Double Play

Much has been written on this page and elsewhere about what's wrong with baseball, from performance-enhancing drugs to the out-of-whack economics of the sport. Let us give equal attention to something that is right with the national pastime - Jerry Narron. Mr. Narron is manager of baseball's oldest franchise, the Cincinnati Reds, and on Wednesday night he did something every baseball fan with basic cable and a memory of Little League has been aching to do for years - he benched a star player for not hustling on a routine play.

TWO-OUT WALKS Brian Burres, who had pitched with runners on base for most of the first five innings, appeared to be on his way to an easy sixth after he induced Adrian Beltre to hit into a double play. But Burres walked Richie Sexson, who entered the night hitting .201. Kenji Johjima then singled. Yuniesky Betancourt broke a 2-2 tie with a high drive that bounced off the top of the left-field wall for a two-run double. Burres was done after six innings, having allowed four earned runs on nine hits and two walks.

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.

Braves: Catcher Javy Lopez played his first game since the death of his mother last week. Jeff Blauser, who had off-season elbow surgery, made his first start this year at shortstop.Cubs: Mark Grace was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Outfielder Lance Johnson was scratched with sore feet and will have special devices made in hopes of alleviating the pain. The crowd of 40,046 was the largest this season.Padres: San Diego has homered in a season-high six consecutive games. Tony Gwynn singled, grounded into a double play and grounded out against Denny Neagle.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Just as second baseman Delino DeShields insisted last week that getting acquainted with a new shortstop would be fairly routine this spring, Mike Bordick said he's had no problem gelling with DeShields."

An inning was all it took yesterday at Broadneck for the Arundel Wildcats to show why they are the metro area's No. 2-ranked team and strong contenders for the Class 4A state title.The scrappy Bruins were within one run in the bottom of the fifth and had two runners on when the Wildcats' defense ended the threat with an unconventional double play.In the top of the sixth, the Arundel offense had its say when Sarah Polger delivered a two-out, two-run single, providing the Wildcats with a 5-3 win.The Wildcats improved to 17-2 on the season and 13-2 in county play, all but assuring a spot in Tuesday's county championship game.

The manufactured run and thetight, low-scoring game were given the afternoon off yesterday in Gambrills.Host Arundel, last week's top-ranked team in the metro area now at No. 3, handed new-No. 1 Severna Park a 6-2 setback behind a nine-hit attack that featured four doubles.Sophomore shortstop Alexis Viera led the way offensively, going 3-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI as the Wildcats (12-2) avenged an earlier 3-1 loss to the Falcons (11-3).After a two-run second inning highlighted by senior catcher Bre Kitchen's run-scoring double to deep center, the Wildcats followed with a three-run third to take a 5-1 lead.

GOOD SPORTS; DEREK JETERDerek Jeter of the New York Yankees knows how to Turn 2. (Turn 2 is baseball lingo for "double play.")In 1996, Derek created the Turn 2 Foundation. The foundation has raised more than $500,000 for college scholarships and programs that help kids stay away from drugs and alcohol.For Derek, being a Yankee and helping kids stay off drugs is the best double play of all.STRANGE BUT TRUE; FACTS ABOUT SPORTS; WRECKING ROBOTA car-eating monster named Robosaurus terrorized Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina in 1990.

Umpire Tim Welke and Orioles shortstop Mike Bordick were in agreement on one important point last night: Bordick's foot touched second base as a second-inning play unfolded. The gray area, which turned to black for the Orioles, was whether he did so before taking the throw from Delino DeShields.Welke, who was working at second, ruled Bordick off the bag in what turned into the game's most crucial moment. Rather than get through the inning unscathed, the Orioles surrendered four runs to the Anaheim Angels in a 6-4 loss at Camden Yards.

Highlights and lowlights from the Orioles' 10-6 victory over the Florida Marlins yesterday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.Ups and downsUps: Mike Bordick. No. 9 hitter slashed a home run and doubled for three RBIs. Tied for second on team with 13 hits.Downs: Ozzie Guillen. Projected 25th man hasn't lived up to his reputation with the glove and appears uncertain at second base. The mad hacker has more errors (2) than runs plus RBI (1).Ups: Rick Krivda. Questionable defense hurt him, but he still couldn't get through two innings.

They dug themselves out from an early four-run hole to tie the game in the fifth. They then erased a two-run deficit by scoring runs in the eighth and ninth inning, the latter one coming against Angels All-Star closer Brian Fuentes. And just as it seemed that the Orioles had run out of chances, they escaped bases-loaded, one-out jams in the 11th and 12th innings by completing double plays. All of it could have been a prelude to one of the most uplifting victories of the season. Instead, it added to the agony of the Orioles' 17-8 loss in 13 innings before an announced 26,529 on a scorching Sunday at Camden Yards.

