AL West: Rangers' bats starting to flex some muscle

Baseball Betting Lines

06/15/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Conventional wisdom suggests it was only a matter of time before the Texas Rangers' offense really got going.

After all, this was an offense that ranked second in the American League in home runs last year, and that was before adding eight-time All-Star Vladimir Guerrero in the offseason. Having won five of their last six games entering Tuesday's off day, the Rangers are no doubt starting to live up to the hype.

And make no mistake, it is the offense that has been the catalyst during the team's recent surge, having averaged 8.3 runs in their nine victories this month. On the season, the Rangers' .277 team batting average ranks third in the majors. They rank fifth overall in runs (321), hits (601) and RBI (303).

Third baseman Michael Young is one hit away from tying former catcher Ivan Rodriguez as the club's all-time leading hitter. Young now has 1,746 base knocks, thanks to his current eight-game hitting streak. Over the last four games, Young has gone 9-for-21.

However, Young isn't the only one swinging a red-hot bat at the moment. In fact, Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero and Julio Borbon all currently have hitting streaks of at least 10 games.

Hamilton is 15-for-37 (.405) during his 10-game hit streak, and that includes home runs in four of the last five games. On the season, he is now hitting .309 with 15 homers and 46 RBI.

Guerrero has hit safely in 11 straight games, posting a .348 average (16- for-46) in that time frame. Borbon also has an 11-game hit streak, during which he is hitting .474 (18-for-38) to raise his average from .233 to .285.

In addition, shortstop Elvis Andrus is having a breakout year, as evidenced by the fact that he ranks second among American League shortstops behind the Yankees' Derek Jeter. The second-year player is sporting a .295 batting average to go along with 19 RBI and 18 stolen bases.

A hot June has pushed Hamilton into the All-Star conversation, as the Rangers' left fielder is hitting .412 with six homers and 19 RBI in 13 games this month. According to the most recent polls, he trails teammate Nelson Cruz by 87,000 votes for the third outfield spot on the American League roster. Cruz has been out since late-May with a torn hamstring, which has certainly helped Hamilton in his bid for a third consecutive All-Star start.

He has also been helped by a different approach in pre-game batting practice. Like Mark McGwire of the mid-90s, Hamilton has become known for putting on a show of mammoth home runs in BP. But lately, he has changed his mind set in that regard.

"(Batting practice) is not for a show," Hamilton said. "It's for working on things. Things you do in the cage carry over into batting practice. And then it's trying to work on the same things in batting practice. And then, when the game comes along, just go up there and hit it. Trust yourself."

Of course, that's not the only adjustment that has helped Hamilton. Swing- wise, he has eliminated the toe-tap and is working on keeping his weight on his back leg to generate more power. Lineup-wise, he is hitting .385 since being switched from third to fifth in the lineup, behind cleanup hitter Guerrero.

Thanks in no small part to the middle of the order, Texas (35-28) entered Wednesday with a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for first place in the AL West.

A'S GET OFF TO ROCKY START IN INTERLEAGUE PLAY

Over the weekend, the Oakland Athletics (32-33) were swept in a three-game set by their friends across the bay, the San Francisco Giants. The sweep dropped the A's below .500 for the first time since May 21, and also put them four games behind division-leading Texas.

For the most part, they'll want to put that series behind them. In the three games against San Francisco, the A's committed four errors and stranded 27 baserunners (4-for-32 RISP). Struggling utility player Jake Fox, who was sporting a .214 batting average since being acquired from the Cubs in a five- player deal in December, was designated for assignment following Sunday's 6-2 loss.

Oakland continues its interleague stretch Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs, who have endured their own struggles of late. It marks Oakland's first trip to Chicago's Wrigley Field since 2004, the only other time these two teams met in the regular season.

ANGELS' AYBAR DAY-TO-DAY AFTER COLLISION

During the second inning of Monday's 12-2 loss to Milwaukee, Angels shortstop Erick Aybar hyper-extended his left knee after bearing the brunt of a hard slide at second base. Aybar had to be helped off the field by team trainers, however the good news is his injury is listed as day-to-day.

Considering the Angels have already lost first baseman Kendry Morales for the season, an extended absence from their leadoff man and shortstop would have presented quite a hurdle. Thankfully for the Angels, it appears they've dodged a bullet.

"It looked bad when it happened," manager Mike Scioscia told The Orange County Register after the game. "But after the game it was examined. Everything sets up much better right now. He's walking around a little. We're relieved to see him walking around in this clubhouse. Hopefully, it'll be a little strain and he won't be out for too long."

Aybar had been heating up at the plate of late, batting .393 over his previous 14 games. He had a four-game multi-hit streak entering Sunday. Thanks in part to Aybar's hot bat, the Angels (36-31) are 10-4 in the month of June as they trail the Rangers by just one game.

MARINERS CONTINUE TO FREEFALL

Since winning the first three games of June, the Seattle Mariners (24-40) have gone an abysmal 2-9 to fall further out of contention in the AL West. And with each passing road trip, the Mariners dig themselves a deeper hole.

They are now just 9-23 away from home, and their current 10-game trek concludes when they wrap up a three-game set in St. Louis on Wednesday. Seattle entered Tuesday 11 1/2 games back in the division after opening the Cardinals series with a 9-3 setback on Monday night.

The team will get a much needed rest on Thursday, which wraps up a grueling stretch of 20 games in 20 days. Despite the Mariners' ongoing offensive struggles, manager Don Wakamatsu decided to cancel batting practice prior to Monday's series opener with his team arriving in town at midnight on Sunday night.

"We've worked extremely hard and taken a lot of extra batting practice to try to get this offense going," Wakamatsu said. "You start to see where some of these guys, physically, are getting pretty exhausted. We knew there was going to be quite a bit of humidity (in St. Louis), and add the time change and it's very difficult."

On Saturday night, veterans Cliff Lee, Milton Bradley and Chone Figgins called a players-only meeting following the team's 7-1 loss to the San Diego Padres. That loss was Seattle's fifth straight and eighth in its last nine outings. The meeting seemed to pay immediate dividends with a 4-2 win at San Diego on Sunday. But Monday in St. Louis, it was back to the loss column for the fading Mariners.

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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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