Manny set to return as Dodgers visit Padres

Baseball Betting Lines

07/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - He won't have the home crowd on his side until after the All-Star break, but Los Angeles Dodgers star left fielder Manny Ramirez probably doesn't mind, since he is finally done serving his 50-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance enhancing drugs.

Ramirez will lead the Dodgers into Petco Park Friday night for the first of three straight matchups against the NL West-rival San Diego Padres.

Ramirez was slapped with the suspension back on May 7 after testing positive for a banned substance, and the Dodgers played to a solid 29-21 mark without the slugger in the lineup. Ramirez, whose bobblehead giveaway is scheduled for July 22 at Chavez Ravine, made a few rehab stints in the minor leagues to get back into shape.

"Hopefully, Manny will give us a more consistent offense," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said on the team's site. "We've been lucky to win a lot of close games. We've made the most out of the runs we've scored. But I think the presence he brings to the lineup is a security blanket for the rest of the guys."

The Dodgers didn't really miss a beat without Ramirez in the lineup and still sit atop the NL West with a comfortable 7 1/2-game lead over San Francisco. They were 6 1/2 games ahead of the Giants and 21-8 when the All-Star was suspended in early May. Ramirez was hitting .348 with six homers and 20 RBI at the time.

LA still has the best record in baseball and got a huge lift from Juan Pierre in Ramirez's absence. Pierre started all 50 games in left field and did a fine job for Torre, going 68-for-214 for a .318 average and compiling 14 doubles, 21 RBI, 31 runs, 15 walks and 20 steals in those games. Pierre had a hit in Wednesday's 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies in the finale of a three- game series in Los Angeles.

Rafael Furcal drove in the lone run with a pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth inning and Brad Ausmus delivered the lone multi-hit performance for the victors, going 2-for-3 at the plate.

Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw tossed five shutout innings in the no-decision, while Ramon Troncoso earned the win with a scoreless eighth and Jonathan Broxton posted two strikeouts in the ninth for his 19th save for Los Angeles, which became the first team in the majors to reach 50 wins (50-29). Ronald Belisario also helped the cause by hurling two shutout innings of relief.

The Dodgers won two of three meetings versus Colorado and will kick off a nine-game road trip against the Padres, Mets and Brewers on Friday.

Los Angeles will hand the ball to Hiroki Kuroda for tonight's game, and he is just 1-4 in six starts since beating San Diego on Opening Day. Kuroda lost his most recent outing on Sunday versus Seattle, as he yielded four runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 4-2 loss.

Kuroda, who is 2-4 with a 3.77 ERA in seven starts this season, will face the Padres for the second time in 2009. The right-hander allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings of a 4-1 triumph at Petco Park on April 6, improving to 3-1 with a 4.78 ERA in five career starts against San Diego.

Meanwhile, the Padres just dropped three of four to the Houston Astros and are coming off Thursday's 7-2 setback at Petco Park. Scott Hairston and Everth Cabrera each drove in a run, while starting pitcher Kevin Correia allowed six runs on eight hits with three walks and three strikeouts over five innings to suffer the loss.

"I made a couple of mistakes and they took advantage," said Correia. "It wasn't my day today. Especially that last inning, that's what killed me and the game."

Correia permitted three runs in the fifth for the Padres, who have dropped six of their last nine games.

Taking the hill for the Friars tonight will be Chad Gaudin, who has won two straight starts since going 0-3 through his previous four outings. Gaudin started the streak with seven innings of two-run ball and struck out 11 in a 9-7 victory at Seattle on June 23, then tossed eight shutout innings and recorded nine strikeouts five days later in a 2-0 win at Texas.

Gaudin is 4-6 in 13 games (12 starts) this season and lowered his earned run average from 5.60 to 4.97 the last time out. The righty will face the Dodgers for the second time this season after losing to them on May 3 at Chavez Ravine. Gaudin was tagged for six runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 7-3 setback.

He is 0-1 with a 9.45 ERA in two career games (1 start) against Los Angeles.

The Dodgers have won seven of 10 matchups with the Padres this season and 11 of the last 15 contests between the clubs.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.