News Archives: April 1999

After the disaster on Thursday when the Os were wiped out by the Kansas City Royals, the Orioles finally made a decision about the team. They released Heathcliff Slocumb, who had been terrible all year but sank to new depths with a 1-inning 7-run pounding by the Royals. Miller claimed he "wasn't blaming Slocumb," which is an awfully hollow assertion and small consolation to a player who has just been unceremoniously released. That's $1.1 million thrown down the tubes for nine innings of disastrous pitching. In a surprise move, the Orioles called up prospect Gabe Molina rather than Jason Johnson, who Ray Miller has been pushing for. Does this signal a loss of influence by Miller, or is there another reason for Os brass to choose Molina?

The Orioles then went out and played the Minnesota Twins on Friday, as Sidney Ponson was probably pitching for his job. And Sidney responded absolutely masterfully. He struggled in his first outing, but has been getting better and better since.

            Dec.   IP     H      R      ER     BB     K
            L      2.2    4      5      5      3      2
            ND     5      6      4      3      2      4
            L      5.1    3      1      1      4      1
            W      7      2      0      0      3      4

The good:

• Sidney! Sidney! What more needs to be said? Seven shutout innings under tremendous pressure from Ray Miller.
• Harold Baines, who has gotten hot, raising his batting average from .220 to .300, hit his team-leading fourth home run of the season.
• Charles Johnson had 2 hits, and so did BJ Surhoff. Both of Surhoff's hits were doubles, raising his team-leading average to .341.

The bad

• Delino DeShields, who missed all of spring training, is clearly rusty. He's still not hitting, going 0-3 to reduce his average to .160.
• Rich Amaral, with just one hit all season, took another collar, going 0-4 to drop his average to .053.

The Ugly:

• Ray Miller is attempting to ruin Arthur Rhodes arm by May. With a seven-run lead, Rhodes is brought in? Why bother to have a Fetters on the roster? Why not give the ball to long-reliever Bones?
• Rich Amaral at first base? RICH AMARAL???????? Was Juan Bell not available? How about Jeff Stone?

If you're hoping that the release of Heathcliff Slocumb is the start of a youth movement in Baltimore, well, we doubt it. But if it is, it will have to be done without Darrin Blood, who still hasn't recovered from offseason surgery. (Blood was the pitcher acquired when the Orioles dumped Joe Carter in midseason.) If you're hoping that it's a sign that Ray Miller is on his way out, Ken Rosenthal of the Sun points out that the upcoming Cuba game is all that is keeping Ray Miller from being fired.

The Orioles play a Cuban All-Star team on Monday. Hopefully, some players will defect. If we're lucky, most of the team will. Cuba can have them. They can take Erickson, and Guzman, and Slocumb, and Conine, and the rest. Did we mention Slocumb? As for Thursday's game, if you missed it, consider yourself lucky. The Os fell behind 2-1 and 3-2 and caught up each time; each time after that, Scott Erickson handed the lead back to the Royals. He lasted 5.2 innings, but that's mostly because Ray Miller has a slow hook once a pitcher reaches 30 years old. And of course the offense was quiet as usual, scoring two of their five runs only after the game was already almost out-of-reach at 8-3. And in case it wasn't entirely out-of-reach, Ray Miller conceded the game by putting in Heathcliff Slocumb. Fans aren't showing up, and neither is the team, and the result was another embarassment, this time a 15-5 humiliation at the hands of the weak-hitting, low-budget Royals.

The good:

• Ha ha. You have a sense of humor. You think there's something good about the Os? Well, my father has always said that it's better to lose a blowout than to lose a close game -- if you lose the close game, you're always wondering about what you could have done differently, while that issue doesn't arise in blowouts. I guess by that standard today's game was a good loss.
• Brady Anderson was on base three times and hit a double and a (game-opening) homer.
• We're getting desperate for positive Os news: Harold Baines tied Hal McRae's all-time record for games played at DH, with his 1427th game there.

The bad

• Scott Erickson. Remember what we said about Guzman yesterday? We thought he had turned a corner after his last start, against Oakland. Yeah, right. Against a weak-hitting Kansas City team, he lasted just 5.2 innings, giving up 6 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks, while striking out just one.
• Scoring five runs sounds okay, but that was only because of three Royals errors. They managed just seven hits, with Brady's being the only extra base hits. The Orioles are last in the league in SLG. Jeff Conine's batting under .150. So when are they going to call up Cal Pickering?
• On Sunday, the Os allowed 14 walks. Today, through hard work, they managed to cut that number down to nine. Yep. Nine walks allowed.

The Ugly:

• Heathcliff Slocumb: why is he in baseball? After the Orioles pulled within three runs going into the ninth, Miller left him in to pitch batting practice, just to make sure the Os couldn't catch up. One inning, six hits, seven runs, two walks. He's now allowing three baserunners per inning for the season.
• It's time to start talking about the pitching coach. What's Bruce Kison doing? Nobody on this team can throw strikes anymore. Not Erickson, not even Arthur Rhodes. Nobody in the bullpen, in fact.
• And, yes, still the worst record in the majors. The Os haven't won consecutive games this year. They haven't won a series this year.

Once again, a veteran starter fails, but Ray Miller is more worried about how he can screw up a young player. He shrugs when asked about the awful outings by Erickson or Guzman, while speaking extensively about demoting Coppinger to the minors and Ponson to the bullpen. And he seems more excited about getting 35-year old Scott Kamieniecki back than he is about Sidney Ponson's successful outing last start. (Kamieniecki is scheduled to start the Cuba game.) You'd think a 5-16 team would be patient with younger players, but not when Miller is the manager. Heck, even though we were critical of the trade, we'd be happy to see Jason Johnson at this point, who's tearing up Rochester right now. At least he might have a future. We know Scott Kamieniecki does not, and it's unconscionable to be thinking of Kamieniecki as anything other than trade bait as soon as he proves himself healthy.

Ken Rosenthal of the Sun writes about how great an acquisition Mike Bordick has been. Suffice it to say that we disagree. Bordick symbolizes everything that is wrong with this team. A very nice, hard-working, blue-collar guy who never complains, never causes trouble, and is very professional. All those are wonderful personality traits to have. Combine them with top talent, and you have a great player. Combine them with little natural ability, and you have an overpaid player blocking talented hungry young players who could make the team exciting to watch. Again, we're not criticizing him as a person, but calling a player "hard-working" is like saying that a blind date "has a good personality." Just once we'd like to hear an Oriole described as "great" rather than "hard-working." But the Orioles are filled with "hard-working" players, from Bordick to Ripken to Surhoff to Conine.

You might be interested in this interview with Cal Ripken, as he talks about coping with the loss of his father. We're not the type to jump on the bandwagon of bashing "today's athletes" -- we're sure they're really no different than the athletes of the past -- but it's a refreshing change to read the thoughts of an articulate, thoughtful person like Cal Ripken instead of some grunts from a semi-literate player.

And finally, on a lighter note, this amusing story, as former Oriole Ray Knight managed to get himself in trouble. If it were up to us, he'd be arrested for impersonating a broadcaster for his work on ESPN, but this will have to do.

We were trying to be optimistic, hoping that team meetings and ranting and raving would turn the Orioles around. But apparently a one-game winning streak was all the team could muster. Tuesday's victory combined solid starting pitching with a strong offensive showing. Wednesday's loss was more of the usual -- bad starting pitching and no offense. Juan Guzman keeps alternating good and bad starts, and today was his turn for a bad start. And Jose Rosado completely shut down Baltimore's offense, leading to another blowout loss, this time 8-2 to the Royals. At this point it's not really clear whether the Orioles can beat anybody.

