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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS- (associated press): angels ace sent to do rehab. Los Angeles Angels right-hander Bartolo Colon, working his way back from a torn rotator cuff that sidelined him for the final two months of last season, made his second rehab start for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Tuesday night. The 2005 AL Cy Young winner threw 75 pitches, 54 of them for strikes over 5 2-3 innings of work against the Inland Empire 66ers, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Class-A affiliate. Colon struck out five and allowed five hits and two runs. He allowed both of the runs in the top of the fourth inning. His fastball was clocked as high as 94 mph. ''I was feeling pretty good tonight,'' Colon said. ''I'm looking forward to getting out there next time and then hopefully starting for the Angels on the 20th.'' The Angels face the Cleveland Indians tonight as +114 underdogs. Books have set the total at 9. One of the batters Colon faced was rehabbing Dodgers' shortstop Rafael Furcal, who is on a two-game rehab with the 66ers. Furcal did not have a hit against Colon. Colon is scheduled to make his next rehab start with the Angels' Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake Bees, on Sunday.

FREE MLB PICKS: (associated press): rangers get pitcher. The Texas Rangers purchased the contract of right-hander Jamey Wright on Tuesday. Wright, Texas' No. 5 starter, made his debut with the team against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Wright was not needed for the first seven games because of off days in the schedule. Oddsmakers have the Rangers as -167 favorites for their game on Wednesday against the Devil Rays. The total is set at 10 1/2. To make room for Wright, the Rangers optioned right-hander Mike Wood to Triple-A Oklahoma and designed left-hander Daniel Haigwood for assignment. Wood appeared in one game for Texas, allowing one run in 2 1-3 innings. Haigwood remains with Double-A Frisco.

FREE MLB PICKS- (associated press): orioles still waiting for payton. Jay Payton's debut with the Baltimore Orioles will be delayed for at least another week. Payton was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring on March 27. He was scheduled to be activated on Wednesday before the Orioles game against the Detroit Tigers, but that's not going to happen. Oddsmakers have the Orioles as +124 underdogs with the total set at 9 1/2. ''We understand that he's a day or two from starting a running program,'' Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo said Tuesday. ''He's been doing some light jogging, some backpedaling, hitting. He's probably going to be another week, I would think.'' The injury occurred on March 26 while Payton was running from second to third on a grounder. He is currently in the team's extended spring training camp in Sarasota, Fla., and therefore won't need a rehabilitation assignment with a minor league club. ''We can go ahead and shoot him right in there,'' Perlozzo said. ''We can get him as many at-bats as we need, lead him off every inning if I have to.'' Signed as a free agent during the offseason, Payton was batting .354 in spring training before the injury. The Orioles would love to have him in left field, but don't want to rush him back. ''We're going to wait until he's 100 percent, ready to go. He'll let us know that,'' Perlozzo said. Also, Orioles reliever Scott Williamson has been feeling awful for a week and hasn't pitched the season opener in Minnesota. ''I had bronchitis in spring training. I don't know if I had a relapse or what, but the last six or seven days I've been having real bad headaches and have been fatigued a little bit,'' he said. ''But I'm all right now.'' Perlozzo, however, indicated that he didn't use Williamson because his services were not required. ''We haven't had a situation a little earlier in the game when we needed him except for the one in Minnesota,'' the manager said. ''I'm fine putting him in there. I know he was a little under the weather, but no one told me he couldn't go.'' Said Williamson: ''I've been available, but if you can give a guy some days to try to get healthy, that's what you've got to do. If he needs me I'm there, but I'm just trying to get this out of my system so it doesn't happen again.'' Williamson had offseason surgery on his elbow and is eager to pitch because his right arm is not yet in peak form. ''I think it's going to come eventually, probably midseason,'' he said. ''I might have it here and there, but I'm just going to have to learn to pitch with what I have right now and get guys out.'' MLB FREE PICKS- (associated press): dodgers place outfielder on dl. The Los Angeles Dodgers placed outfielder Matt Kemp on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday because of an injured right shoulder, and recalled reliever Chin-hui Taso from Triple-A Las Vegas. Kemp was injured in the fourth inning of a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Monday when he banged into the auxiliary scoreboard in right field trying to catch Jeff Baker's RBI triple. The Dodgers play the Rockies again on Wednesday as -152 favorites. Books have the total set at 8. ''It's a grade one separation,'' manager Grady Little said Tuesday night before the game against the Rockies. ''It's going to be between seven days and two weeks. It's the right thing for us to do right now. A lot can be told the day after something like that happens.'' Kemp and the Dodgers thought after Monday's game he wouldn't be out more than a few days. X-rays taken Tuesday morning revealed the magnitude of the injury. ''It's my throwing arm - I have to take it easy,'' said Kemp, who has six hits in 14 at-bats with no homers and three RBIs. ''It could have been worse.'' Tsao, a right-hander, appeared in two games for Las Vegas, allowing one earned run in two innings and striking out four. Jason Schmidt, who came out of Monday's game in the fifth with tightness in his right hamstring, said he felt fine and would take his regular turn Sunday night against San Diego. ''It's a little stiff - nothing abnormal,'' he said. ''I've just got to drink more water. It's not rocket science.'' Schmidt said the problem was a cramp because of dehydration, and not a hamstring pull.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS: (associated press): red sox activate timlin. The Boston Red Sox activated reliever Mike Timlin from the 15-day disabled list and optioned reliever Javier Lopez to Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday. The right-handed Timlin had a strained muscle in his left side that he sustained while throwing batting practice early in spring training. He made two rehabilitation appearances at Pawtucket, allowing one run and three hits in two innings. Timlin, 41, spent much of last season as the setup man for closer Jonathan Papelbon, going 6-6 with a 4.36 ERA and nine saves in 68 games. The Red Sox take on the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday. Oddsmakers have the Red Sox as -157 favorites with the total set at 8 1/2. ''It's such a bridge to Pap,'' manager Terry Francona said. ''Like Pap made everybody (in the bullpen) better, Timlin makes everybody better.'' Lopez, a left-hander acquired last season, pitched three scoreless innings in four outings this year. ''We were thrilled from the first day of spring training'' with the way Lopez pitched, Francona said. ''This was, as we told Javy, a numbers thing, and it wasn't the way he pitched.'' The Red Sox also designated right-hander J.D. Durbin for assignment. Durbin was claimed on waivers from Arizona on Monday.

