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NL East: Rest does the trick for Mets' WrightBaseball Betting Lines05/21/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last thing that New York Mets third baseman David Wright has probably wanted to hear lately is a spirited rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." After all, the verse "for it's one, two, three strikes, you're out, at the old ball game," could have served as a constant reminder of his season-long struggles at the plate. Perhaps Wright just needed to get away from the game for a bit, if only for a day. That is why Mets manager Jerry Manuel sat Wright on Wednesday, giving his embattled former All-Star some time to clear his head. "We have to make decisions at times to give people a break, and I just thought [Wednesday] would be a good time to give him a break," Manuel told New York's website. "You're talking about a guy that's a .309 career hitter. He's a tremendous competitor, and he wanted to play." The rest worked, at least for a game. Wright returned to the lineup on Thursday and matched a season high with four RBI, helping New York to a 10-7 victory. That's a good sign for Wright and the Mets as he had just three hits over his previous 25 at-bats with 12 strikeouts. "I'm glad it turned out the way it did, but I'd like to think that either way I would have come in and felt this way," said Wright. "I felt good at the plate, felt like I had good at-bats. Hopefully it's something to build on." Wright should also note that he did not go down on strikes in any of his four at-bats. He led the majors with 55 strikeouts before he sat for a game. New York needs Wright to get it going seeing as it has still lost seven of its last nine and sits in last place in the National League East. NATIONALS: STOREN CONTRIBUTES EARLY It didn't take long for Washington Nationals reliever Drew Storen to make an impact after being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on Monday. The 22-year-old made his MLB debut that night versus the Cardinals, striking out one while recording two outs, and then picked up his first win in only his second appearance two days later after recording the final two outs of the seventh inning versus the Mets. "Luckily, I didn't let the pressure get to me," the 10th overall pick of the 2009 draft said after his victory. "I love those situations. I like being able to come out of the 'pen in those situations and help out. That's what I like to do." The right-hander Storen has yet to allow a hit over his two appearances and figures to be a key piece for Washington's bullpen. That is good news for fellow relievers Tyler Clippard and Matt Capps, who have combined to throw 49 2/3 innings of relief. Capps, the closer, is 15-for-15 in save chances, while Clippard is among the league leaders with seven wins. Storen, of course, won't be the last big-name callup from Syracuse. Nationals nation is still waiting for Stephen Strasburg, who has yet to allow a run over three starts and 18 1/3 innings in Triple-A. That came after he went 3-1 with a 1.64 earned run average in five games at Double-A Harrisburg. Storen has little doubt that his former minor league teammate will have an impact on the Nationals once he gets brought up. "Oh, if he does what he did in Syracuse ... The difference between Harrisburg and Syracuse is that he stepped it up from Harrisburg," Storen told MLB.com. "I really didn't know you could do that. It was truly unfair. That's why I'm really excited to see him pitch once he gets here. It's going to be cool to see that." With the Nationals have lost six of their last seven to fall five games back of the first-place Phillies in the NL East, he might not have to wait too much longer. BRAVES: LEARNING TO WALK (OFF) THIS WAY Say what you want about the Atlanta Braves, but the club refuses to give up. Hoping to give Bobby Cox a proper send off this season, scheduled to be the manager's last on the bench, the Braves instead find themselves 4 1/2 games back of the Phillies for first-place in the National League East. If not for some late-inning heroics over the last three games, however, it could be much worse. Atlanta got game-winning hits in the ninth inning in each of its last three games, helping the club end a seven-game road trip 5-2. On Tuesday, a throwing error by the Mets' Wright allowed Brent Clevlen to cross the plate for the winning run in a 3-2 victory, while rookie Jason Heyward played the hero the following day versus the Reds. Heyward came through with a two-out double that scored Martin Prado in a 5-4 triumph. If Atlanta thought its games couldn't get any more exciting, it was wrong. The Braves trailed the Reds by six runs heading into the bottom of the ninth inning on Thursday before pulling off the largest comeback in franchise history. After chipping away during the frame, pinch-hitter Brooks Conrad stamped a humongous exclamation point on the rally with a one-out walk-off grand slam for a 10-9 victory. "One thing about this club, we haven't played well at times, we haven't played consistently at times, [but] we're not giving up. We play it to the bitter end," Chipper Jones told Atlanta's website. "We've come up short a couple of times. And lo and behold, at probably the most important juncture of the season, we finally broke through and finished it. Three walk-off wins in a row. Things like