Cincinnati Reds

It was 10 years ago -- right here in Charm City -- that a baseball team of little repute proved that hope and desire can be a currency more valuable than the big money that usually controls professional sports.The "Why Not?" Orioles didn't reach the postseason, but they turned the September stretch into something strange and wonderful by transcending the limits of their questionable talent.That appears to be happening again this year in Oakland, another city of deflated baseball expectations that is flirting with an October surprise.

The Boston Red Sox qualify as curiosity of the season. (So what else is new?) They are 1-7 against the Kansas City Royals but 7-5 against the Orioles. Even with last week's four-game winning streak over Texas and Minnesota, the Red Sox were 22-33 vs. AL teams with losing records and 28-23 against AL teams with winning marks. After Thursday night's game, the Red Sox had eight batters hitting over .300 and the team average stood at .299. The last team to bat .300 was the 1950 Red Sox (.302)

Major League Baseball -- Named Felipe Alou of the Montreal Expos and Buck Showalter of the New York Yankees to manage in the All-Star Game.Orioles -- Agreed to terms with IF Manny Alexander, P Armando Benitez, C Cesar Devarez and OF Curtis Goodwin on one-year contracts. Invited OF Andy Van Slyke to spring training as a non-roster player.Boston Red Sox -- Signed free agent P Zane Smith, who had been with the Pittsburgh Pirates, to a one-year contract; assigned P Roy Padilla to their Michigan Single-A farm club.

The Sun's national baseball writer, Peter Schmuck, ranks the major leagues' 28 teams.Rank, Team, Previous rank, Comment1. Cleveland Indians -- 1 -- Taking no prisoners.2. Atlanta Braves -- 2 -- In just three weeks, NL East race has turned into a runaway.3. Cincinnati Reds -- 3 -- Took Giants to the cleaners on Deion deal.4. California Angels -- 5 -- Must think Ranger freefall was heaven-sent.5. Colorado Rockies -- 4 -- Correct answer to age-old question: Where's the beef?6. Houston Astros -- 8 -- Bagwell back in MVP form.

BaseballMajor League Baseball -- Named Wendy Lewis executive director of human resources.Orioles -- Signed two draft picks -- P Carlos Aikens and SS Wess Winn -- and said they will be assigned to rookie league Bluefield.California Angels -- Placed C Greg Myers on the 15-day DL, retroactive to June 1. Recalled C Jorge Fabregas from Triple-A Vancouver.Cincinnati Reds -- Activated P Mike Jackson from the DL. Optioned OF Steve Gibralter to Triple-A Indianapolis.Colorado Rockies -- Placed P Bill Swift on the 15-day DL, retroactive to May 28. Recalled P Lance Painter from Triple-A Colorado Springs.

The Sun's national baseball writer, Peter Schmuck, ranks the major leagues' 28 teams.Rank, Team, Previous rank, Comment1. California Angels -- 1 -- Four strong left-handed starters make them all but slump-proof.2. Cleveland Indians -- 2 -- Tough series against Red Sox knocked them out of top spot.3. Atlanta Braves -- 3 -- Best team in NL. Was there ever any doubt?4. Cincinnati Reds -- 4 -- Hard to look good against Braves pitching, but nothing has changed.5. Boston Red Sox -- 9 -- Winning streak may have knocked the wind out of other AL East contenders.

BaseballBoston Red Sox -- Sent P Nate Minchey and SS Carlos Rodriguez to Triple-A Pawtucket.Cincinnati Reds -- Sent C Barry Lyons to minor-league camp for reassignment. Released P Ken Patterson.Philadelphia Phillies -- Sent IF Kevin Jordan to minor-league camp for assignment.San Francisco Giants -- Gave OF Luis Mercedes his unconditional release.L Seattle Mariners -- Placed IF Brian Purang on the 15-day DL.BasketballNBA -- Fined Haywoode Workman of the Indiana Pacers $5,000 and suspended him for one game for head-butting Greg Anthony of the New York Knicks, and fined Anthony $2,500 for retaliating in a game March 25. Fined Charles Smith, Derek Harper, Rolando Blackman, Eric Anderson, Anthony Bonner, Corey Gaines and Herb Williams of the Knicks $2,500 each for leaving the bench during the incident.

BaseballOrioles -- Placed Paul Carey on the 60-day emergency DL.Boston Red Sox -- Sent 1B-OF Carlos Quintana to their minor-league camp for reassignment.Cincinnati Reds -- Assigned IF Kurt Stillwell to Triple-A Indianapolis.Cleveland Indians -- Assigned P Paul Lesch outright to Single-A Columbus.Florida Marlins -- Optioned OF Darrell Whitmore and OF Nigel Wilson.Montreal Expos -- Traded OF Glenn Murray to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named.San Diego Padres -- Relocated their Single-A Midwest League affiliate from Waterloo, Iowa, to Springfield, Ill.Texas Rangers -- Acquired C Junior Ortiz from the Cleveland Indians for P Paul Lesch and a player to be named.

BaseballOrioles -- Named Pete Mackanin manager of Double-A Bowie. Announced that John O'Donoghue will return as pitching coach and Mitch Bibb as trainer of Bowie.Chicago White Sox -- Offered salary arbitration to free-agent OF Tim Raines.Cincinnati Reds -- Declined to offer salary arbitration to 3B Chris Sabo, 2B Bip Roberts and P Jeff Reardon, all free agents. Rehired Pat Kelly as manager and Jim Knudtson as trainer of Double-A Chattanooga.xTC Colorado Rockies -- Agreed to terms with 1B Andres Galarraga on a four-year contract.

