Joe Strauss' O's week in review

Statistics through Thursday

Ups and downs

Scott Erickson -- UP -- Has a chance for 12 first-half wins. He and Mike Mussina have enjoyed mirror first halves except for Mussina's near no-no's.

Joe Torre -- UP -- Even if he aced out Erickson, Yankees manager pulled a class move by naming Jimmy Key to the AL roster despite Key's pending nuptials.

The Bird -- DOWN -- If only Phillies coach John Vukovich had grabbed him by the tail feathers. We'll say it again: Mascots to the outfield!

Bird watching -- UP -- The Orioles set attendance records for a four-game and three-game home series in a seven-day span. Too bad much of the crowd bailed before Randy Myers earned save No. 300 Tuesday.

Cal Ripken -- UP -- The last two weeks have proved Cal Sr. right. Give him 80, 90, 100 games and Junior will wear third base like a glove.

The Prez -- DOWN -- Come on, First Fan. If the rest of us can sit through the Phillies for nine innings, you can make it for more than four.

Anderson negotiations -- EVEN -- Sammy Sosa just signed for $10.6 million per. The Orioles are playing a dangerous waiting game.

Lenny Webster -- UP -- Pitching staff has continued to excel with him working every day.

Quote of the week

"It's really not about picking the 28 best guys. Everybody knows that. It's about fans voting and getting somebody from every team. I didn't think I ever had a chance. We already had a lot of guys going and I don't know how much consideration I got in the first place."

Left fielder B.J. Surhoff, who failed to make his first All-Star team despite 11 homers, 52 RBIs.