DOWNSCal Ripken -- EVEN -- Refrained from publicly...

UPS AND DOWNS

Cal Ripken -- EVEN -- Refrained from publicly passing judgment on Davey Johnson's decision to remove him from the game. But if looks could kill . . .

Davey Johnson -- UP -- Did what he thought was best, didn't get defensive or angry when he was questioned about his decision. Confidence is a good thing.

Manny Alexander -- EVEN -- Whether it's him or somebody else, replacing Ripken at short will carry its own unique pressure. He got a taste of that.

Kent Mercker -- DOWN -- Headed to the bullpen. His best shot at getting that $3.3 million option for '97 now is to start pitching the way he did in Atlanta.

Jimmy Haynes -- UP -- The state of the Orioles' pitching depth is such that, with one good start, he ascended from a near demotion to being the No. 4 starter.

Tuesday's game -- DOWN -- Longest nine-inning game in major-league history. A few more of those and nobody will complain about paying PSLs for Ravens' games.

Wednesday's game -- UP -- Six innings and an hour longer than the night before, but it was filled with suspense. Good stuff.

Stat of the week

Brady Anderson already has five leadoff homers this season. The AL record is nine in one season, set by Rickey Henderson in 1986, and the major-league mark is 11, set by Bobby Bonds in 1973.

The week ahead

Tuesday-Thursday, at Chicago: The White Sox appear to be one of the AL's strongest wild-card contenders. First baseman Frank Thomas is off to a strong start, winning the AL Player of the Month award for April after batting .365 with nine homers and 28 RBIs. The presence of former Oriole Harold Baines batting behind him has aided Thomas. The Orioles likely will face White Sox ace Alex Fernandez, who has won four of six starts. The Orioles probably will counter with David Wells, Scott Erickson and Mike Mussina.

Friday-Sunday, at Milwaukee: Assuming everything falls into place, the Orioles will face Ben McDonald Friday or Saturday for the second time in less than a week. It's the first time B.J. Surhoff will play in Milwaukee as a part of the enemy team. The Orioles played well in Milwaukee last year, winning five of six games in County Stadium.

The good

If the Yankees have an advantage over the Orioles now, it is pitching depth. New York reliever Mariano Rivera threw 11 straight innings without allowing a hit, and hasn't allowed a run in 14 consecutive innings.

The bad

The Orioles and Yankees played nine innings in four hours and 21 minutes Tuesday night, a game that required 400 pitches and 96 different baseballs. Appalling.

The ugly

Time and again, the Orioles couldn't deliver the winning run in their 11-6 loss to the Yankees Wednesday night. They had the potential game-winner in scoring position in the ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th innings, but lost in the 15th.

A move that paid off....

Whatever the Orioles did with Jimmy Haynes' delivery during his brief exile seemed to have worked, because when he returned Monday night, he threw much, much better and pitched with much more confidence.

...and one that didn't

Davey Johnson's theory Wednesday night was that Manny Alexander, the potential winning run, would steal second, after he replaced Cal Ripken. But Alexander was thrown out when Yankees reliever Jeff Nelson faked a throw to third and then fired to second.