Ramirez apologizes on night of return to Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/03/2009 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Manny Ramirez spoke to the media Friday, prior to making his scheduled return to the majors following his 50-game suspension.

Ramirez is expected to be in the starting lineup when the first-place Dodgers play against the San Diego Padres.

Although Ramirez apologized for violating baseball's drug policy, he didn't delve into the details surrounding his suspension, but the 12-time All-Star did say he was sorry to the fans and his teammates.

He was suspended for reportedly taking the banned substance human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a female fertility drug that can also be used as an antidote to reduce testosterone levels at the end of a cycle of steroid treatments.

"I missed the game that I love, I miss being around the guys," said Ramirez, who donned sunglasses for the news conference. "It is what it is, but I'm here, I feel great and I'm ready to play.

"I want to say I'm sorry to the fans, to my teammates that they're always there for me. I want to thank Frank McCourt (Dodgers owner) for his support and I'm here. I'm excited. I can't wait to get onto the field."

The Dodgers went 29-21 while Ramirez sat due to a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs. He'll now join a team that is 50-29 this season and holding a 7 1/2 game lead on San Francisco for first place in the National League West.

The 37-year-old Ramirez was hitting .348 with six homers and 20 RBI prior to his suspension on May 7.

Juan Pierre started all 50 games for the Dodgers in left field since the suspension started and hit .318 with 14 doubles, 21 RBI, 31 runs and 21 steals in those games.

"I know it's going to take time for me to get my rhythm, to get my timing" said Ramirez. "That's what I'm here for and I'm just going to go day-by-day."

Dodgers manager Joe Torre doesn't believe there will be an internal rift from the players with Ramirez returning.

"I think Manny coming on board is certainly going to lessen the load on some of these kids," said Torre. "I don't think it's going to be a chemistry problem. I'd be very surprised if that's going to be the case."

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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