Reyes, Mets deal Marlins first loss

Baseball Betting Lines

04/11/2009 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Reyes finished 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and three RBI as the New York Mets doubled up Florida, 8-4, in the middle test of a three-game set from Dolphin Stadium.

Carlos Delgado collected three hits and two RBI for the Mets, who snapped a two-game slide. Luis Castillo was 4-for-4, scored three runs and drove one in, while Alex Cora and David Wright knocked in a run each.

Livan Hernandez (1-0) allowed six hits and two runs over his 6 2/3-inning start.

Emilio Bonifacio was 3-for-5 with an RBI for the Marlins, who lost for the first time in 2009 after beginning the year with a franchise-best four consecutive victories. Hanley Ramirez, Wes Helms and Ross Gload added an RBI each in the setback.

Starter Ricky Nolasco (1-1) allowed seven hits and four runs over five innings for the loss.

Already ahead by three, the Mets put the game away with three runs in the eighth.

Facing Hayden Penn, Brian Schneider singled and moved to second on Jorge Cantu's throwing error. Castillo laid down a sacrifice bunt, but an error by Bonifacio left runners at the corners. Pinch-hitter Cora's groundout scored Schneider, and after Reyes fanned and Daniel Murphy walked, Wright and Delgado each brought in a run on back-to-back base hits for an 8-2 contest.

In the ninth, Florida picked up two runs -- one off Darren O'Day, as Gload's pinch-hit sacrifice fly brought in Cody Ross, and one against Francisco Rodriguez, on Ramirez's two-out RBI single. Rodriguez, though, induced a game- ending fly out from Cantu in the next at-bat.

The Mets picked up a run in the third as Castillo led off with a single, moved to second on Hernandez's sacrifice, then scored on a Reyes double.

Reyes added a two-run shot in the fifth for a 3-0 New York lead, and later in the frame a Delgado double scored Murphy for a four-run edge.

In the sixth, Ryan Church led off with a double and scored two batters later on a Castillo single.

Florida got on the board in the seventh, plating a pair of runs with two outs. First, pinch-hitter Helms drove in Dan Uggla off Hernandez, then Bonifacio scored Ross with a base hit after Brian Stokes entered the game.

Game Notes

Church finished with two doubles and a walk for the Mets...Cameron Maybin was 2-for-4 with a run scored for the Marlins...O'Day was charged with three hits and two unearned runs in 1 1/3 relief frames.

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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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