The good:

• Harold Baines was 2-4 with a home run.
• Mike Fetters pitched well in relief, throwing 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

The bad

• Juan Guzman: we thought he had turned a corner after his last start, against Oakland. Think again. Against a weak-hitting Kansas City team, he lasted just 3.1 innings, giving up 6 runs on 8 hits.
• The offense -- what offense? Just five hits all game, matching what BJ Surhoff did by himself on Tuesday.
• Mike Bordick's slump continues, as he's now 2 for his last 21, but still batting second.

The Ugly:

• Heathcliff Slocumb: even when he doesn't give up runs, he gives up baserunners. Two more in one inning of work.
• Adding insult to injury, Terry Mathews -- yes, that Terry Mathews -- pitched a scoreless inning against the Orioles.
• And, yes, still the worst record in the majors.

Unfortunately, the good play of Willis Otanez, and the expected callup of Cal Pickering in the near future, still take a back seat in national publications to discussions about the future of Cal Ripken and Ray Miller. While those are important stories, they're about the past. Stories about Otanez and Pickering are about the future, and hopefully stories about the Orioles will be focusing on their future soon. But not if Ray Miller has anything to say about it; he's still talking about how to demote Sidney Ponson to the bullpen.

Two days after the Orioles were utterly humiliated by one of those cheap young teams that all the "experts" insist can't contend with the big spending teams like the Orioles, a day after the Orioles held a team meeting in an attempt to clear the air, they had to go out and play another game. We don't know whether the team meeting had any effect, but the Orioles played well for a change. They had a good outing from a starter, as Mussina lasted seven innings (because he pitched well, not just because Ray Miller lets his veterans pitch a lot no matter what) and even scored some runs. It added up to an 8-4 victory over the Royals. Is it a turnaround after Miller's explosion, or merely a blip on the downward slope? Let's wait and see.

The good:

• BJ Surhoff: 5 for 5. He becomes the thirty-fourth Oriole to achieve that feat.
• Brady Anderson was on base 3 times and Willis Otanez had another good game at the plate.
• Hurray for littleball? Harold Baines and Albert Belle execute a perfect double steal, leading to a run.
• Charles Johnson hit his first home run as an Oriole and drove in his first run.
• Mike Mussina's hopefully back on track.

The bad

• Mike Bordick is just 2 for his last 17, and is still batting at the top of the lineup.

The Ugly: We'll be nice for today and not list anything. When the team has a good win, it's time for us to be quiet and happy.

Ray Miller's fate is now uncertain. Ken Rosenthal of the Sun points out what we've been saying: that it's time to cut the team's losses with Miller, and that Miller's tirade has given Peter Angelos whatever excuse he needed. On the other hand, alleged baseball guru Peter Gammons claims that Angelos isn't ready to fire Ray Miller. We just hope that Rosenthal is correct and -- as is often the case -- Gammons is too busy promoting himself as an insider to actually get his facts right.

The Orioles are preparing for the Cuba game on May 3rd, and some speculate that Angelos won't want to fire Miller until after that. But if the entire season is a bust for the Orioles, they at least want to ensure that nothing goes wrong at this game.

Oddity: Albert Belle has announced that he's going to be selling a breakfast cereal. Anybody who dares try it, let us know how it tastes. Meanwhile, Roger Clemens failed to break Dave McNally's AL record for consecutive wins, getting knocked out of his start early.

Sunday was Little League day. Before the game, Little Leaguers from around the region were given the chance to parade around the field and be recognized. Maybe they should have stayed on the field; they might be the only teams the Orioles can beat. The scoreboard operator had a bad day on Sunday, continually getting the batter wrong and the number of balls, strikes, and outs wrong. And he still had a better day than the Orioles. All you need to know about Sunday's game is this: the Orioles got 9 hits, 3 walks, two HBP, and benefitted from three Oakland errors. They scored 8 runs in the 7th inning to take a four run lead. They still lost.

They lost because they couldn't throw strikes. (And Ray Miller's supposed to be a great pitching coach?) They lost because they couldn't field. They lost because two of their few baserunners got picked off. (Isn't Miller supposed to stress fundamentals?) They lost because Miller's bullpen strategy is to keep churning through pitchers, hoping to find the least effective one each day. They lost because Miller's idea of creativity is deciding to put the other sock on first; he "knew" Tony Phillips would bunt because that's what he would have done in the same situation, so the thought that Phillips might do something different -- like swing away -- never entered his mind. Whatever the reasons, Miller admits he has no explanations, but rather than accepting responsibility, he shifts the blame to the players for the 11-10 loss. He's understandably frustrated, and in a short while, should be understandably unemployed.

The good:

• We guess ten runs is good. Ten runs would be better if the team had earned them with a powerful offensive attack, rather than being handed them thanks to three Oakland errors, but when you're desperate, you'll take it.
• Albert Belle: 2-4 with his team-leading fourth home run, plus a walk.
• Willis Otanez continues to hit in Ripken's absence, going 2-4 with 2 RBI.

The bad

• The offense: aside from Belle's HR, just 8 singles. They've gotten very few extra-base hits recently.
• Rocky Coppinger: couldn't have thrown a strike if the zone was the size of Montana. At one point, he threw 179 balls in a row. Or, at least, it seemed like that many while watching in the stands.
• The bullpen ranged between pathetic (Ricky Bones: grand slam to the first batter he faced) and awful (Mike Timlin giving up the game-losing gopherball.) All told, they pitched 7 2/3 innings, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits and 8 walks.
• The Orioles took almost four hours (3:55) to lose. What else is new?

The Ugly:

• Rich Amaral at DH? The Orioles might as well just forfeit if the other team starts a lefty. Rich Amaral was batting .000 entering Sunday's game. He's a veteran who has 11 career home runs to his name. That's all you need to know about him as DH.
• Ray Miller: Rocky Coppinger had a bad outing -- to be fair, a terrible outing -- and Miller discusses whether to demote him to Rochester. Hey, Ray, we didn't notice you demoting Scott Erickson after three bad starts. Why the double standard?
• 14 walks allowed? Fourteen? Fourteen? Fourteen?
• Two errors? Two runners picked off? Runners picked off with 5 and 6 run deficits?
• Seven words: $84 million, worst record in baseball.
• The last time the Orioles won a series, Thomas Jefferson was president. Well, almost. But it hasn't happened yet this year.

Meanwhile, John Eisenberg of the Sun points out what we've been saying for a long time now: this isn't a slump, and the team just isn't that good. The team has a lot of problems, the kind that can't be solved by a clutch here or quality start there: the big one is age. Symptomatic of the problem? The team and the media are more preoccupied with 38-year old Cal Ripken's future than with 26-year old Willis Otanez's. Meanwhile, the As, who took 2 of 3 from the Os, started seven young players. Is there a lesson here?

And speaking of younger players, the good news is that Big Cal Pickering is coming back from his shoulder injury; the MRI showed no damage. The bad news? Organizational confusion. Peter Angelos announced in SI that he won't call Pickering up because his "baseball people" think Pickering needs a year in AAA. (Why is Peter Angelos making the decision, anyway? Shouldn't it be Frank Wren or Miller?) But now with the struggles on the club, it seems he'll be called up after all. Don't get us wrong; we applaud the idea of calling him up. It's just further sign of disarray in management, though. Say, where's Davey Johnson, anyway?

