Calvin Maduro

Highlights and lowlights from the Orioles' 2-0 loss to the Texas Rangers in Port Charlotte, Fla. UP - Calvin Maduro: Looking more and more like the fifth starter. UP - Jose Mercedes: Nothing wrong with pitching in relief. It's still the majors. DOWN - Chuck McElroy: Allowed two hits and a run in the sixth. DOWN - The wind: Had more knockdowns than Mike Tyson. DOWN - Eddy Martinez: Got in the game long enough to commit an error at shortstop. EVEN - Eugene Kingsale: Had the club's first hit and a base-running blunder.

OFFENSE: C After scoring 10 runs on Opening Day, the Orioles scored six in the next six games, leaving them at 1-6. In mid-May, No. 3 hitter David Segui went on the disabled list with a wrist injury, and a hamstring injury sent No. 4 hitter Jeff Conine to the DL in mid-June. But with those two out of the lineup, the Orioles are 11-8. DEFENSE: A The Orioles committed just 49 errors in the first 85 games, ranking among the top teams defensively in the American League. Injured much of last season, short-stop Mike Bordick has a 06-game errorless streak.

**** Jason Johnson: Last year's spring washout was this spring's Most Valuable Oriole. Jay Gibbons: Hope he stays healthy so fans can watch him rake. Delino DeShields: No one better embodies a team player. Position switch has given his career a second wind. *** Brady Anderson: Accused of disinterest last season, he showed what a difference being healthy makes. Willis Roberts: Jose Mercedes II? Mark Wiley: O's latest pitching coach accomplished the improbable - he earned a tough crowd's respect in a matter of weeks.

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- At this stage of the spring, Orioles manager Mike Hargrove refuses to begin defining roles in the rotation or the bullpen. But the signs are becoming more obvious. Calvin Maduro, who is competing for the fifth starter's job while Scott Erickson recovers from arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow, was allowed to go four innings yesterday in the Orioles' 2-0 loss to the Texas Rangers at Charlotte Stadium. He struggled in the first, allowing two hits and a run, and walking one, but blanked the Rangers during the last three innings.

JUPITER, Fla. - Knowing that he was hidden on one of the back fields yesterday, Orioles pitcher Calvin Maduro wanted to make sure a few visitors to the clubhouse knew about his grand slam. Calvin Maduro hit a grand slam? "No, I gave it up," he said with a grin. Maduro hadn't lost his appetite because of it - he slapped a little more mustard on his sandwich while describing the bases-clearing blast by Eli Marrero - and he wasn't going to lose any sleep, either. It was one bad pitch in an otherwise solid start, the only runs allowed by Maduro in four innings of the Orioles' B game against the St. Louis Cardinals that preceded their 4-1 victory over the Montreal Expos.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The ebullience and sheer joy of his Aruban youth are gone now.Calvin Maduro, 24, has tasted life in the big show and after being released by the Philadelphia Phillies last fall, realizes that the business aspect of baseball sometimes is the only consideration affecting a player's career."

CHICAGO -- Manager Mike Hargrove and pitching coach Sammy Ellis viewed Sunday night's 11-inning, 3-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics as a necessary evil. While blowing a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning rarely implies anything positive, Hargrove and Ellis emphasized that the game was an example of how long-term interest sometimes trumps short-term gain during a season. After Mike Trombley gave up the game-tying home run to light-hitting catcher Ramon Hernandez, Hargrove turned to long reliever Tim Worrell to pitch the 10th and 11th innings rather than risk burning up closer Mike Timlin or left-handed setup man Buddy Groom, both of whom had appeared in three straight games.

Cards 8, Orioles 1 Rating the players *** Jay Gibbons: Gets his third double of the spring and runs down a pop-up near the stands beside the Cardinals' dugout, a difficult play that shows he's not all thumbs in the field. Greg Myers: Reaches base twice, including a walk. Compared with the other Orioles, he was on fire. *** Brady Anderson: Goes 0-for-3 and takes a hard spill in left field, but also throws out a runner trying to advance to second. Chad Paronto: Retires the first five batters he faces before running into trouble.

NEW YORK - Orioles manager Mike Hargrove offered a solution for getting through last night's game without using the relievers that needed rest. "Bite the bullet." It helped that Sidney Ponson took the Yankee Stadium mound before the usual raucous crowd and didn't shoot himself in the foot. Ponson still was standing through seven innings, and the bullpen was spared excessive wear. Hargrove couldn't call upon Rick Bauer or left-hander Buddy Groom. His preference was to avoid left-hander B.J. Ryan.

Former major-league infielder Ken Caminiti's assertion in this week's Sports Illustrated that at least half of today's players use steroids is being met with skepticism inside the Orioles' clubhouse. Caminiti revealed that he took steroids while winning the National League's Most Valuable Player award in 1996, making him the sport's first prominent athlete to admit using the substance. But he caused a bigger stir by linking so many others to the drug. "Everybody's entitled to their opinion," said shortstop Mike Bordick.