AL Central: Twins putting the heat on Chicago

Baseball Betting Lines

07/30/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins continue to prove that it takes more than high-profile personnel moves to compete for a postseason berth.

While the Detroit Tigers inked Johnny Damon and Jose Valverde in the offseason, Minnesota stayed quiet. While the Chicago White Sox went after Jake Peavy, the Twins shifted their focus to the guys in-house. Yet after four months of baseball, the Twins are once again right in the thick of the American League Central race, 1 1/2 games back of first-place Chicago entering Friday.

Winners of five straight, the Twins just wrapped up a seven-game road trip with an impressive 6-1 mark. Most importantly, the pitching and hitting both seem to be gelling at the same time. During this week's three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals, Minnesota held a 36-7 edge in run differential and exploded for 53 hits. In addition, the starters have gone 6-0 with a 1.40 ERA during the seven-game trip.

"That's been the key to our wins," catcher Joe Mauer said. "Yeah, we've scored a few runs here, but we're not going to do that every night. If we go out there and we can hold them to a couple runs here and there, I think it gives us a great chance of winning."

At the center of the offensive outburst has been the rapid ascension of Delmon Young, the former top overall pick who is now starting to live up to his huge potential. Young has taken off by hitting .439 in July, and he now ranks in the top-5 in the American League in batting average (.334), RBI (79) and doubles (31).

He has also been quite the clutch hitter for Minnesota, as evidenced by his .436 average and 61 RBI this season with runners in scoring position.

"Delmon's definitely different than we've seen Delmon in the past," said Royals starter Brian Bannister, who served up a first-inning home run to Young on Wednesday. "I think he's the hottest hitter in baseball right now."

While he has been on a tear of late, Young isn't swinging the only hot bat in the lineup. Mauer hit .480 (12-for-25) during the recently concluded seven- game trip. Together, he and Young have helped make up for the absence of cleanup hitter Justin Morneau, who has been out since July 7 with a concussion. No timetable has been set for his return.

On Thursday, Minnesota finally added a closer to replace Joe Nathan, who was lost for the season back in the spring. The Twins acquired All-Star closer Matt Capps and cash from the Washington Nationals for minor leaguers Wilson Ramos and Joe Testa. Caps has a 2.47 ERA in 47 games and has converted 26 of 30 save opportunities on the year.

TIGERS HOPING TO STOP THEIR POST-BREAK SLIDE

To say the Detroit Tigers have struggled since the All-Star break would be like saying MTV's Jersey Shore has generated a bit of buzz in pop culture.

Heading into the break, the Tigers were 10 games over .500 and only a half- game behind the first-place Chicago White Sox, who had just reeled off eight straight wins at the time. Since then, Detroit has gone an abysmal 3-12 to fall back to third place in the division, six games behind Chicago.

The road ahead won't get much easier, as the Tigers open a three-game set in Boston beginning Friday night. In the weeks ahead, they'll also play seven games against the White Sox, four against the New York Yankees, three against the Tampa Bay Rays, and another three against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Tigers are already dealing with Magglio Ordonez on the disabled list, among others.

"We're in emergency mode, really," manager Jim Leyland said. "That's just the way it is. You can say all you want. When I say that, I'm saying we just have to fight our tails off every day, try to win as many games as we can until we get some pieces straightened out a little bit. That's what we have to do. There's no sense fooling everybody. That's what we have to do, and we're doing it. We're just not quite getting over the hump."

To help the team's chances, general manager Dave Dombrowski traded for Indians' third baseman Jhonny Peralta earlier this week. However, Peralta alone won't get Detroit over the hump. As Leyland put it, it's do-or-die time for the Tigers to come together.

WHITE SOX JUST KEEP WINNING AT HOME

The Chicago White Sox have really asserted themselves in the month of July, posting a 17-7 record. Unfortunately for them, the red-hot Twins have been able to keep stride of late, as those two have begun to separate from the rest of the pack in the AL Central.

