USA dominates Chinese Taipei at World Junior Baseball Championship
Baseball Betting Lines
07/27/2010 -
Thunder Bay, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For a team expecting to play right through
the end of the tournament, the United States is doing a good job of preserving
energy.
Phillip Pfeifer (1-0) dominated a hot-hitting Chinese Taipei squad over seven
scoreless innings of two-hit ball as Team USA cruised to a 10-0 victory on
Monday night at the World Junior Baseball Championship in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
It was the second straight game the U.S. has won by mercy, after blanking the
Italians 10-0 in an abbreviated seven innings in accordance with International
Baseball Federation rules.
After opening the tournament with a 4-2 win over Australia, the United States
(3-0) appears to be hitting its stride which doesn't bode well for the other 11
countries participating in the 18-and-under event featuring some of the best
young baseball talent in the world.
"No matter what team, we're going to want to win and win bad, and they're going
to want to beat us," said the 18-year-old Pfeifer.
The 6'0" lefty, who went 16-0 this year en route to a third straight high
school state championship with Farragut, was unhittable against a Chinese
Taipei team that entered the game with a tournament-best .418 average.
"Our pitching guy told us to throw inside and once they adjusted to that, we
started moving off the plate and using more off-speed to throw them off
balance," said the phenom from Knoxville, Tenn.
"But when they hit me hard, my guys were there to make plays, that's what it
came down to."
The truth is, he wasn't hit hard at all.
Pfeifer was perfect through four innings, utilizing a deceptive changeup and
devastating curveball to freeze hitters before finishing with eight strikeouts
in front of a near-sellout crowd featuring several major league scouts.
His team scored seven runs in the third inning off Chinese Taipei pitcher Chung
Weng (0-1), who proved to be no match for a U.S. junior team loaded with
players destined for the big leagues.
"We faced a good pitcher that left some balls up and we were able to take
advantage of that," said U.S. hitting coach and former major leaguer Brian
McRae.
"I think what we were able to do offensively helped [Pfeifer] because he was
able to challenge the hitters and go right at them."
Weng lasted just 2 1-3 innings, giving up six hits and five runs with one
strikeout, a walk and a hit batter.
After second baseman and Cleveland Indians' third round draft pick Tony Wolters
doubled down the line to score catcher Elvin Soto, Francisco Lindor connected
on the Americans' first home run of the tournament, hitting a rocket off the
pole in left to give his team a 3-0 lead they never looked back on.
Another five straight hits, including a pair of two-run doubles from Brian
Ragira (Texas Rangers, 30th round) and Christian Lopes, and the U.S. found
themselves out in front 7-0 after three before handing Chinese Taipei its first
loss of the tournament.
Several Americans had multi-hit games, including first baseman Blake Swihart
(2-for-3 with two RBI and a homer) and Lindor, who also went 2-for-3 with a
pair of runs and a stolen base.
Lindor is now 5-for-10 for the tournament, leading the team with five runs,
four RBI and nine total bases.
"It felt pretty good to jump out on the pitcher," said the talented shortstop.
"In the first game we didn't hit like we usually do but that's part of
baseball, not every game we're going to get a lot of hits.
"I wasn't really looking for it [the home run]. In my mind I was thinking hit a
line drive to the opposite side. Hopefully we keep hitting throughout the
tournament like we're hitting now."
McRae said he thought his hitters were pressing a little in their first game
with the Aussies but now that they're finding their groove, he thinks the sky
is the limit for a junior national team that hasn't won a world title since
1999.
"I liked the fact they made adjustments and they were able to go gap to gap and
stay within themselves and not try and do too much," he said. "Offensively, we
know that if we can score some runs early that eases the pressure on our
pitching staff.
"Our pitching is pretty damn good."
The U.S. continues its run towards the medal round on Tuesday afternoon when
they take on Venezuela in Pool A action.
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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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