Scott Erickson got his wish to pitch on only 3-days rest, and while he pitched his best game of the season, the results were the same for the Orioles, who fell 3-0 to the Oakland Athletics. The loss was the 7th in the past 8 games for the 4-13 Orioles, who have yet to win on consecutive days this season. Saturday's game was more of the same for the Orioles, who continue their pattern of not scoring when they pitch well, and not pitching well when they score a lot. Anyways, on to...

The good:

• Erickson gives up only 3 runs and 4 hits in 7 innings of work.
• Jesse Orosco and Heathcliff Slocumb pitch two scoreless innings of relief.

The bad

• The Orioles managed only 4 hits, 2 of which were bunt singles.
• The Os stranded 9 baserunners.

The Ugly:

• As we've said before, when Rich Amaral -- a utility infielder -- is your first pinch-hitter off the bench, it's not surprising that you have a 4-13 record.

On Sunday, 25-year old Rocky Coppinger will be recalled to the majors to start against the A's. It's been an interesting career thus far for Coppinger, who had a 10-win rookie campaign in 1996, followed by 2 years of battling injuries and managers. It's surprising that Coppinger actually got another chance, given that the O's had traded for Jason Johnson in spring training. In 3 starts for Rochester, Coppinger went 1-1 with a 3.57 ERA and struck out 24 batters. He takes Doug Linton's spot in the rotation, while Linton moves to long relief in the bullpen.

The streak is over. Finally. After a very long road trip -- a very long trip -- the Os returned home and found an opponent they could beat. Oakland, who the Orioles handled easily last year, kicked off the Os twelve game homestand. For a while, the game seemed like a typical Orioles' game this season -- they were shut down completely for four innings, and then after they did take leads, of 2-1 and 3-2, they immediately gave them back the next inning. Finally, though, the Orioles hit with runners on base, scoring four runs when players who hadn't been hitting, like Jeff Conine and Delino DeShields, broke the game open. Then Orosco and Timlin, though shaky, came through and the Orioles won, 7-4. Is it the start of a turnaround or just a trick to fool the optimists? We'll have to wait and see.

The good:

• Juan Guzman followed up a strong outing by Sidney Ponson with one of his own, allowing just 2 runs in 6 innings of work, while striking out seven.
• Jesse Orosco has hopefully turned things around, with his second straight successful outing.

The bad

• Mike Fetters. He comes into the game with a one-run lead and immediately gives up the lead. Middle relief has been atrocious for the Orioles this year, while Benitez and Mills have been great -- elsewhere.

The Ugly:

• Still bunting with the number three hitter. It's generally a bad move to be bunting early in the game, it's generally a bad sign when your number three hitter has to bunt, and on the Orioles, all it means is that Albert Belle gets walked.

Cal Ripken's health hasn't improved, and he's getting advice from everybody. But in his first press conference since he went on the DL, he failed to clear up questions about his future.

Meanwhile, Fernando Tatis did one better than Chris Hoiles did last year. Hoiles hit two grand slams in one game; Tatis hit two in one inning versus the Dodgers.

Juan Nieves, Wilson Alvarez... Tony Saunders? Not quite. Almost. Every time you think it couldn't get more embarassing, it does. To get beaten by the Yankees or Blue Jays, maybe. To get beaten by the Devil Rays? To get swept by the Devil Rays? As far as we can tell, the Orioles are simply a plot by the players to prove that you really can't buy a playoff spot. (An extremely expensive plot.) Seriously, however, there are two possible interpretations of Thursday's game: the Orioles have quit on Ray Miller, or the Orioles just really aren't very good. (Our answer: both.) Sidney Ponson and Arthur Rhodes were brilliant, but the offense, which was missing Brady Anderson, Delino DeShields and Charles Johnson (in addition to Will Clark, of course) was execrable, and they were held to one hit in a humiliating 1-0 loss to the Devil Rays. The only hit was Mike Bordick's bloop single with two outs in the eighth inning.

The good:

• Sidney Ponson, reportedly on the bubble for being too young and talented for Ray Miller, pitches 5 1/3 innings of 3-hit, 1-run ball.
• Arthur Rhodes follows up with 2.2 shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out 5 of the 9 batters he faced.

The bad: take a guess

• The offense: One hit? One hit? One bloop single? Off Tony Saunders? A guy who entered the game with a 7.00 ERA?
• Six losses in a row, nine in their last ten games. That's a 1-8 road trip, for those of you scoring at home.

The Ugly:

• Swept by the Devil Rays, the Os are now 8.5 games back; it took them 37 games into the season last year before they fell that far back.
• The Orioles lineup. (See below). An absolute joke. Rich Amaral at leadoff? Lenny Webster the number five hitter? Lenny Webster?!?!?!??! Lenny Webster? Shawn Boskie could have one-hit thisexcuse for a lineup.
• Ray Miller's managing: the Orioles put two runners on and the number three hitter bunts!!! The number three hitter!!!!! In the sixth inning!!!! After Saunders had just walked the first two batters!

Ironically, the Devil Rays have spots on their roster for four young players the Orioles couldn't manage to find room for -- Danny Clyburn, David Lamb, Esteban Yan, and Aaron Ledesma (who's on the disabled list right now). We're not saying that all of these players are current or future stars -- they're not. But they can all contribute to a team. A team that can dominate the Orioles. And that's the point. It's not necessary to go out and spend millions on veterans to win games. And speaking of Clyburn and Lamb, we should point out that earlier rumors that David Lamb would be the player-to-be-named-later in the Danny Clyburn-Jason Johnson trade have been proven wrong. The Orioles instead sent Angel Bolivar Volquez to Tampa Bay. Bolivar is a 17-year old shortstop who was signed last season and has been in extended spring training in Sarasota.

Rocky Coppinger will be starting on Sunday, and the Orioles expect to get Scott Kamieniecki back soon, too. Ray Miller has been mouthing all the positive statements about Kamieniecki's return, about how well Kamieniecki has kept in shape. But Kamieniecki is 36 and has already lost two of the past three seasons to injuries, so how optimistic should we be? Now Coppinger, on the other hand, has been pitching very well at AAA, and we're eager to see what he can do. Miller insists that this isn't just a one-shot deal.

The streak is over! Up until this point, the Orioles have won whenever Mussina has started, but have lost every other game. No more. That streak's history. Now they can't even win when Mussina starts. And the way they look now, we're not sure they'll ever win a game. They're following the same formula every time out there: starter gets pounded early, bullpen gives up a bunch more runs, and then the offense scores a bunch off the opposing team's bullpen long after the game is out-of-reach. The formula on Wednesday, on national television, added up to a 14-8 debacle.

The good:

• Willis Otanez, in his quest to win a job, went 3-4 with a 2-run home run.
• BJ Surhoff went 2-5 with a 3-run homer, admittedly after the game was already a blowout.

The bad

• Mike Mussina. 11 hits and 10 runs in just 3.2 innings?
• Doug Linton. Two of those runs charged to Mussina came when the first batter Linton faced took him out of the yard. In addition to that, he allowed 4 runs (on 5 hits) of his own, in just 2.1 innings.
• Keep in mind that Tampa's a poor offensive team.
• Jeff Conine, who finally got some hits, gets thrown out at third base on a grounder to shortstop.

The Ugly:

• The ERAs of the three pitchers used today: 6.14, 7.24, 5.63.
• The defense: only one official error charged, but there were balls falling between fielders all over the place.
• Mussina's the Os _best_ pitcher, and he has only pitched well in one of his starts this year.
• The Orioles now have the worst record in all of baseball, and are already 7.5 games out. It took them 31 games to fall that far back last year.