FREE MLB PICKS- (covers.com): can reds contend. On Aug. 24, 2006, the Cincinnati Reds were six games over .500, tied with St. Louis for the lead in the NL Central. They did not play good ball down the stretch, losing 21 of their last 34 games to finish at 80-82. But after winning 73, 76, 69 and 79 games over the previous four years, it was a step in the right direction for this once storied franchise. The question here is whether Cincinnati will be able to build off of last year’s improvement enough to contend for the division title in 2007. There are certainly some positive signs. The Reds' everyday lineup has a nice balance of power and speed. As long as Ken Griffey Jr. stays healthy, manager Jerry Narron has plenty of big sticks, with Adam Dunn coming off his third consecutive 40-plus home run season. Catcher David Ross and third baseman Edwin Encarnacion have both shown flashes of power, combining for 36 dingers last year. Meanwhile, center fielder Ryan Freel and second baseman Brandon Phillips have tremendous speed at the top of the order, with six stolen bases between them through the first seven games. The duo combined for 62 stolen bases last year while getting caught stealing only 13 times. Freel is outstanding defensively and the Phillips/Alex Gonzalez double play combination is among the best in baseball – the Reds' team defense up the middle is rock solid. The fundamentals here are sound. The ballclub has a pair of quality hurlers at the top of their rotation. Bronson Arroyo was a fantastic addition last year, coming to Cincy after years of mediocrity in Boston and Pittsburgh. Aaron Harang had a breakout season, throwing six complete games en route to a career-best 16-win season. The duo combined for 475 innings worth of work, helping keep the beleaguered bullpen from getting overused. The questions begin at the back end of their rotation. Kyle Lohse can be dominant when he’s locating his fastball, but he hasn’t won more than nine games in any season since 2003. Opposing batters have hit .287 or better against Lohse in each of the last four seasons. Another Twins retread, Eric Milton, hasn’t been the same pitcher since losing the 2003 season to arm trouble. Milton struggles with the gopher ball, bad news for any pitcher at the high-scoring Great American Ballpark, allowing 69 dingers over the last two seasons. Converted reliever Matt Belisle threw a gem in his 2007 debut, but he’s yet to work for more than 85 innings in any big league season. The back end of this rotation remains very suspect. The Reds bullpen might be decent. David Weathers saved a dozen games last year, one of eight different Cincinnati relievers to notch at least one save. In other words, this team doesn’t have a consistent closer. While Weathers was rock solid in each of his first three appearances this year, the guy blew seven save opportunities last year in 19 chances, not the ratio that any team looks for out of their closer. Rheal Cormier, Todd Coffee, Mike Stanton, Victor Santos and the injured Bill Bray make for a better-than-average long relief/set-up crew. There’s upside on this Cincinnati team, with 85 wins a realistic possibility, as long as the back end of the starting rotation performs well. Last year, 85 wins in the NL Central would have won the division and sent the eventual World Series champion St Louis Cardinals home before the playoffs even started.

MLB PICKS- (covers.com): mlb odds for most home runs. Alex Rodriguez +500 Adam Dunn +500 Ryan Howard +600 Albert Pujols +800 Alfonso Soriano +1500 David Ortiz +1500 Travis Hafner +1500 Aramis Ramirez +2000 Justin Morneau +2000 Jim Thome +3000 Manny Ramirez +3000 Mark Teixeira +3000 Carlos Beltran +3000 Andruw Jones +2500 Carlos Lee +3000 Paul Konerko +4000 Vladimir Guerrero +4000 Richie Sexson +4000 Lance Berkman +4000 Matt Holliday +4000 Carlos Delgado +5000 Barry Bonds +5000 Jason Giambi +6000 Jermaine Dye +6000 Ken Griffey +6000 Pat Burrell +6000 Frank Thomas +6000 Vernon Wells +7500 Troy Glaus +7500 Nick Swisher +10000 Hank Blalock +10000 Jason Bay +10000 Prince Fielder +4000 Grady Sizemore +4000 Miguel Cabrera +7500 David Wright +10000 Chase Utley +10000 Bobby Abreu +10000 Adrian Beltre +10000 Chipper Jones +10000 Jeff Francoeur +10000 Miguel Tejada +10000 Gary Sheffield +10000 Jonny Gomes +25000 Todd Helton +30000 Eric Chavez +30000 Magglio Ordonez +30000 Hideki Matsui +50000