Winners of four straight, the White Sox enter Friday a season-high 13 games above .500 (57-44) and with a game-and-a-half lead in the division. Having just wrapped up a four-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners, Chicago has won 11 straight at U.S. Cellular Field and is now 31-19 at home. The 11-game streak marks the team's longest home winning streak since a 13-game stretch in 1989.

Of course, the White Sox don't have the luxury of playing all home games the rest of the way. Longtime veteran infielder Omar Vizquel said he believes one key addition could help push Chicago over the hump and assume control of the division.

"If it's not another pitcher, probably it's another hitter," Vizquel told the Chicago Tribune. "This is a time where we really need to make a step toward getting better and to separate between the teams that are around, having a chance, and the teams that really need to go on to the playoffs.

"This is the last time to make a change, and I think that with another guy on the team we might secure the next step."

Manager Ozzie Guillen said Thursday night that he had not even seen general manager Kenny Williams in the past two or three days. Williams' ideal trade deadline acquisition would be a left-handed bat to drive in runs. Guillen, however, said he expects the roster to stay the same on August 1, which is fine with him.

TRIBE IN WAIT-AND-SEE MODE WITH SANTANA, TALBOT

The Cleveland Indians may have lost more than an 11-4 decision to the New York Yankees Thursday night. Rookie starting pitcher Mitch Talbot will stay in Cleveland to have an MRI on his back, while rookie catcher Carlos Santana tries to recover from taking a fastball off his kneecap in the seventh inning.

Talbot began feeling a strain in the middle of his back during the second inning of Thursday's start, and when the discomfort remained two batters into the third inning, he was removed from the game. Talbot, who is 8-9 with a 4.09 ERA in his first full big league season, said he didn't anticipate missing any time.

"I really don't think it's serious at all," Talbot said. "I think I'll be out there again in five days. I don't think I'll miss any time."

Likewise, Santana wasn't very worried about his injury, saying that he iced it and expected to be ready to go Friday. Although he initially remained in the game, Santana was eventually replaced by Chris Gimenez to begin the eighth.

If the prognosis turns out to be longer for either player, it would obviously be a tough break for an Indians ballclub that has seemingly been through it all this year. With the bullpen being asked to pitch the last seven innings after Talbot's exit, manager Manny Acta turned to backup third baseman Andy Marte to pitch the ninth.

Incidentally, Marte retired the side in order, even striking out Nick Swisher for the second out.

PODSEDNIK DEALT, WHO IS NEXT TO GO FOR ROYALS?

On Wednesday, the Kansas City Royals shipped veteran outfielder Scott Podsednik to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league catcher Lucas May and right-hander Elisaul Pimentel.

Essentially, the trade nets two prospects instead of the one compensatory pick the team would have received if Podsednik left as a free agent after the season. The move also gives manager Ned Yost some roster flexibility with a few younger players.

"It allows us to put Alex Gordon in left field and just let him go," Yost told the Kansas City Star. "It also opens up a spot for Mitch Maier to get more playing time. Both of those things are important."

Podsednik leaves the Royals with a .310 batting average and also in the midst of a career-high 15-game hitting streak. In May, Kansas City gets a 25-year- old player who was hitting .296 with 11 homers and 45 RBI in 73 games for the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate. He'll report to Triple-A Omaha. Pimentel, 22, was assigned to Single-A Burlington after compiling a 9-3 record and a 3.49 ERA in 16 starts for Single-A Great Lakes. He was the Midwest League pitcher of the month for June after going 4-0 with a 0.39 ERA.

Meanwhile, any dreams of unloading pitcher Gil Meche and his $12 million annual salary were washed away with the news that he'll be undergoing season- ending right shoulder surgery sometime next week. Meche, who has been on the DL since May 25 with what was initially diagnosed as bursitis, is hoping to return by Spring Training, or early next season at worst.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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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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