It appears that the Orioles have finally decided on a replacement for Clark on the roster and for Linton in the rotation; they're going to call up Rocky Coppinger to start on Sunday. Coppinger has been dominant so far at Rochester, striking out 24 in just 17.2 innings of work, while allowing just 15 hits. We just hope he'll get a legitimate opportunity to show what he can do; it's not like he's taking a job away from a deserving player. Meanwhile, Scott Erickson is going to start on three days rest, as he has been whining about wanting to do for quite a while now.

Everyone else is weighing in on the Ray Miller issue, so we wanted to add our two cents, in this week's Bricks from the Warehouse.

Also note that Roger Clemens tied former Oriole Dave McNally's AL record for consecutive wins, with 17, with a 4-2 victory over the Texas Rangers.

We at The Warehouse are often critical of sportswriters. But we have to admit that we are in awe of their ability to write the same story over and over again without being too repetitive. Frankly, only two weeks into the season, we're at a loss for how to write "The starter stunk, the offense stunk, and the Orioles lost" using varied wording so it doesn't look like we just cut-and-paste from a previous day's update. Just to clarify what happened in Tuesday's game: the starter stunk, the offense stunk, and the Orioles lost. Scott Erickson, who had pitched badly in his first two starts, actually had his worst outing of the season, not getting through two innings, the offense did nothing for six innings off young pitcher Julio Santana, and the Orioles lost, 5-3.

The good:

• Ricky Bones, finally used in the role for which he was signed (long relief), pitched 4 1/3 shutout innings. Jesse Orosco and Mike Timlin both pitched well, too.

The bad

• Scott Erickson lasted just 1.2 innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and a walk.
• Heathcliff Slocumb put three runners on base in his 2/3 of an inning.
• The offense managed just six hits, none for extra bases.

The Ugly:

• Ray Miller: is he trying to get himself fired? In the ninth inning, down by two runs, he pinch hits for Willis Otanez and Charles Johnson. Not with those great Orioles' bench players of the past like Terry Crowley or Jim Dwyer. No, he pinch hits with a .200-hitting utility infielder and a .000-hitting utility player.
• Ray Miller again: after the game, he publicly blasted Erickson for his poor season. Constructive criticism it wasn't. It was more like whining on Miller's part. This guy is supposed to be a great pitching coach?
• Scott Erickson's ERA for the season: 12.41.

As expected, Cal Ripken and Will Clark have been placed on the disabled list. Clark is expected to miss a month, while Ripken's status is uncertain, as anybody with a bad back could attest to. And even an optimist and big Orioles fan like Tom Boswell of the Post concedes that Ripken has almost certainly lost it. The Orioles called up utility infielder Jesse Garcia to replace Ripken on the roster; they are expected to recall either Rocky Coppinger or Jason Johnson today to replace Clark. Whichever pitcher is called up will slide into the fifth spot in the rotation, bumping Doug Linton to the bullpen. Nothing is going right for the Orioles; in an opportunity perfect for Cal Pickering, he is unable to take advantage because (as noted yesterday) of his strained shoulder. This forces the Orioles to use .105-hitting Jeff Conine at first base and leaves them without a backup first baseman or platoon partner for Harold Baines.

We feel the need to emphasize this again. Ray Miller, down by two runs, pinch hits for Willis Otanez with Jeff Reboulet. We like Jeff Reboulet. He seems like a nice guy. He seems like an adequate utility infielder. He's also hitting sub-.200, and he has never hit well -- that is, after all, why he is just a utility infielder. You might pinch hit for the pitcher with Reboulet. But for Willis Otanez, one of the few people in the lineup not batting under .225? As for Johnson, he isn't hitting well -- but he's still hitting a lot better than Rich Amaral, and always has. These weren't righty/lefty issues; these were simply under-30/over-30 issues. Ray Miller doesn't trust any player under the age of 30. Miller is at a complete loss for how to deal with the situation; he's been reduced to calling team meetings and criticizing everyone. We have a suggestion, Ray: get your head out of your ass and use your best players. You're not going to win every game that way, but at least you'll have a chance.

Finally, the Os have announced that tickets to the May 3rd Cuba game at Camden Yards will go on sale to the general public on Saturday the 24th. Maybe if the Os put Outer Mongolia on the schedule, they'd snap their losing streak.

Will Clark is out indefinately with a fractured thumb... Will Big Calvin Pickering finally get his chance? Unfortunately probably not, because he has been suffering from a shoulder strain.

Remember when we claimed last week (April 14th, to be precise) that it couldn't get any worse? We lied. It could. It has. The Orioles dropped 2 out of 3 games in each of their first three series, but they went one better in their fourth series of the year, getting swept by the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles, at 3-9, have now lost three straight, six of their last seven (and, obviously, nine of their last twelve), are tied with the Florida Marlins with the worst record in baseball, and are further out of first place than any other team in baseball.

On Sunday, the supposedly potent Orioles offense managed just three hits off rookie pitcher Roy Halladay, Juan Guzman was rocked early and often, and the Orioles rounded out an embarassing series with a 6-0 loss to the young Blue Jays. But at least nobody got hurt, right? Wrong. Dead wrong. Cal Ripken sat out again, and this time admitted it was his back. Meanwhile, the big story was that Will Clark broke his thumb, as with Delino DeShields before him. Lots of players break their hands when hit by pitches. But these are the Orioles; they get hurt fielding ground balls. Ideally, top prospect Calvin Pickering would be recalled from Rochester to take his place, but unfortunately, that's likely not an option, as he has been sidelined by a strained shoulder. Of course, even were Pickering healthy, the Orioles would likely find an excuse not to play him.

The good:

• Forget it. There ain't any. Nobody died during the game though, if that's any consolation.

The Bad: where do we start?

• Juan Guzman, rocked once again, allowing 5 runs in just 4.2 innings. We can't wait to hear his excuse.
• Arthur Rhodes, the only reliever Miller seems to have confidence in, allowed 2 hits and 3 walks in his 2.1 innings of work.
• The joke of an offense: just 3 hits.

The Ugly:

• Ray Miller: we figure Arthur Rhodes should be on the DL by May 15th; he threw 48 more pitches today.
• Will Clark. What more can we say?
• Cal Ripken. A shadow of his former self. Hell, a shadow of Manny Alexander, at this point. We loved him, but come on. This is just painful to see.

Now it appears that for the first time in his career, Cal Ripken may actually be headed to the disabled list -- he is in Cleveland for a back exam now. Of course, he's likely to be joined by Will Clark, who has spent lots of time on the disabled list in recent years. Unfortunately, with all the injuries, we fear Ray Miller may have a built in excuse for his failures. When that happens, we just want you to keep in mind a few names: Tom Gordon, Nomar Garciaparra, Reggie Jefferson; Andy Pettitte, Darryl Strawberry, Scott Brosius. Those are key injuries suffered by the Red Sox and Yankees (Darryl, of course, also has his own personal problems). Are they struggling a little because of the injuries? Sure. That's why they're only 7-4 and 7-5, respectively. A far cry from the Orioles' 3-9 record.

Meanwhile, the Orioles appear to be in denial. GM Frank Wren is still talking about how it's too early to make any decisions about this team. And owner Peter Angelos is insisting he won't fire Ray Miller -- in our opinion, because to do so would require admitting he made a mistake in hiring Miller.

