What's eating the slumping Cardinals?

Baseball Betting Lines

08/31/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony La Russa hasn't managed many poor teams during his tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals.

In fact, the Cardinals have missed the playoffs only six times since La Russa took over the ballclub back in 1996, a pretty solid batting average.

But something is wrong with the current state of this franchise, which arguably has two of the best right-handers in the game and an MVP first baseman any manager would salivate over.

So why are the Cardinals caught in a tailspin and fading from the playoff picture faster than an Adam Wainwright fastball?

Nobody knows for sure.

Pitching actually has been a sore spot lately for the defending National League Central champions, with Wainwright shouldering some of the blame. A candidate for the league's Cy Young Award this season, Wainwright has lost three straight starts. Though he could have become the only pitcher in the majors with 20 wins this season, Wainwright is stuck on 17.

Former NL Cy Young honoree Chris Carpenter is the other right-handed ace in the rotation. His play has been admirable recently with five wins in his last six decisions, and Carpenter will try to get the Cardinals back to respectability Tuesday night against Houston.

Newcomer Jake Westbrook, however, has yet to impress his new employer and, like Wainwright, is mired in a three-start skid. He is only 1-3 in six starts since coming over from Cleveland, but pitched well in Monday's 3-0 loss to the Astros. Kyle Lohse has been dreadful and Jaime Garcia is one of the few bright spots on the staff. Garcia is third on the team in wins (12).

The Cardinals, though, are more worried about the top three hurlers getting back on track, especially in the midst of their longest road trip of the season. They opened the swing by losing two of three in Pittsburgh, followed by three losses in four games at Washington. St. Louis was on the losing end in the opener of a three-game skid in Houston last night.

"It's been a tough road trip," Westbrook noted on the team's site. "We need to figure things out."

Those sentiments from Westbrook couldn't be more obvious after producing only two hits in last night's loss. St. Louis made Astros left-hander J.A. Happ look like Steve Carlton out on the hill, as the southpaw walked only one batter, and of his 114 pitches, 79 went for strikes.

Prior to getting embarrassed by Happ, the Cardinals displayed a sign of team bonding by shaving their heads. The show of allegiance didn't pay off, but there are still plenty of games left on the 2010 schedule.

St. Louis is currently three games behind Philadelphia for the wild card lead and six games in back of NL Central-rival Cincinnati for the top spot in the division standings. Owning a 28-37 record away from Busch Stadium hasn't helped the cause much, and neither will upcoming matchups with the Reds, Brewers, Braves, Cubs and Padres.

Milwaukee and Chicago have already planned early vacations, but the two clubs also reside in the NL Central and have plenty of knowledge and experience on how to make life even more miserable for the Cardinals.

If the Cardinals, led by slugger Albert Pujols, continue to fall flat on their faces, perhaps a boost in payroll will be in order for 2011. Pujols, however, is set to earn a salary large enough to feed a small country, and that could limit St. Louis in its efforts to get back on course. It would be simply foolish not to give Pujols what he wants, however. Heck, the Cardinals could give him part ownership for all of the money he's put into the front office's pockets.

St. Louis Sr. Vice President and General Manager John Mozeliak, a beneficiary of the slugger's talents, has made some moves to maintain a formidable squad, including the addition of Matt Holliday, who inked a gigantic contract in the offseason. Holliday's $120 million contract is the richest in club history, surpassing reigning NL MVP Pujols' seven-year, $100 million pact inked before the 2005 season.

With more than $200 million squirreled away on just two players, reconstructing a team to its days of dominance may take longer than expected.

If the Cardinals miss the playoffs, Mozeliak will have some extra time to form a new plan.

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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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