished only twice all season. Offensively, the team is hitting a combined .230, which ranks dead last in the American League.
In Wednesday's 3-2 loss to Minnesota, the White Sox did all of their scoring in the first inning and the final 14 batters went down in order. They are now 1-15 in games when they score three runs or less.
And with that, Chicago remains 8 1/2 games behind the division-leading Twins, and the teams won't face off again for another two months. Manager Ozzie Guillen was clearly frustrated while talking to reporters after Wednesday's game.
At least one person is optimistic, and that's the guy who works directly with the hitters day in, day out.
"Right now, to this point, everybody is dwelling on batting average and says we are not hitting for average," hitting coach Greg Walker told the Chicago Tribune. "We are not last in the league in offense. We are middle of the pack scoring runs. Last time I checked, there's no penetration rule or tiebreaker in baseball.
"I don't look at it so much as where we are at. I look at the potential we have. You've never heard me one time say this team is not talented enough to be good."
One of those guys Wilson is counting on to produce is right fielder Carlos Quentin, who is now hitting .180 on the season after going 0-for-8 in two games with the Twins this week. Quentin was expected to be a key cog in the middle of the lineup, though he has not been able to replicate his 2008 season, when he hit .288 with 36 home runs and 100 RBI during his first year in Chicago.
Guillen said this week that Quentin is putting too much pressure on himself, and that needs to just relax and take good at-bats. On Wednesday, he had planned to replace Quentin in the lineup with Andruw Jones -- whose offensive struggles have been well documented -- but that plan changed when Jones was a last-minute lineup scratch with stiffness in his neck.
While Quentin and the offense continue to search for answers, the starting rotation ranks 24th in the majors with a 4.80 ERA. At the same time, Guillen has opened the search for another closer after Bobby Jenks' meltdown in Sunday's 9-7 loss to Toronto. Jenks entered the game with a two-run lead and wound up allowing four runs without retiring a batter. He has now allowed 20 hits in 13 innings this season and has seen his ERA balloon to 6.23.
Jenks did end up closing out Tuesday's 5-2 win at Minnesota, though Guillen has not ruled out the possibility of turning to left-hander Matt Thornton (2-2, 2.20) or right-hander J.J. Putz (0-2, 4.91), who was Seattle's closer from 2006-08 before an injury shortened season with the Mets last year.
END OF THE ROAD FOR HILLMAN IN KANSAS CITY
Nobody told Trey Hillman that managing the Kansas City Royals would be an easy job. On Thursday morning, that reality came to a head when general manager Dayton Moore replaced Hillman with Ned Yost.
Following a seven-game skid that dropped the team's record to 11-23 entering Thursday, Moore decided it was time to make the move to Yost, who managed the Milwaukee Brewers from 2003-08. He had been serving as a special advisor to baseball operations with Kansas City.
Hillman was in the third and final year of his contract. For all of the Royals' misery over the years, they haven't had too much success among their early draft choices. Third baseman Alex Gordon -- the team's 2005 top pick -- was viewed as a future cornerstone, but so far he has crashed and burned. Earlier this year, he was optioned back to the minors and was recently moved to left field. Luke Hochevar -- the top overall selection of the 2006 draft -- is 16-27 with a 5.85 ERA in 55 career starts. And the list goes on.
Brewers' general manager Doug Melvin credited Yost for developing young players in Milwaukee -- namely infielders J.J. Hardy, Ricky Weeks and Prince Fielder -- while also getting top production from mid-level players such as Scott Podsednik.
Ultimately, Moore broke the news to Hillman Thursday morning, and then gave him the option to manage that night's game against Cleveland, which the Royals went on to win, 6-4.
"(Hillman) said, 'I'm not going out losing seven in a row. I'm going to go out a winner today,'" Moore said.
TWINS READY FOR LITMUS TEST WITH YANKEES
The Minnesota Twins have coasted through the early portion of the season, boasting a 22-12 record and opening up a 2 1/2-game lead in the AL Central.
Now, the road is about to get dicey, as the Twins begin a seven-game road trip against AL East foes New York, Toronto and Boston, beginning tonight at Yankee Stadium. There may not be a more daunting venue across the league right now than Yankee Stadium, where the reigning World Series champs are 10-2 thus far.
Of course, Twins fans remember all too well last season when Minnesota went 0-10 against the Bronx Bombers, including a swift first-round playoff exit.
Under manager Ron Gardenhire, the Twins have won five of the last eight AL Central titles. Still, when it comes to the Yankees, one can't help but feel there is somewhat of a big brother-little brother complex at work.
The Twins catch a bit of good fortune this weekend, as they won't have to face staff ace C.C. Sabathia or unbeaten Phil Hughes (5-0, 1.38). These teams will face off again at Target Field later this month.
TIGERS SEND MESSAGE TO REST OF AL
While the Twins get set to take on the Yankees this weekend, the Detroit Tigers just wrapped up their early-season test with the champs. And they passed with flying colors, taking three of four from the Bronx Bombers this week to capture their first home series victory over New York since 2007.
With that, Detroit improves to 20-15, entering play Friday 2 1/2 games off the pace in the division, and 5 1/2 games ahead of third-place Chicago. Unless the landscape of the AL Central changes soon, it's looking like we could be headed toward a two-team race in the division.
The Yankees series had a bit of everything. Detroit scratched and clawed its way to a 5-4 win to open the series on Monday night, the same night the organization honored the late Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell.
The teams split Wednesday's doubleheader, with the Tigers winning the front end, 2-0, behind seven shutout innings from starter Rick Porcello. In between games, about half the team decided to get mohawk haircuts.
On Thursday, Justin Verlander outdueled Yankees' ace C.C. Sabathia, as he threw 6 2/3 scoreless frames to lead the Tigers in a 6-0 win. The offense was aggressive in that victory, scoring six runs on nine hits off Sabathia. It marked his highest run total allowed in any game this season.
Now, the Tigers move on to face Boston in a three-game set this weekend, followed by two more home games against the White Sox before beginning a seven-game road trip.
TRIBE'S REBUILDING PLAN HITS A ROAD BLOCK
When a team makes the decision to rebuild, very rarely is it a streamlined process with the results steadily improving from one day to the next. When you're talking about young players getting their first extensive taste of the daily grind that is Major League Baseball, there are bound to be some road blocks.
The Cleveland Indians (13-19) are finding that out right now.
Matt LaPorta, acquired as the key piece to the Sabathia deal in July 2008, has seen his playing time cut dramatically as he's struggled with a .218 batting average.
Luis Valbuena, who is viewed as the team's primary second baseman now and in the future, has also been given more and more days off to clear his head. He is hitting just .159.
Manager Manny Acta had a closed-door meeting with young left-hander David Huff following Thursday's 6-4 loss to Kansas City, in which Huff allowed six runs in five innings. Huff is now 1-5 with a 5.34 ERA -- although those numbers would be worse had his last start not been rained out after he allowed seven runs through two innings.
Acta's message was clear: "command the fastball and be aggressive with it."
Acta is sticking behind his young guns because he knows they are the building blocks of the team's future. But still, that doesn't mean he'll always play those youngsters over veterans who are more productive.
"We can't lose track of the big picture," Acta said. "We're trying to find other players to go along with Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, Asdrubal Cabrera and Shin-Soo Choo for the long ride. We're still trying to develop these guys."
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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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It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.
As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.
Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.
Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.
Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.
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