Conine

The Orioles are still considered one of the front-runners to land Jeff Conine, but at least two other free agents they once coveted appear to be headed elsewhere. According to a team official, the Orioles are essentially out of the Nomar Garciaparra sweepstakes. The former All-Star shortstop has become one of the hottest free agents, with the latest reports having the New York Yankees as one of the leaders to sign Garciaparra to play first base. The Orioles, looking to add Garciaparra's bat to their lineup, offered him a one-year, $4 million deal earlier this month with the hope of his playing first base or left field.

I'll miss Steve Kline, but only for selfish reasons. He was a lot of fun to be around with the Orioles, unless you managed the club. Boy, did he hate Lee Mazzilli. ... When Kline was embroiled in the controvery over his comments to a St. Louis reporter that suggested he should have stayed with the Cardinals, reliever Steve Reed offered to help out his teammate. Standing near Kline's locker while the lefty was surrounded by reporters, Reed quipped: "Don't worry, Steve, I'll get a DUI and take some of the heat off you."

DALLAS -- Orioles officials returned home to frigid Baltimore last night after four exhausting days at baseball's winter meetings, with a new right-handed setup man, a new catcher on the way and a sense of optimism that more additions could arrive shortly. When word of free-agent catcher Ramon Hernandez's deal with the Orioles leaked out Wednesday night, a couple of teams called the Orioles about the availability of Javy Lopez. The Orioles and Los Angeles Angels started discussions on Wednesday about a trade that would send Lopez to the West Coast for center fielder/first baseman Darin Erstad, according to sources.

IT WAS HARD to resist. The promotional copy of Oh Say Can You Sing? went directly to the Orioles' clubhouse for a review. The two-disc CD and DVD, which sells for $17.99 on shop.mlb.com, features 10 major leaguers and Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith singing mostly cover tunes. Among those performing is former Oriole and legendary clubhouse needler Jeff Conine. His old teammates needed to hear his "Plush" by the Stone Temple Pilots. "Brutal," was the one-word synopsis given by a current Oriole, whose name is being protected for fear that Conine might punch him the next time they cross paths.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Another trade deadline came and went last night, and the Orioles didn't make any moves. Unlike last year, when Jeff Conine was sent to the Florida Marlins after he boarded the team charter back to Baltimore, the Orioles never appeared close to completing a deal. Players who slipped through waivers and were eligible to be traded, including B.J. Surhoff and relievers Buddy Groom and Jason Grimsley, remained with the club as it began a three-game series last night against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Tropicana Field.

JUPITER, Fla. - The Florida Marlins are well aware that their 2003 World Series championship is supposed to have a short shelf life, but they went ahead and showed up for spring training just in case. They came out of nowhere to win a wild-card playoff berth last year and parlayed it into the franchise's second unlikely world title in seven years. Who seriously believes that they can weather another free-agent exodus to get back to the postseason this year? Manager Jack McKeon, 73, and still fooling them after all these years, puffs on one of his signature stogies and smiles the smile of a fox who just found a hole in the henhouse.

NEW YORK - The Florida Marlins were three outs from winning their second World Series in six years last night, and former Oriole Jeff Conine was standing in the bowels of Yankee Stadium, too nervous to watch. Florida's 23-year-old ace, Josh Beckett, went out for the ninth inning to complete his five-hit masterpiece against the New York Yankees, and Conine retreated to the tunnel leading away from the team's dugout. "I was sick in the stomach," he said. "I was just listening to the crowd react."

MIAMI - Brian Cashman became the New York Yankees' general manager in February 1998, a few months after the Orioles went wire-to-wire and won the American League East. Since then, the Yankees have won six division titles. Cashman is 6-for-6. But as he stood watching batting practice last night, before Game 4 of the World Series, Cashman acknowledged that the balance of power could soon shift in the AL East. "I see Tampa Bay catching up," he said. "A lot of those players that [GM] Chuck LaMar has been drafting are starting make an impact: Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli.

NEW YORK - Jeff Conine endeared himself to his Orioles teammates for 4 1/2 seasons with his professional manner, quiet leadership qualities and dry wit. It's been that way his whole career. So for those who know him closely, it was almost stunning to see the exuberance he showed after the Florida Marlins eliminated the Chicago Cubs in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series. After escaping from a champagne and beer shower, Conine thrust his face right into a television camera and said, "We shocked the world!"

MIAMI - Former Orioles outfielder Jeff Conine felt like he was going home when he was traded back to the Florida Marlins on Aug. 31, but it took him a while to feel like old times. The deal that sent Conine back to his roots was widely considered a clutch front office move at a critical time for the Marlins, who had just lost top run-producer Mike Lowell and - some thought - any realistic chance of winning the National League wild-card berth. The Marlins needed help so badly that they gave up two good young pitching prospects and renegotiated Conine's contract to guarantee him an extra year.