Cordova

SALISBURY -- Although Tuesday's surprise sweep of an Eastern Shore chicken processing plant netted 56 suspected illegal aliens, federal agents said yesterday that their target is the company that owns the plant: Allen Family Foods Inc."The emphasis is not on the alien," said Lou Nardi, acting deputy district director of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in Baltimore. "The emphasis is on the employer. We're trying to determine his compliance with immigration laws."Allen Family Foods could be fined $2,000 per alien and $1,000 for each employee paperwork violation should it be determined that the company knowingly hired illegal immigrants.

SEATTLE - Orioles catcher Geronimo Gil has had a lot of thrills as a rookie this season, and throwing out Seattle Mariners speedster Ichiro Suzuki on an attempted stolen base Friday night ranks right near the top. Suzuki had been successful on 15 of his first 19 attempts this season, but when he tried running after drawing a nine-pitch walk to start the third inning, the Orioles nabbed him. Scott Erickson, who has one of the Orioles' quickest deliveries to...

Jeff Conine returned from the disabled list last night for the Orioles after missing 45 games with a strained right hamstring, having convinced the team he didn't need a minor-league rehabilitation assignment. Conine said he has been pain-free for more than a week, but he knew he couldn't be quite sure it is 100 percent until he tested the hamstring at full speed in a game. After getting injured on June 14, Conine thought he was ready to come back before he had a setback on July 11. "Every step of the rehab, you go at it with a bit of caution," Conine said.

Oroiles manager Mike Hargrove did not put left fielder Marty Cordova in the lineup yesterday because Cordova has been advised to stay out of the sun after burning his face in a tanning bed Monday. "The doctor told him to stay out of the sun as much as possible," Hargrove said. "With a 12:30 game in California, it's tough to stay out of the sun. I probably will DH him [today]. "

Exercising patience rather than stampeding to prime the market, Orioles vice president for baseball operations Syd Thrift says the club will likely wait another week before implementing a free-agent strategy intended to land a power-hitting outfielder, a starting pitcher and perhaps a leadoff hitter and closer. The Orioles' hoped-for mix will have them doggedly pursue free-agent outfielders Moises Alou, Kenny Lofton and Marty Cordova, starting pitcher Jason Schmidt and closer Steve Karsay, among others, according to club sources, while sluggers Jason Giambi and Juan Gonzalez and the leading free-agent starter, Chan Ho Park, are not in their plans.

JUPITER, Fla. - The Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals played to a 5-5 tie in 12 innings at Roger Dean Stadium yesterday. Marty Cordova hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning to give him the team lead, and John Valentin tied the game in the ninth with a bases-empty shot off Steve Kline. The Cardinals scored three runs in the second inning off Sidney Ponson, and Scott Rolen homered off him as part of a two-run fourth. Ponson walked the first two batters in the second, and the Cardinals capitalized with run-scoring singles by Tino Martinez, Mike Matheny and Fernando Vina.

The addition of outfielder Marty Cordova to the Orioles' active roster, which is expected to come tomorrow when he's eligible to come off the disabled list, will force manager Mike Hargrove to find playing time for Melvin Mora beyond left field. "I've been thinking about how to do that," he said. Mora went into the series batting .235, the second-highest average on the club but a 73-point dip after going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts during Sunday's loss to the Boston Red Sox. Last night he was 0-for-2 with two walks.

Orioles utility man Melvin Mora met with manager Mike Hargrove in recent days and came away feeling more content with his role. Mora had said he wouldn't be satisfied coming off the bench and starting three to five times a week, as Hargrove had specified. But Hargrove explained to Mora that he will get plenty of at-bats this season, especially considering he was the first option off the bench if another player got injured. Mora didn't have to wait until the season for it to happen. The Orioles placed Marty Cordova on the disabled list with a strained right quadriceps muscle, and Mora became the club's Opening Day starter in left field.

Facing a left-hander last night, the Orioles broke out a lineup that didn't include B.J. Surhoff or Marty Cordova. Surhoff has begun the season in a slump. Cordova has begun it in pain caused by a herniated disc. Surhoff started on Opening Day against Cleveland Indians left-hander C.C. Sabathia, going hitless in five at-bats and laying down a sacrifice bunt. Off to an 0-for-9 start, he sat last night against veteran Brian Anderson. Manager Mike Hargrove hinted after Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Indians that Surhoff might be pressing in his return to Baltimore after 2 1/2 seasons with the Atlanta Braves.

State environmental officials filed suit yesterday against Allen Family Foods Inc., accusing the Delaware-based company of willfully contaminating ground water on the Eastern Shore with wastewater from its chicken processing plant in Cordova.The lawsuit, filed by the attorney general's office, asks the Talbot County Circuit Court to grant an injunction ordering Allen to obey the law and to clean up tainted ground water in the vicinity of the farm fields where the company has been spraying its wastewater.