We were wrong about the Orioles not having momentum; they do. It's just in the wrong direction -- straight to the bottom. The only surprise is that they've managed to win three games. As has happened almost every time Mike Mussina wasn't the starter, the Orioles gave up a lot of runs early, and the bullpen pitched badly late. Factor in a weak offense -- just seven hits, all singles, and a stupid caught stealing by Amaral, and it all adds up to a 7-4 loss to the Blue Jays. The game featured a potentially serious beanball exchange, but as it turns out, the only one who got hurt was the home plate umpire, who got hit when Doug Linton threw behind Carlos Delgado's back. Credit Albert Belle with not doing something stupid to get himself suspended when David Wells retaliated; Belle has often been accused of being a thoughtless thug, but he knows that the team needs him.

The good: we could tell you, but we'd have to be fiction writers. There wasn't any.

• If we were forced at gunpoint to come up with something, eight walks demonstrate some useful plate skills.
• Oh, and Cal Ripken went a whole game without making an error.

The Bad:

• Surprise. Doug Linton didn't pitch well (5 runs on 8 hits in just 6.1 innings). But former Oriole David Wells, run out of town because of his personality, did.
• Heathcliff Slocumb pitched like Heathcliff Slocumb; he allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk in his one inning of work.
• Rich Amaral, leadoff hitter?
• Jeff Conine is still batting under .200 after going 0-3 -- but so are four other members of the starting lineup.

The Ugly:

• Rich Amaral commits a cardinal sin, making the third out at third base with the heart of the order coming up.
• Heathcliff Slocumb, acquired as part of the bullpen rebuilding process, has already been reduced to mopup.

Meanwhile, while Scott Erickson complains publicly about his lack of work, Miller snipes back at him. This is perhaps the most disturbing aspect of Ray Miller's tenure -- worse than his incredibly clueless tactical decisions or his infatuation with old players is his complete inability to handle individuals, whether they be rookies or veterans. He has insulted Armando Benitez, whined about Sidney Ponson, fought with Roberto Alomar, and can't get along with Scott Erickson. (To be fair, Scott Erickson has been a whiner since he came to Baltimore, always blaming someone else -- Chris Hoiles' pitch calling, Miller not giving him the schedule he wants, or whatever.)

In Baltimore, there are still people in denial over Cal Ripken's problems. But everywhere else that Cal Ripken goes, it immediately becomes apparent how badly he's struggling. Today it was the turn of the Toronto Sun.

Meanwhile, just as we reported last week, former Orioles minor leaguer Joel Bennett once again shut down the Rochester Red Wings.

If Thursday's surprising (but ugly) upset of Roger Clemens and the Yankees gave Os fans some hope, maybe the thought that the team could build some momentum, that thought seems to have been misplaced. While the offense continued to perform -- 12 hits, including 2 doubles and 2 homers -- the pitching has continued to be a disaster, and the result was a 7-6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Today Sidney Ponson pitched reasonably well, but threw a lot of pitches and was removed from the game after five innings. The Orioles were leading at the time, but with the Orioles bullpen, no lead is safe, and particularly not the one run one they left with. Nobody except Mike Timlin can honestly be said to be doing his job, although Ricky Bones had been pitching well until last night.

The good:

• Brady Anderson was on base two more times, including leading off the game with his second home run of the year.
• BJ Surhoff hit his first home run of the season.
• Mike Bordick had a three hit game.
• Sidney Ponson had a solid, if unspectacular, outing, allowing 3 runs in 5 innings while striking out 4.

The Bad:

• Maybe it's something about the position. Willis Otanez, filling in for Cal Ripken, made an error.
• Fetters, Orosco, Bones: 4 hits, 3 walks, and 3 runs allowed in just 3 innings of work, blowing two leads.

The Ugly:

• Ray Miller still thinks Rich Amaral is a pinch hitter.
• The bullpen, totally reconstructed over the offseason, is hopeless, while Benitez has been dominant in New York.
• Willie Greene, run out of town by the Orioles in the offseason, homered.

Meanwhile, for the first time in seventeen years, Cal Ripken sat out a game, not because he was hurt, not because he wanted to end the streak, but because the manager decided he needed it. For all our criticsm of Ray Miller, we want to compliment him for (finally) figuring out that this needed to be done. Miller, though, refuses to admit that Ripken may well be done, and instead blames it on distractions related to his father passing away. Ken Rosenthal of the Sun notes how sad the spectacle is.

An ex-Oriole note: Toronto pitcher Joey Hamilton, who was supposed to start against the Orioles on Sunday, has been placed on the disabled list. His replacement on the roster is former Oriole Nerio Rodriguez, who was traded to the Blue Jays in the Juan Guzman deal last year.

And speaking of trades from last year, that one was made by Pat Gillick. While we've been very critical of Gillick, former Blue Jay Al Leiter, who Gillick tried to sign in Baltimore three years ago, thinks very highly of Gillick.

After losing the first two games of the series to the Yankees, the Orioles rebounded Thursday night by pummeling ace Roger Clemens for 7 runs on 11 hits in only 3 innings en route to a 9-7 victory. The Orioles still have yet to win in games not started by Mike Mussina, and like the first two games of the series, this one was not pretty. The defense was less than spectacular, leading to 6 unearned runs, and though the Orioles got 18 hits, they again struggled with runners on base, stranding 16 baserunners.

The good:

• Albert Belle smashes 2 homeruns and drives in 3
• Jeff Conine and Delino DeShields get their first hits as Orioles
• B.J. Surhoff collects 4 hits, Brady Anderson 3
• Arthur Rhodes and Mike Timlin pitch 2 2/3 scoreless, hitless innings of relief
• Jeff Reboulet breaks a 7-7 tie with a 2-run single in the 9th off closer Mariano Rivera

The Bad:

• We hate to say it, but Cal Ripken just doesn't look good out there right now. He insists there is nothing physically wrong with him, but he made 2 more errors last night, giving him five in the past four games, when he went through all of 1998 with only eight. In addition, he is struggling at the plate, hitting only .174 though the early part of the season. If this trend continues, things are going to get interesting, because Willis Otanez is clearly looking like a better alternative at this point. Youthaphobic Ray Miller, however, is too scared to make this change.
• Ray Miller. Again. Last season, Rhodes complained of overuse by Miller. This season, Miller does not trust anyone else in close games (with good reason), and if this keeps up, it's going to lead to overuse again this year, and another trip to the disabled list.

The Ugly:

• With the Orioles 3-5 start, the blame is already beginning to be passed around. Despite nothing but praise for Sidney Ponson last season, all of the sudden Miller is complaining about his weight. Despite the fact that Miller likes to brag about how he always stands behind his players, he has spent the past several days publicly demeaning Ponson. For the record, after a spring of mixed results, Ponson lasted only 2 2/3 innings in his first start, surrendering 5 runs for an ERA of 16.88.
• Of course, we don't hear any complaining about Scott Erickson, who has been just as awful, giving up 18 hits and 12 runs in 10 2/3 innings of work for an ERA of 10.13. Scratch that, we do hear complaining. Apparently, the reason why Erickson can't get anybody out is because he is pitching on too much rest, at least according to him.

Finally, we forgot to mention this yesterday, but congratulations to Harold Baines for hitting his 350th career homerun. That came on Wednesday night off Hideki Irabu.

On the plus side, it can't get any worse. Only the most optimistic of fans really thought the Os' offseason reconstruction had put them on par with the Yankees, though many thought the gap had been closed. And if you knew only that the Orioles had beaten up badly Yankee Starter Hideki Irabu, you might agree. But when the Yankees have a struggling veteran, they replace him in the rotation with a young player like Ramiro Mendoza. So Irabu was pitching mopup last night, and the Orioles' big rally against him came only after they were already down 8-2. As is often the case with the Orioles, the rally fell short, and then the Yankees got to the Os bullpen to the tune of six more runs. Add it up, and the Orioles lost a blowout to the Yankees, 14-7.

