Axelrod

The Baltimore Orioles are "a front-runner" in the bidding for free agent Rick Sutcliffe, who hopes to sign a contract with someone by the end of the week, the pitcher's agent said yesterday."

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama's top advisers said yesterday that they won't back away from a promise to cut taxes on the middle class and raise them for the wealthiest Americans, as they made the case for a huge new stimulus package geared toward reviving the slumping economy. Speaking on Sunday talk shows and in a newspaper opinion piece, Obama aides stepped up a drive to build a broad political consensus behind Obama's core economic proposals: a two-year spending package that could exceed $775 billion, coupled with tax policies weighted in favor of the middle class.

Rick Sutcliffe filed for free agency yesterday, but agent Barry Axelrod insists the veteran pitcher still has every hope of returning to the Orioles.Sutcliffe became one of the first players in this year's deep free-agent field to notify the Major League Baseball Players Association of his intention to test the market. He may begin talking with other clubs at any time, but he cannot discuss money and he cannot sign a contract until after the 15-day free-agent filing period ends Nov. 9.He filed early, but that was only because the Orioles have made it clear they will not re-sign him until after the Nov. 17 National League expansion draft.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles have reached a tentative deal that would send much-maligned pitcher Sidney Ponson to the San Diego Padres for first baseman Phil Nevin, according to industry sources, though the trade won't go through until it gets Nevin's approval. Reached at his home last night, Nevin's agent, Barry Axelrod, described the chances of Nevin accepting the deal as "less than 50-50." Nevin has a no-trade clause in his contract that requires his consent to be traded to eight teams, one of which is the Orioles.

Parisian baroque The lowdown -- Pro Musica Rara wraps up a very strong season with an appealing mix of baroque repertoire this weekend. The ensemble fulfills a vital role in the local scene, opening an aural window onto the past by performing early music on period instruments. Kenneth Slowik, artistic director of the chamber music program at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History and a founding member of the Smithsonian Chamber Players and the Axelrod and Smithsonian quartets, among others, will be a guest artist on the viola da gamba.

On the first day that eligible players could file for free agency, veteran right-hander Rick Sutcliffe told the Orioles -- through his agent -- that he intends to explore his options in the free-agent market.Agent Barry Axelrod spoke to Orioles general manager Roland Hemond early yesterday and told him that Sutcliffe would test the free-agent market, but Sutcliffe's name did not appear on the list of players to file yesterday because of contract technicality."Technically, they have the right to offer Rick arbitration during the first five days of the filing period, but he has a clause in his contract that says he can request that they not do so," Axelrod said.

Rick Sutcliffe spent less than 10 hours in Baltimore yesterday, but he managed to achieve a couple of firsts as an Oriole.The veteran righthander met club officials at the new Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where he agreed to terms of an incentive-filled contract that is guaranteed for $1.2 million."

George Axelrod, 81, the playwright who anticipated the sexual revolution with The Seven Year Itch and later wrote screenplays for such films as Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Manchurian Candidate, died of heart failure Saturday in Los Angeles. A radio and television writer, Mr. Axelrod hit the jackpot in 1952 with The Seven Year Itch, a laugh-filled play about adultery. The play lasted almost three years on Broadway and was filmed by 20th Century Fox as a vehicle for Marilyn Monroe. His next play, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- The Baltimore Orioles would like to trade for the pitching help they need, but it apparently is a lot easier to add to the growing list of free-agent pitchers who have caught their interest.The latest is right-hander Rick Sutcliffe, who was not a serious consideration until the Chicago Cubs failed to offer him salary arbitration by the Dec. 7 deadline. He could be had for a one-year contract and does not require draft-choice compensation.Agent Barry Axelrod said yesterday that he has been in contact with Orioles general manager Roland Hemond, whose quest for a solid starting pitcher already has led to negotiations with free agents Kirk McCaskill, Joe Hesketh and Bob Walk.

DENVER -- In this era of big-bucks television campaigning that accentuates the negative, Democratic senatorial nominee Josie Heath faces a real dilemma in her underdog race against Republican Rep. Hank Brown.She insists Colorado voters, beleaguered by the Silverado S&L scandal, are looking for someone "who is going to offer a different kind of politics -- somebody to hitch their star to again" as their champion, untied to special interests.But, instead of making the case effectively that she is that someone, Heath has generated criticism from some quarters for going on the attack against Brown as a major recipient of campaign contributions from Coloradans under S&L investigation.