that propel you to winning streaks." Conrad became the 23rd player in major league history to overcome a three-run deficit with a grand slam. The last was Adam Dunn for the Reds on June 30, 2006. PHILLIES: TRUCKING TOWARDS SOME SAVES The Philadelphia Phillies already have a "Big Piece," also known as Ryan Howard, in their offense. Now they have a "Big Truck" closing out their games. With Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson both currently on the disabled list, the Phillies have turned to the 38-year-old Jose Contreras to save games, a role the right-handed Cuban has seemed to enjoy thus far. A starter most of his career, Contreras shifted to the bullpen last year after being acquired by the Rockies from the White Sox. He signed with Philadelphia with the thought he would bolster the bullpen, but no one predicted he would be closing games. Contreras made his debut as the closer on May 15, striking out two batters in Milwaukee to preserve a 10-6 victory and earn his first career save. After that game, the Phillies placed Lidge on the DL due to right elbow inflammation. Madson had replaced an injured Lidge before, but he is currently sidelined after right toe surgery, an injury he suffered kicking a chair after a blown save in late April. "I never thought in my life I'd save a game, in 22 years of starting games, and now I'm closing games. ... I loved that kind of moment, that adrenaline, saving the game with the fans and other stuff," Contreras told Philadelphia's website after that first save. "There's a lot of adrenaline in that moment. I never thought in my career I'd be part of the bullpen. I've always said if I can't start a game, I'll go home. But things have changed, I'm part of the bullpen, and I love it. And I can see how it helps the team." Contreras felt that adrenaline again on Thursday versus the Cubs. Coming into a 5-4 game, the 6-foot-4 hurler hit Alfonso Soriano with a pitch and then gave up a single to Mike Fontenot to put runners on the corner. However, he buckled down to strike out both Starlin Castro and Aramis Ramirez before getting Geovany Soto to pop out in foul territory to end the game. Heading into their weekend set with Boston, Philadelphia owns a four-game edge for first place in the NL East. MARLINS: PUTTING RAMIREZ INCIDENT BEHIND THEM It has been less than a week, but it looks as though Hanley-gate is coming to a quick end. To recap, shortstop Hanley Ramirez was pulled from Monday's game early by manager Fredi Gonzalez after he felt Ramirez didn't hustle for a ball he accidentally kicked into the outfield. Gonzalez had some choice words for his star player after the game and Ramirez, who had fouled a ball off his leg prior to his field goof, countered on Tuesday with some unkind words of his own towards his manager and teammates. The 26-year-old Ramirez was then benched by his manager for Tuesday's game, but after meeting with his skipper and apologizing to teammates -- something Ramirez had said on Tuesday he wasn't going to do -- he was back in the lineup on Wednesday. While the incident threatened to divide the Marlins' locker room, Gonzalez believes his team will be better for it. "I'm always thinking that it's always going to be good," the manager said after Wednesday's victory over the Cardinals. "Everything is going to turn out positive. I think we'll be a stronger group, I think it will be a group that is going to be bonding together and I think it's going to be okay." As far as the incident itself, one that resulted in Ramirez saying he had lost respect for his manager, Gonzalez compared it to being a parent. "Sometimes our children will say something that hurts, but it's no big deal," he said. "We still love them and we won't change that for anything else." Though Florida lost Thursday's finale to the Cardinals, just its second setback in eight games, the Marlins might be looking to make a move up the standings this weekend in an interleague set against the White Sox. Florida trails first-place Philadelphia by four games in the National League East, but has the best record in the league in interleague play at 120-99. The Marlins went 10-8 versus the American League last year. While Ramirez attempts to rebuild his status on the Marlins, one player who can help shoulder the load is Dan Uggla. The second baseman is hitting .353 (12-for-34) over his last 11 games with five homers and nine RBI. His 11 home runs on the season rank him among the league leaders.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Here's a few words of advice for those attending or watching games involving the Cincinnati Reds. Don't leave your seat or change the channel on the television. The Reds have been the cardiac kids of the 2010 baseball seas
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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attemptTerrell 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 To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your VISA Sportsbook needs. Since the late 1990's, MySportsbook.com has been an online sportsbook / poker room / casino that focuses on quality.. MySportsbook caters to the experienced sports fan who values reliability and accuracy, with great attention to detail. MySportsbook's success over the past 3 years has made them the envy of the sports gambling industry. 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