Danys

TORONTO -- While there is uncertainty about who will be the Orioles' closer next year with the news that Chris Ray had ligament transplant surgery on his right elbow, manager Dave Trembley said there should be no such ambiguity for the rest of this season. Even though Trembley removed Danys Baez in the middle of a save situation during Wednesday's 6-3 victory over the New York Yankees, the manager said Baez will remain the team's closer in most situations. "I don't think there's anybody else," Trembley said.

The situation screamed for a struggling reliever, and Orioles right-hander Danys Baez heeded the call. And struggled a little more. Finally, the Orioles had a big lead last night, the kind that allowed manager Sam Perlozzo to use Baez - his former setup man. And Baez got the first two outs in the ninth, with first baseman Chris Gomez making a diving stop along the line to begin the inning. What appeared to be a stress-free appearance grew more tense, however, when Baez walked two batters and allowed a bloop single to Shannon Stewart, the ball barely clearing Gomez's head.

There's only one thing I know for sure about the cloud of indecision that has been hanging over the Orioles organization for the past week or so: I wouldn't want to be Peter Angelos right now. Oh, I suppose having a billion dollars would be OK, and it's probably fun to sue people anytime you want, but I wouldn't want to be the guy who has to decide whether to make big personnel changes or stay the course with the 2007 season seemingly coming unglued....

You've experienced Opening Day in several cities. How much are you looking forward to your first Opening Day at Camden Yards? Opening Day is always exciting. Everybody is excited about the new season. To be there and to be part of that celebration makes me proud. It's great for the city and the fans who support us every day.

As part of their bullpen overhaul, the Orioles signed Danys Baez, a 29-year-old right-handed setup man, to a three-year deal worth $19 million. The Orioles' ninth Cuban-born player, Baez has a career mark of 31-37 with a 3.79 ERA and 111 saves. Baez pitched for the gold-medal-winning Cuban national team in the 1999 Pan American Games. A lot was made of how much the Orioles spent on the bullpen during the offseason. How good do you think the unit can be? -- Well, we definitely have a lot of good pitchers in there.

It's optional whether a pitcher uses a protective screen when throwing batting practice. Jamie Walker might want to reconsider his choice. Walker apparently will be OK after taking a liner from Nick Markakis off the back of his head Friday. He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital for further evaluation, but a club spokesman said the left-hander was alert and fine. Markakis went into the clubhouse looking for Walker, but the reliever already had left the complex. "It definitely made my heart skip a little bit," Markakis said.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.-- --The embargo has been over for seven years, so long that Cuban pitcher Danys Baez said yesterday that he wasn't even aware of it. We're not talking about the economic embargo that the United States has enforced against Cuba for nearly a half-century. Baez certainly remembers that. We're talking about the embargo the Orioles imposed on Cuban defectors after the team made its historic trip to Havana to play a team of Cuban all-stars in 1999. Owner Peter Angelos openly discouraged any attempt by his front office to pursue the players who jumped off the Cuban national team during international competition or rode a raft across the dangerous Florida straits.

The Orioles have struck out to this point in adding a slugger to the middle of their lineup, but they are having no such problems in overhauling their bullpen. According to club sources, the Orioles have agreed in principle to a three-year deal with Atlanta Braves free-agent reliever Danys Baez, who will join recent acquisition Jamie Walker as one of Chris Ray's primary setup men. Baez's deal hinges on the right-hander's passing a physical, which could happen as early as today. Though exact terms of the deal aren't known, it is believed the Orioles will pay between $5 million and $6 million per season for the 29-year-old pitcher, who has 111 saves in six big league seasons.

Francesca Danieli, an artist who won praise for her photo collages and politically themed video works, died of breast cancer June 27 at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. The Brooklandville resident was 52. Born Francesca Costagliola in Bethesda, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and a master's degree in business administration from Columbia University. At age 25, she legally changed her name to Danieli. In 1986 she married Gary Gensler, a former partner at Goldman Sachs who became an assistant secretary of the treasury in the Clinton administration.

on Tuesday, June 27, 2006, FRANCESCA DANIELI (nee Costagliola). Beloved Wife of Gary Gensler of Brooklandville, Maryland. Beloved and Cherished Mother of Anna, Lee & Isabel of Brooklandville, MD. Loving Sister of Marisa Costagliola of Columbia, MD., Antonia Burns-Cambridge, MD and Rose Rubin of Falls Church, Virginia. Beloved Daughter of Francesco Costagliola-(Capt. Retired) and the late Agnes Costagliola Services from Home: 1116 Greenspring Valley Road Brooklandville, MD (21022) on Thursday, June 29, 2006 at 1:30 P.M. Interment Baltimore Hebrew Cemetery-Berrymans Lane.