Arizona has trouble handling AL East

Baseball Betting Lines

06/15/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Well, you can now put the Arizona Diamondbacks on the list of people who think interleague baseball is a bad, worn-out idea.

Now, nobody on the club openly came out and said that, but after Arizona dropped five out of six to American League East opponents Boston and New York, the franchise may ask commissioner Bud Selig to rethink the idea.

The Diamondbacks dropped the first two games of their three-game set with the Red Sox before rebounding with a win in the series finale on Sunday. The club then ran into the red-hot Yankees and were quickly swept in three games, getting outscored by an 18-4 margin.

"We didn't play well enough to win the game (Thursday)," said Arizona manger Bob Melvin after the Yankees finished off the sweep with a 7-1 victory. "We didn't swing the bats well enough. We didn't pitch well and we didn't play defense. You are not going to beat a hot team playing that way."

To be fair to Arizona, the Yankees now own a nine-game winning streak after the sweep, the best active run in the majors. That's one more than Arizona's season high for consecutive wins, which was eight set from May 24-June 1.

The back-to-back series against the Red Sox and Yankees dropped the Diamondbacks to 1-5 in interleague play this year and just 66-82 all-time against the American League.

However, the Snakes should get a little bit of a break starting on Friday. After playing the best the AL East has to offer -- the Yankees and Red Sox are a combined 74-55 and have the second and first place spots locked down respectively -- the Diamondbacks are now set to battle the division's last- place team, the Baltimore Orioles.

Friday's series-opening starter, Micah Owings, isn't going to take the Orioles lightly, however.

"But anybody you face at this level is tough," Owings said on Arizona's official Web site. "There are no easy teams here."

The Diamondbacks are currently 37-30 on the season, two games behind first- place San Diego in the NL West.

DIAMONDBACKS SEND DOWN CALLASPO

Alberto Callaspo's embattled season took a rough turn on Thursday when Arizona optioned him to Triple-A Tucson.

The 24-year-old hit the radars in a bad way when he was involved in an alleged domestic dispute in early May. He was placed on the restricted list after the incident, which allegedly involved his wife, before rejoining the team nine days later on May 19.

The club hopes the demotion will help get Callaspo back on track, as he is hitting only .206 this season and has seen his playing time diminish as of late.

"Callo needs to get some at-bats," manager Bob Melvin said on Arizona's site. "He needs to play a little bit. He hasn't been productive, I haven't gotten him the amount of at-bats that I did early on and he needs to play some."

32-year-old infielder Augie Ojeda had his contract purchased to replace Callaspo on the roster.

HUDSON HOBBLED

The Diamondbacks not only lost to the Yankees on Thursday, but they also lost second baseman Orlando Hudson.

Hudson left the game in the sixth inning with a left ankle injury. He lined a two-out single to right off New York starter Andy Pettitte in the frame but began to limp as he headed down the first base line.

The second baseman, who is hitting .296 this year with six homers and 34 RBI, was forced to exit the game and is listed as day-to-day.

Hopefully, he won't have to join Arizona's disabled list, which currently includes infielder Jason Smith (appendectomy) and outfielder Jeff DaVanon (right shoulder surgery).

WHO'S HOT

Hudson's injury comes at a bad time as he has hit safely in seven of his last eight games. He is batting .346 in that span with four doubles and six walks.

WHO'S NOT

Carlos Quentin has only one hit in his last 15 at-bats, and has watched his average fall to .208.

ON DECK

Owings (4-1, 3.76 ERA) faces Baltimore's Erik Bedard (4-4, 3.72) in the series opener on Friday, while Randy Johnson (4-2, 3.52) goes in game two against Brian Burres (3-2, 2.80). Brandon Webb (6-4, 3.18) faces off versus Daniel Cabrera (5-7, 5.16) in the series finale.

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MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines

New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
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