The good:

• Harold Baines hit his 350th career home run, a key 3-run shot.
• Willis Otanez singled in his only AB.
• Brady Anderson was on base three more times (as was Will Clark.)

The Bad:

• Scott Erickson. Pounded for the second straight start, he gives up 8 runs on 9 hits and 3 walks in just 3.2 innings.
• Jesse Orosco. Brought in to face lefty Paul O'Neill, he gives up a 3-run homer to him. He also allows two inherited runners to score.
• Heathcliff Slocumb: the Os mount a rally to close to one run behind, and he immediately gives up a double and 2 singles to start a Yankee rally.
• Mike Fetters balks in one of the runners he inherits on base; he then gives up a double to let the other one score.

The Ugly:

• In what has become a daily pronouncement, Ray Miller. Today he finally used Willis Otanez. As a pinch-runner! The only batter on the bench who can hit, and Miller pinch-runs with him. While Rich Amaral, whose only skill is running, sits there.
• The defense: Erickson isn't paying attention to the game and misses a ball tossed right to him, while Cal Ripken boots another grounder.
• Miller again: Ricky Bones, supposed to be the long reliever, was pitching well and had pitched just 2.1 innings, but was yanked in favor of the awful Heathcliff Slocumb.

The "fire Ray Miller" bandwagon has started picked up steam in the last couple of days. Ken Rosenthal of the Sun has climbed on in a very insightful column, though he admits it probably won't save the 1999 season. Richard Justice of the Post, on the other hand, while criticizing the Orioles, cops out with the theory that because the team is bad, we can't be sure Miller's a bad manager. But if it's taken the Baltimore media a while to figure out how flawed this team is, it has taken New York media like the Post and Daily News just a few days of observation.

Of course, the obvious solution would be to fire Ray Miller and then start rebuilding, but the Os haven't yet reached that conclusion. According to Frank Wren, the problem isn't the team, so we shouldn't expect to see any trades for pitching, and the problem isn't the manager, so we shouldn't expect to see Ray Miller replaced.

The struggles of one Oriole may be partly explained; by the death of his father. Of course, Cal Ripken's age and lack of bat speed explain a lot more, but it's hard to avoid feeling sorry for a player who has just lost his father, who was also his baseball mentor, at the same time his career is disappearing. The Sun also notes the Orioles' interest in Mark Wohlers.

If it makes followers of the Os farm system feel any better, Orioles' minor leaguer Clay Bellinger got his first major league hit, and scored his first major league run, in the Os-Yankees game yesterday. The punch line (as regular readers of this page already guessed) is that Bellinger was playing third base for the Yankees at the time. (Really, we're not being fair to the Orioles here. Bellinger was a minor league journeyman who spent one season in the Os organization (Rochester, 1996). Still, he's better than the drek like Esteban Beltre that has filled space at Rochester in recent years. And we were struck by the irony.)

And Bellinger isn't the only Ex-Oriole to succeed elsewhere. Run out of town by the insecure egotistical Ray Miller, Armando Benitez has found acceptance in New York. Of course, there was nothing wrong with Benitez in Baltimore that a little bit of patience wouldn't have solved.

If it's possible for any April series to be crucial, the three-game Yankee series starting on Tuesday was it. Just six games into the season, the Orioles were already in last place, 3 games out. But more than the record, it has been the way the Os have been losing that has created the tension surrounding the team. Bad pitching, untimely hitting, and poor defense, as well as controversial decisions by the manager.

Given the direction the two teams were going, the series threatened to be a blowout. But Juan Guzman, rebounding from a poor initial start, mostly shut down the Yankees, pitching six strong innings of work, and the teams were tied at 2 after six innings. Contrary to Ray Miller's whining, everything seemed to be going the Orioles' way; the Yankees were playing more like the Orioles, as the Os managed to score one unearned run thanks to a double play ball that was thrown away and a dropped third strike, another unearned run thanks to a ball that went right through Chuck Knoblauch's legs, and a third unearned run thanks to a hit by Bordick misplayed into a triple by Bernie Williams followed by a passed ball.

But it wasn't to be; when you're a great team you win despite these sorts of mistakes, and the Yankees, make no mistake about it, are a great team. The Yankees scored four runs in the pivotal eighth inning, courtesy of a fluke double off the third base bag, a passed ball, and a three-run home run by Jorge Posada, and ultimately won, 6-3. Of course, for all the talk about "lucky breaks" and "hitting with men on base" and such, it's the talent that matters; it doesn't hurt when the Yankees have Posada batting for them, while the Orioles are stuck pinch-hitting with Rich Amaral. Wouldn't it be neat if, instead of Amaral, the Orioles had a real hitter on the bench, say, somebody who had hit 27 home runs at Rochester last year? Oh, wait, they do. Why won't Miller use Otanez?

The good:

• Juan Guzman showed his spring form, turning in the Os' third straight solid performance from a starting pitcher, after four lousy starts.
• The offense managed 10 hits, including 2 doubles and a triple, and 2 walks.

The Bad:

• The offense did just half its job, as ten of the runners were stranded.
• Arthur Rhodes was shaky, allowing 4 runs in just 2 innings of work, although.

The Ugly:

• Ray Miller. Rich Amaral as PH? Does Miller realize that Amaral can't hit, and never could?
• Deja vu: Ray Miller. Another 40+ pitch outing for Arthur Rhodes. At this rate, his arm will be dead by May. Rhodes's arm, that is. So will Miller's career, with any luck.

In farm news, an Orioles minor leaguer had an excellent start Monday in the Rochester-Scranton game. Unfortunately, that minor leaguer was Joel Bennett, and he was pitching against the Red Wings, since the Orioles let him get away last July while keeping such notable "stars" as Doug Drabek on the roster.

The order for the amateur June draft has been announced; the Orioles have four first round picks. They will be selecting 13th, 18th, 21st, and 23rd in the first round, and then have picks 34, 44, and 50 as sandwich picks. The extra picks come as compensation for losing Eric Davis, Rafael Palmeiro, and Roberto Alomar, although the Orioles will lose some picks in lower rounds for their signings of Albert Belle, Will Clark, Mike Timlin, and Delino DeShields. (And will gain one for losing Alan Mills.) This shows why the conventional analysis that a team "has to trade" a player to avoid "losing him for nothing" is wrong.

The weather was awful, and the game was awfuler. (No, it's not a real word. So sue us. It still fits.) The Orioles had struggled the first four games of the season, but the Os had a chance to turn things around after Mike Mussina's gem on Saturday. 3-3 wasn't the way the Orioles wanted to start out the season, but after the debacle against the Devil Rays, it would have been a pleasant consolation prize. It wasn't to be. Not that this was a total surprise, given that the Orioles, after demoting Doug Johns, were starting Doug Linton, a journeyman minor leaguer who hadn't appeared in the majors since 1996, and who hadn't pitched successfully in the majors since, well, ever. But what was a surprise is that Linton, throwing a mixture of mid-80 MPH fastballs and low-70 MPH breaking pitches, did an adequate job. In trouble for much of his five innings of work, he escaped allowing just two runs.

