Ace

Using his words carefully but forcefully, Orioles ace Mike Mussina described himself as "disappointed" over yesterday's housecleaning that sent veteran left fielder B. J. Surhoff to the Atlanta Braves and first baseman Will Clark to the St. Louis Cardinals and suggested the last four days' sweeping changes could diminish his chances of re-signing with the club as a free agent. Mussina said last week he was resigned to filing for free agency given the sluggish pace of negotiations regarding a possible contract extension.

Suddenly this spring, I found myself alone. Don't worry, nobody died or anything. It was just the standard spousal parting of ways, followed by the standard reclaiming of space -- painting the walls colors I liked, moving furniture where I wanted it, purging the cupboard of nutritious foods and replacing it with food as it is meant to be: processed and microwaveable. All of which, once accomplished, was followed by the standard, "OK, what now?" Perhaps a hobby, I thought. Perhaps a program of regular exercise.

POTOMAC - Fred Funk called it an unbelievably long day, When asked whether it had been frustrating, Donnie Hammond laughed and said, "You might say that." And that was the likely consensus of the others in the field of 65 who tried to get in 36 holes of golf on the final scheduled day of the Kemper Insurance Open at TPC-Avenel. Their efforts were thwarted by three weather-related interruptions. The final one, early last evening, resulted in a suspension of play, and all but six players who finished their rounds will return this morning to complete the program.

The Orioles traded shortstop Miguel Tejada in December partly because they believed their best hitter needed a change of scenery. Their trade of ace pitcher Erik Bedard yesterday was emblematic of an organization that has finally committed to a change of direction. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail made it clear that the Orioles are in a rebuilding mode for the first time in years, trading Bedard, the team's first legitimate ace since Mike Mussina, to the Seattle Mariners for five players, including promising young outfielder Adam Jones.

POTOMAC - Call it the tale of two aces. Russ Cochran and Neal Lancaster each made a hole-in-one yesterday in the second round of the Kemper Insurance Open at Avenel. While Cochran's helped put him on the periphery of the leader board, Lancaster's merely served as a parting gift - he missed the cut. Cochran's ace came on the par-3 ninth hole. After giving back his second birdie in the first six holes with a bogey at the par-4 seventh, he hit a bad drive on the par-4 eighth and was still a bit ticked when he reached the elevated tee at No. 9. With the cup back and the hole playing at a healthy 184 yards, Cochran took out some of his frustrations with an 8-iron.

By trading Sidney Ponson this week, the Orioles landed two potential members of next year's starting pitching rotation, but the club still needs an ace, and according to major league sources, they have their sights set on the likes of Kevin Millwood, Bartolo Colon and Javier Vazquez. The Orioles are expected to be one of the biggest shoppers on the free-agent market this offseason, and team sources say owner Peter Angelos is prepared to authorize some major expenditures. By next season, the Orioles will clear more than $30 million from this year's payroll, as the contracts for Albert Belle, Scott Erickson, Tony Batista and Brook Fordyce expire.

Except for the predictable Rocker madness, the vision of Albert Belle hitting perfectly behind a double steal and the National League chaos imported by the Atlanta Braves, the Orioles' second half began the same way as its first: a three-run loss at Camden Yards behind Mike Mussina. A game that swayed for six innings fell atop the Orioles late when Braves left fielder Bobby Bonilla singled for a seventh-inning lead and Mussina suffered a messy two-run ninth to lose, 6-3, in front of 47,284.

Only weeks away from opening the 2000 season as a pending free agent, Orioles ace Mike Mussina yesterday reiterated his desire to complete his career with the club but also said he will adopt a more detached and possibly more hard-line stance in negotiations than in 1997, when he allowed majority owner Peter Angelos a home-team discount to re-sign with the franchise. "I'm pretty sure we're going to do it a little differently. The last time I was uncomfortable being a free agent. I'm more comfortable dealing with that situation now," said Mussina, a five-time All-Star who has since seen the team scrap its moratorium against five-year deals for pitchers and recently offered free agent Aaron Sele $29 million for four years.

MONTOURSVILLE, Pa. - The driveway leading to Mike Mussina's household is barely marked and guarded only by a paper sign posted alongside an anonymous street. No hunting and no trespassing. It takes a half-mile to reach the steps of an impressive wooden home so secluded that the sign might also have mentioned no accidental tourists. "For what we do for eight months of the year, it's nice to have this option for the other four months," says Mussina, who granted an interview earlier this week at his Central Pennsylvania residence.

Every month, sometimes two or three times a month, Michelle Hill strolls over to Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.'s headquarters on Lexington Street and hands a window teller $5 or $10 and asks that it be credited to her utility bill. Every little bit helps, said Hill, who for years has been going there to pay her bill, as did her parents and grandparents. "After I pay my bill, I usually buy some peanuts at the Peanut Shoppe and go shopping across the street," said Hill, a 24-year-old sales associate.