FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- On Sammy Sosa's checklist of first-time accomplishments with the Orioles, he can cross off "getting ejected from a game."
Sosa stood in right field with a 2-0 count on Washington's Brad Wilkerson when second base umpire C.B. Bucknor tossed him. Sosa had argued a called third strike that ended the bottom of the first, remaining in the batter's box to debate plate umpire Joe West, but he said the ejection was a separate issue.
"It's hard to explain it. I was surprised he threw me out of the game," Sosa said. "[Daniel] Cabrera threw a pitch and I was like, `That was a strike.' And then the second base umpire said, `Knock it off.' I said something back to him and that was everything. I wasn't even talking to him. And I was all the way in right field. I guess he just took it the wrong way."
Asked if he could repeat his response to Bucknor, Sosa grinned and said, "No."
Bucknor declined to comment through a team official.
Sosa and manager Lee Mazzilli confronted Bucknor, who stood a few feet behind the infield dirt. Mazzilli continued to argue as Sosa left his glove at Bucknor's feet and walked slowly to the dugout.
"I was like, `I wasn't talking to you. Come on, this is spring training,' " Sosa said. "You can't say anything in this game."
Asked if he had a history of disagreements with Bucknor, Sosa said, "I've got to go back and check the books."
Tim Raines Jr. replaced Sosa, hardly a fair trade for fans who were calling out Sosa's name since the moment he stepped onto the field for batting practice.
"I wanted to play," Sosa said. "A situation like that, I don't even know what's going on. I don't say nothing to offend nobody."
Sosa couldn't recall seeing an outfielder ejected from a game during an inning. "The first time is now," he said.
Making his first exhibition start in Friday's home opener, Sosa hit a bases-empty home run off Florida's Ronald Belisario in the seventh inning. He served as the designated hitter.
Batting order options
One day after Jay Gibbons batted second in the Orioles' lineup, Mazzilli lowered him to eighth.
Gibbons isn't a prototypical No. 2 hitter, but Mazzilli is weighing all his options. He's considering Melvin Mora for the slot, which would move up Miguel Tejada to third and Sosa to fourth. He also will audition Larry Bigbie, which would put Mora third, Tejada fourth and Sosa fifth, and he used David Newhan yesterday.
"I don't think I'm going to be bouncing around like that," Gibbons said. "I just think he's taking a look at a lot of guys at the No. 2 hole. Newhan's there today; he's more of the prototypical No. 2 hitter, to be totally honest. Not that I don't want to hit there; I do. But he's going to give some guys some looks."
The idea of hitting second amuses Gibbons.
"I'm a free swinger and I don't bunt," he said, jokingly, "so I'm perfect."
Mazzilli is intrigued by the idea of having Gibbons pull the ball to the right side with leadoff hitter Brian Roberts on base. But Gibbons, who singled to left field yesterday, would have to adjust his approach at the plate in certain situations.
"The funny thing is, in spring training I try to work the count more," he said, "so we'll see what happens."
Majewski has surgery
Outfielder Val Majewski underwent successful surgery Friday for a slap lesion repair of his glenoid labrum and an under-surface tear of his left rotator cuff. He won't play this season but could be ready for winter ball.
Majewski missed the last three weeks of the 2004 season with soreness in his shoulder. He was named the organization's minor league Player of the Year.