That made the game story the bullpen and defense, and the story shouldn't be told with small children in the room. Suffice it to say that Mike Fetters was awful, and Jesse Orosco was not much better, though his defense sabotaged him. The key play of the game was a botched rundown, a play that every team practices a zillion times. With men on first and third and no outs, Dave Hollins hit a routine double play ball to Cal Ripken. Instead of throwing to second, however, Cal decided to throw out Jose Cruz at the plate. (Error One.) Then Charles Johnson chased Cruz only halfway back to third and threw, rather than chasing him all the way back as he was supposed to. (Error Two.) Then Ripken, chasing Cruz back towards home, threw too high. (Error Three.) Jesse Orosco dropped the throw. (Error Four.) Cruz scored, and the two runners ended up at second and third. A sacrifice fly and intentional walk later, a three run homer sealed the game. Add it up, and the Orioles turned a 4-2 lead into a 9-5 blowout loss.

The good:

• Delino Deshields is back.
• Will Clark got two hits, including a home run, although the home run was hit in "garbage time," the ninth inning of a blowout when everyone wanted to go home.
• Brady Anderson was on base four times, including two infield hits.
• Ricky Bones, Heathcliff Slocumb, and Doug Linton were all adequate on a day when they needed to be.

The Bad:

• The offense was basically nonexistent after the first inning.
• Jesse Orosco had his annual shaky outing.
• Mike Fetters was awful, allowing two hits, three walks, 2 hit batsmen, and a wild pitch in just one inning of work.
• Although Mike Bordick got two hits, he also was easily thrown out advancing, taking a foolish risk.

The Ugly:

• Once again, Ray Miller: as usual, rather than handing the ball to a reliever and letting him pitch, Miller overmanaged, using every reliever, yanking ones who pitched well and (predictably) running into ones who couldn't.
• The defense. An error is one thing. A mental error is something else. Two mental errors and two physical errors on the same play is a tragicomedy.
• Did we mention Mike Fetters?
• The defense. In addition to the botched rundown, Cal threw another ball away, and Doug Linton missed first base on a routine grounder, a play which is usually (but not today) scored as an error.

The Orioles now start their first road trip of the season, a tough nine-game trip which starts with the Yankees and Blue Jays, before ending up in Tampa. Wednesday's game is a pretty good matchup, with Cone against Erickson, but Thursday is the marquee matchup, with Roger Clemens facing Mike Mussina. As they do, questions begin to mount about Cal Ripken's future.

And questions also mount about Ray Miller's future. The roster decisions being made are questionable enough, but Miller's extreme anti-youth prejudices just get worse and worse. Jesse Garcia was demoted when DeShields was activated from the DL, despite the fact that Jeff Reboulet is hurting enough to be placed on the DL. And Miller seems to be focusing his ire on youngster Sidney Ponson, despite the fact that veterans have struggled just as badly.

The Orioles starting pitching entered Saturday's game with a combined 10.00 ERA over the first four games, and even ace Mike Mussina contributed to that, giving up four runs in five innings against Tampa Bay on opening day. But yesterday, Mussina dominated the Blue Jays, as he pitched seven strong innings in gaining only the Orioles second win of the season, a 1-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The good: an easy one for this game

• Mussina, Mussina, Mussina: 7 strong innings, 7 strikeouts, giving up only 3 walks and 4 hits
• Albert Belle raised his average to .500, going 2-3 with 2 doubles and a walk
• Rookie Jesse Garcia goes 1-2, recording his first major league hit on the first pitch to him.
• Will Clark chips in two hits
• Mike Timlin pitches a perfect 9th inning for his second save
• Wille Greene walks in his only plate appearance. Oh, wait, we forgot, this 27-year old who hit 26 homers just two years was released this offseason, which brings us to...

The Bad:

• Rich Amaral, a "gamer" but not hitter, is the first pinch-hitter off the bench.
• The offense was nearly invisible, as for the second straight day, they managed just six hits, and only 1 run.

The Awful:

• Ray Miller: Ah, why not? But seriously, if he continues to rely solely on Rhodes and Timlin in close games this year, he's going to burn a hole in their arms.

In other news, the Orioles have several roster moves to make. Delino DeShields is just about ready to be recalled from his rehab assignment, and the Orioles will need a fifth starter today. Despite the fact that Jeff Reboulet was scratched from the starting line-up due to injury yesterday, youthaphopic Ray Miller will likely demote Garcia to the minors instead of putting Reboulet on the DL. Also, Doug Linton, the veteran journeyman with a career ERA near 6, will likely take the 5th slot in the rotation, while younger Rocky Coppinger will stay in Rochester. Doug Johns, who probably sealed his fate by getting arrested last week, will likely be demoted to Rochester, so that, as per GM Frank Wren's mandate, the Orioles will carry only 11 pitchers instead of Miller's insistence on 12.

From the strange but true department, Jason Grimsley recently admitted to being the mysterious person who, back in 1994, replaced Belle's corked bat in the umpire's locker room with a clean one when both were with the Chicago White Sox.

We haven't gotten our hands on a copy yet, but Eric Davis' autobiography, "Born to Play: The Eric Davis Story" will be released Monday. We'll give a review after we've read it, but in the meantime, if you happen to read it, send us some excerpts and we'll post it on the page. Apparently, Davis harshly criticizes Miller for being insecure, and, well, basically not knowing how to manage- but more specfically by playing favorites with veterans, frequently changing the line-up, and worsening team chemistry. Our guess is that Davis isn't the only veteran who feels this way, and hopefully Miller won't last much longer as manager. In any case, Davis will sign copies of the book at 5 PM tomorrow at Bibelot in Timonium Crossing.

Finally, Jerold Hoffenberger, another member of the Orioles family has passed away. Hoffenberger owned the team between 1965 and 1979, when the Orioles made it to five World Series.

Keep repeating the mantra: It's only the first week of the season. It's only the first week of the season. Last year, the Orioles started out 10-2, and not much went right after that. So maybe a poor start this year signifies good things to come. (Okay, so it's a stretch, but hey, we can dream.) If you read our report on Wednesday's game, or if you read our report on Thursday's game, this one was pretty much the same: the starting pitcher got knocked around early, and the offense chipped in a few runs late. The start of the game was delayed for an hour and a half by rain, and it would have been better had it never been started, since not much went right once it did, and the Orioles lost to the Blue Jays, 7-4.

The good: getting harder and harder to find.

• Albert Belle had two hits.
• Cal Ripken was back in the lineup.
• The bullpen pitched well, allowing just 2 runs and 4 hits in 6 1/3 innings.

The bad: the starting pitching and the hitting

• Sidney Ponson, like Scott Erickson and Juan Guzman, was hit early and hard, as he gave up five runs on four hits and three walks in just 2.2 innings of work.
• Cal Ripken was back in the lineup, pushing Willis Otanez back to the bench.
• The offense was nearly invisible, as they managed just six hits -- only one for extra bases, a double by Cal Ripken..

The ugly: the managing.

• Miller leaves Willis Otanez sitting on the bench all game, while noted hitters Rich Amaral and Lenny Webster are brought in to pinch hit.
• Jeff Conine has yet to record his first hit as an Oriole.

As noted above, Cal Ripken returned to action on Friday night, after his almost unprecedented two game injury break. He contributed with an opposite field double his first time up, but whether his back -- or his bat -- will hold up over the long haul remains to be seen. We're somewhat ambivalent on this, since, with Delino DeShields' expected activation on Saturday, a roster move involving a young player will have to be made. Presumably Garcia will be sent down, which would be disappointing except that Ray Miller has made it clear through his actions that Garcia won't get any playing time even if he is in the majors.