Orioles manager Dave Trembley wanted starter Jeremy Guthrie to get through the first inning of Tuesday night's 6-4 loss to the New York Mets without giving up any runs. Guthrie did that. And he cruised through the second and third, too, escaping his danger zone this season - the first third of a game, in which batters had hit a collective .318 against the right-hander heading into Tuesday. But in a season in which nothing seemingly can go right for Guthrie, a potentially mundane fourth inning unraveled after sure-handed second baseman Brian Roberts botched a double play, igniting the Mets' four-run rally and handing Guthrie (4-7)

If you've been a fan of the Orioles since the 1980s, you know all about The Throw. It's attached to John Shelby like a second skin. It's referenced in his biography in the team's media guide. People walk up to him, 26 years later, and want to reminisce about it. But there's more to it than you might know. Of course, you remember how Shelby lunged forward after releasing the ball, his momentum carrying him onto his stomach on the outfield grass at the old Milwaukee County Stadium. You see catcher Rick Dempsey applying the tag to preserve a one-run lead in the eighth inning, in a game the Orioles had to win because, well, they pretty much had to win them all. The memory is so clear, so vivid, you even remember the runner who was cut down at the plate - the immortal Bob Skube.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Entering the season, the Orioles' starting shortstop position was Luis Hernandez's to lose. Six weeks later, he has lost it. Orioles manager Dave Trembley told Hernandez on Thursday that for the time being he would be the team's utility infielder and Freddie Bynum would start at short. Hernandez, who batted .243 in 30 games and often looked tentative in the field, said yesterday that he was somewhat surprised by the move. "It's still a long season. I think I am going to have more chances to play," said Hernandez, 23. "I don't get sad, I don't get mad. I feel great.

Loewen's high count The Orioles couldn't squeeze more than 2 2/3 innings out of starter Adam Loewen yesterday because of his rising pitch count and ineffectiveness. Loewen didn't allow a run in his first two innings, but he needed a double play to escape a jam in the second. He wasn't as fortunate in the third, when right fielder Jeremy Hermida hit a three-run homer with two outs to break a scoreless tie. Loewen threw 55 pitches, 32 for strikes. His missteps in the third inning included three walks and an infield hit. Rare sightings It took until the 11th exhibition game, but Aubrey Huff finally played in the field after twice serving as the designated hitter.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The game ended essentially how it started: with pinch hitter Melvin Mora grounding into a double play, just as Miguel Tejada had done in the first inning to take away a scoring opportunity. In between, the Orioles had plenty of chances to get on the scoreboard and reward Jon Leicester's solid pitching performance in their final road game of the season. But they stranded eight base runners, hit into three double plays and went hitless in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position.

TWO-OUT WALKS Brian Burres, who had pitched with runners on base for most of the first five innings, appeared to be on his way to an easy sixth after he induced Adrian Beltre to hit into a double play. But Burres walked Richie Sexson, who entered the night hitting .201. Kenji Johjima then singled. Yuniesky Betancourt broke a 2-2 tie with a high drive that bounced off the top of the left-field wall for a two-run double. Burres was done after six innings, having allowed four earned runs on nine hits and two walks.

SEATTLE -- Seattle Mariners starter Horacio Ramirez looked rattled. He had just failed to cover first base on Nick Markakis' RBI single that gave the Orioles their first lead and then compounded matters by giving up a base hit to Kevin Millar. The Orioles had strung together three straight wins with the help of some timely hitting, and the situation they were in - men on first and second with no outs in the fourth inning - called for it again. However, Aubrey Huff bounced into a double play and the offense went silent the rest of the way. That cost them, as Yuniesky Betancourt's two-out double off starter Brian Burres broke a sixth-inning tie and sent the Mariners to a 4-2 victory over the Orioles before an announced 23,128 at Safeco Field.

A curveball dropped into catcher Ramon Hernandez's glove last night, and Orioles pitcher Erik Bedard started to walk off the mound before plate umpire Adrian Johnson could signal a called third strike. Bedard already knew the sixth inning was over for the Chicago White Sox. His dominance was just as obvious - and a tad repetitive. Bedard extended his scoreless-innings streak to 16, blanking the White Sox through the seventh, and Nick Markakis and Corey Patterson homered to provide all the scoring in the Orioles' 2-0 victory before an announced crowd of 28,162 at Camden Yards.

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.