BASEBALLAmerican League* CALIFORNIA ANGELS -- Placed Lance Parrish, catcher, on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 5. Recalled Jose BTC Gonzalez, outfielder, from Edmonton of the Pacific Coast League.* SEATTLE MARINERS -- Placed Dave Valle, catcher, on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 9. Purchased the contract of Bert Heffernan, catcher, from Calgary of the Pacific Coast League.National League* CINCINNATI REDS -- Recalled Milton Hill, pitcher, from Nashville of the American Association.

The Red Sox had won seven straight games before losing the series finale, 4-3, to the Los Angeles Angels. They have a six-game lead over the Texas Rangers in the American League wild-card race. Boston entered Thursday night third in the AL in runs and second behind the New York Yankees in home runs. The Red Sox's team ERA was third in the league. Shortstop Alex Gonzalez, acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in a post-trade-deadline deal, is batting .290 with four homers and 14 RBIs in 29 games.

Recognizing Baltimore's feuding gangs should be easy: Red for Bloods. Blue for Crips. But it's no longer as simple as looking for different-colored bandannas hanging from the back pockets of jeans. Gang identifiers, in addition to traditional signs and tattoos, can be almost anything, manifested in wardrobes of significant variety. A blue belt. Red rosary beads. Pockets turned inside out. The 'C' in a Colorado Rockies baseball cap. The red in a Cincinnati Reds hat. There's no set uniform, according to a law enforcement expert, but there are recognized symbols that gang members incorporate into their everyday attire.

SEATTLE - Despite not making any moves at baseball's nonwaiver trade deadline, Orioles president Andy MacPhail said yesterday that the plan to build for the future is still in place. It's just that he didn't believe any of the offers he fielded matched his inventory. "We had opportunities to do something stupid, and we didn't do it," MacPhail said in a teleconference about an hour after the trade deadline passed. On an afternoon that saw two potential Hall of Famers switch leagues - Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. to the Chicago White Sox and the Boston Red Sox's Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-way deal - the Orioles engaged in no substantial talks.

The Bill James Handbook 2008, to be published Nov. 1, includes a section called "Young Talent Inventory." And in it, he rates Nick Markakis No. 16 among players younger than 29. James defines "young talent" as players younger than 29 in 2007 and uses runs created for position players and runs allowed for pitchers as a basis for comparison. Here's what he writes about Markakis: "A beautiful left-handed stroke, sort of in the mold of Paul O'Neill, Mike Greenwell or Garret Anderson as a hitter, possibly even Billy Williams."

Clearly, there must be adequate parity in baseball when the head-to-head series that essentially finalized the four postseason teams from the American League just took place between the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers. The Indians swept the three-game series, which pretty much eliminated the Tigers from wild-card consideration and left Cleveland, the Los Angeles Angels, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees to figure out who plays whom in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

2005 - Robinson stayed with the Expos organization when it moved to Washington D.C. and began tenure as Manager of the Washington Nationals. 2002 - Hired as Montreal Expos manager. 1991 - Baltimore Orioles fire Robinson after xx-xx season. 1989 - Named American League Manager of the Year after leading Orioles to an 87-75 record. 1988 - Hired as Baltimore Orioles manager. 1984 - Fired by San Francisco Giants after xx-xx season. 1982 - Inducted to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

CINCINNATI - As Orioles closer B.J. Ryan continues to rack up the saves this year, his total standing at 16, his value increases on the open market. And it's likely that Ryan will test it, since the two sides aren't negotiating during the season. Ryan made it clear that he wouldn't discuss a contract extension after Opening Day, fearful that the distractions would affect him on the mound. "There won't be any [negotiations]. Not during the season," he said. "We talked beforehand and made it clear that once I get here, this is my job and this is what I'll worry about.

Funny how things work out. Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli agonized over the decision to move rookie Erik Bedard into the regular-season starting rotation. He worried about the psychological impact that it might have on projected starter Rodrigo Lopez, who was the odd man out as spring training drew to a close. It was, Mazzilli said, the toughest decision he has had to make since becoming the Orioles' manager, but there were too many good reasons why it was the best move for the club as the club faced a difficult April schedule.

BOSTON - If the Orioles need a theme for the next four days, Syd Thrift might suggest the Single Bullet Theory. The Orioles' vice president for baseball operations says he has one shot at pulling off a significant trade during these winter meetings while exploring a relatively thin free-agent market. At issue, according to those familiar with the situation, is how many fingers are needed to pull the trigger. Thrift said yesterday it is "100 percent entirely correct" that the Orioles possess the wherewithal to make one, but probably not two trades this week.

BOSTON - When Syd Thrift, the Orioles' vice president of baseball operations, anointed Calvin Pickering as "the next Mo Vaughn" a few years ago, he didn't mean that the one-time prospect would be playing the same position for the same team that brought Vaughn to the majors. It just happened to work out that way. Pickering again found himself in the Boston Red Sox's lineup last night, his seventh start at first base since being claimed off waivers on Sept. 6. The Cincinnati Reds let him go. The Red Sox won't let him rest.