We should point out that two young Orioles pitchers did pitch very well on Thursday. Unfortunately, it was a AAA game, and one of those pitchers was Nerio Rodriguez, who is now pitching in the Toronto organization after having been packaged to the Blue Jays in the Juan Guzman trade last year. The other was Rocky Coppinger, who gets to spend more time in AAA while 34-year old journeyman Doug Linton, who hasn't pitched in the majors since 1996 and who has a career ERA of 5.84, gets the call on Sunday.

And speaking of young Oriole prospects who belong in the majors, we want to point out this feature story on Jerry Hairston.

For the second time in less than a year, Cal Ripken made headlines for what he didn't do -- play in a game. For the first time in seventeen years, Cal Ripken sat out a game with an injury. The same back injury which drove him from the opening day game in the third inning -- and which the Orioles originally said would not cause Cal to miss any time -- kept Cal out of this game. At least this time he and Ray Miller were smart enough to make the decision before the game started, so it didn't hurt the team, but as Ken Rosenthal of the Sun points out, Miller still didn't handle it very well. Ripken is still expected to start on Thursday.

In terms of the people who actually did play in the game, it looked, unfortunately, a lot like a game from last season. Juan Guzman, who had looked so good in spring training (a 0.96 ERA), got pounded by the anemic Devil Rays, and the Orioles offense, while productive, was too little, too late.

The good: the offense. For the second straight day, the Orioles got 13 hits and 6 walks.

• Willis Otanez, making the most of the incredibly rare opportunity presented to him to replace Cal, doubled and homered. It was Willis's first home run.
• Mike Bordick, Albert Belle, and BJ Surhoff also record two hits each.
• Will Clark went one better, with three hits, including his first home run as an Oriole

The bad: the pitching.

• As noted, Juan Guzman was terrible, lasting just 3.1 innings, allowing 6 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks.
• Doug Johns, facing problems off the field, allowed 2 runs on 4 hits in just 2.1 innings, including a home run.

And speaking of Doug Johns' problems, he was arrested early Tuesday morning for drunk driving, and was also charged with marijuana possession. Although the Orioles are officially supporting him, they have to feel pretty annoyed with Johns, whose job was already on thin ice despite his solid performance this spring. When the Orioles need a fifth starter this Sunday, they will be calling up Doug Linton to start in place of the still-injured Scott Kamieniecki. Originally Willis Otanez's job was thought to be in danger, but Frank Wren has apparently overruled Ray Miller and has decided to keep "only" 11 pitchers. This placed Johns on the bubble, and his little incident has almost certainly sealed his fate.

OPENING DAY!!!: For the first time in six years, the Orioles played someone other than the Kansas City Royals on Opening Day. The game was ugly, and as is typical for an Orioles game, it was _long_ (almost 4 hours), but since the Orioles won, 10-7, we're not complaining. If the Orioles hope to improve on last year's disappointment and contend for the wild card this year, they have to beat teams like Tampa, so today was a good start.

The good: the offense. The Orioles got some from every position except third base.

• Brady went 3-4 with a home run, and walked his other time up.
• The big acquisition, Albert Belle, went 2-5 with a big three run homer and another RBI.
• The other big name, Will Clark, went 2-4 with 2 RBI.
• The next big name, acquired more for his arm than his bat, Charles Johnson, went 2-3.
• New arrival Jeff Conine went 0-1, but walked twice.
• Mike Bordick, in his new spot as #2 hitter, went 2-4 and walked.

The bad: the pitching.

• Mike Mussina was shaky, lasting just five innings and giving up 8 hits and 4 runs.
• Ricky Bones and Heathcliff Slocumb poured fuel on the fire when they came in, allowing five baserunners between them while retiring just one batter combined.

The ugly: ow!

• Cal Ripken removed himself from the game in the third inning with a stiff back, after sacrifice bunting. While Willis Otanez is thankfully still available to fill in, if Cal isn't better, this could be very awkward.
• Ray Miller insanely gave middle reliever Arthur Rhodes 58 pitches on opening day. Arthur has been great the last few years, but has had some nagging injury problems every year, and he starts out the season with an extreme pitch count? Look for Ray Miller to start whining soon about his bullpen problems.

If there were any complaints about today's game, besides the pitching and Cal's back, it was with the newfangled ticket system, which resulted in long delays.

Finally, although the Orioles have obviously settled on a roster, the crunch for space still hasn't been settled. For now, Otanez has a spot, but when the Orioles need a fifth starter, it's unclear what will happen. That fifth starter was supposed to be Kamieniecki, but since he's still hurt, it appears that Doug Linton will get the start. We'll be sure to keep you updated on developments.

Well, spring training did not end on a particularly bright note for the Orioles. On Friday Scott Erickson was roughed up for six runs, five hits, and four walks in four innings of a 9-1 loss to the Braves, and on Saturday, young Sidney Ponson lasted only one inning, giving up six runs and six hits in an 8-7 loss to the Phillies in the spring finale. The Orioles start the season Monday with a 3-game series against the Devil Rays in Baltimore, with ace Mike Mussina getting the call opening day.

The roster was pared down to 25 players, with Willis Otanez, and 25-year old Jesse Garcia making the final cut, though we all know that Ray Miller will ensure that they receive little or no playing time. The big news, however, is who is missing from the roster, and we don't mean Jason Johnson, Doug Linton, and Lyle Mounton, who were all reassigned to the minors today. Chris Hoiles, the starting catcher for the Orioles for the past 9 years, was released, and though he did not complain, he was obviously hurt by the decision. Hoiles was offered an unspecified job in the organization, and though he had earlier maintained that he would retire if he did not make the team, he now indicates that he may try to sign with another team.

Remember after the Jason Johnson for Clyburn trade, when Ray Miller said "Frank's become my hero because he's starting to accumulate as many power arms as he can"? Well, you can throw that out the window. Yesterday, the Orioles traded one of their top pitching prospects, 22-year old Chris Fussell, to the Kansas City Royals for 33-year old Jeff Conine, who will essentially replace Hoiles and pretty much reduce Otanez's role to strictly a back-up player. Check back at the Warehouse later for further analysis of the trade.

In other news, Scott Kamieniecki and Delino DeShields were placed on the disabled list, and the Orioles indicated that Kamieniecki will not be ready until the end of the month at the earliest. So, with injuries already piling up for the Orioles- who are just as old as last years team- is 1999 going to be any different than last season? Ken Rosenthal says that though possible, the odds are against such a thing happening.

Finally, as opening day approaches, we have a load of links for you to check out:

• Here's one on the intensity of Albert Belle.
• An interesting one on how Brady Anderson feels about being single.
• An article on the milestones Cal Ripken is approaching this season.
• A link on how former Oriole Roberto Alomar is getting along with his new teammates in Cleveland.
• And finally, one on near-Oriole Brian Jordan, who indicated that had the Orioles not insisted on deferred payments, he may well have signed with the Orioles instead of the Braves in the winter.

Cal Ripken, playing in his first game since returning from the funeral of his father, hit a homerun in the win. In honor of Cal Sr, the Orioles will be wearing a #7 patch on the sleeves of their jerseys.

In other news, the roster is just about set, and since there were few if any real fights for jobs this spring, it's full of veterans like Heathcliffe Slocumb, who is happier to be in Baltimore than most Oriole fans are that he is here.

In any case, newly acquired Jason Johnson is happy to have been traded from the lowly Devil Rays, but that's only because he does not know that players under 30 have no real opportunity to play for the Orioles, as Danny Clyburn can attest to. For our thoughts on the trade, check out the latest installment of Bricks from the Warehouse.