SPORTS
By Joe Strauss | September 8, 1999
MINNEAPOLIS -- Welcome to September baseball in the land that franchise relocation forgot. In a setting where fans throw their voices to hear the echo, Scott Erickson gave the Orioles another strong showing against his former club in a 5-0 win before 9,263 at the Metrodome. As long as the game "survives" in the Great White North, the Orioles will always have somewhere to get well.Only 45-68 against the rest of the American League, the Orioles improved to 6-1 against their small-market competition.
SPORTS
By Joe Strauss | September 18, 1999
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- On a night when catcher Charles Johnson joined Cal Ripken in a chase of history, the Orioles continued to exhibit a strong close to a season that has featured Scott Erickson as its engine.Given a bases-loaded double by shortstop Mike Bordick and a bases-empty home run by Albert Belle, the Orioles outlasted the Anaheim Angels, 4-2, before an Edison Field crowd of 28,865 to push their season-high winning streak to nine games.Johnson and Ripken combined for seven of the Orioles' 12 hits, bringing both to the brink of significant achievements.
SPORTS
By Joe Strauss | April 3, 1999
ATLANTA -- Before there was Albert Belle there almost was Brian Jordan. The Orioles last night came face-to-face with the Atlanta Braves' right fielder for the first time since he spurned their four-year, $30 million offer as a free agent last November.Jordan, a longtime Atlanta resident, insisted he gave the Orioles serious consideration before signing with the Braves. So what did the decision come down to? Climate? Remaining in the National League? Keeping a Country Club of the South golf membership?
SPORTS
By Joe Strauss | May 5, 1999
A mystery starting pitcher. Jeff Conine homering twice and playing third base for the first time in his career. Harold Baines tripling for the first time since before the Clinton re-election campaign. Relief pitcher Ricky Bones scoring the winning run after the Orioles rallied from a four-run deficit.But out of the Orioles' 9-5, 10-inning win over the Chicago White Sox last night at Camden Yards, perhaps nothing was more significant than their putting one win behind another. For the first time in 38 games, the Orioles own a winning streak.
SPORTS
By Roch Kubatko | August 3, 1999
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Their third baseman was in Baltimore, their left fielder was at third base and the bench still wasn't at full capacity. They hadn't won in five days. And don't even mention the wild card.The Orioles were in desperate need of some good news last night, a diversion from the nasty intrusion of reality.They expected to find it in a logical place -- the right arm of Scott Erickson. But they no longer can depend on anything.Given an early lead, Erickson handed it back in the second inning and lost for the first time in two months, 7-1, to the Oakland Athletics before 10,178 at Network Associates Coliseum.
SPORTS
By Ken Rosenthal | July 10, 1999
PHILADELPHIA -- He might be painful to watch. He might drive his manager crazy. But Juan Guzman is starting to look like the Juan Guzman of 1998, which is to say, a pitcher who would be desirable to a contender in a trade.Don't look now, but Guzman's 4-7 record and 4.31 earned-run average compare favorably with his 6-12 mark and 4.41 ERA when the Orioles acquired him for Triple A right-hander Nerio Rodriguez last July 31.Guzman was his usual self last night, throwing 125 pitches in six innings, pitching with men in scoring position five times, issuing seven walks.
SPORTS
By Roch Kubatko | March 4, 1999
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Heavy rain forced a premature end to yesterday's second intrasquad game, but not before Scott Erickson and Doug Johns each had gotten in two innings. With different results.Though he didn't throw poorly, Erickson allowed three runs to a B team composed mostly of players from the minor-league camp. Two runs came in the first inning, when a strikeout pitch skipped past young catcher Chip Alley, whose throw hit 6-foot-6 Frank Figueroa as he raced up the line."It felt like I was facing hitters for the first time since September," Erickson said.
SPORTS
By Joe Strauss | August 27, 1999
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Orioles and Cleveland Indians are involved in fast-paced discussions that could result in a trade of starting pitcher Scott Erickson or designated hitter Harold Baines by 1 p.m. EDT today, according to sources familiar with talks, which began after the Indians filed a waiver claim on both players earlier this week.Declining to comment on the waiver issue -- considered confidential by Major League Baseball -- Orioles general manager Frank Wren downplayed the possibility of a deal.
SPORTS
By Joe Strauss | May 27, 1999
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- When at his best, Scott Erickson can single-handedly move a game. He's on the field before his catcher and off before his first baseman. So despite taking Tuesday night's 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Angels, Erickson's most telling number might have been 2: 01 -- time of game.Paired against Angels right-hander Omar Olivares, Erickson dealt an efficient hand in the opener of the Orioles' nine-game road trip. However, he was punished by three long home runs while his offensive support evaporated after Brady Anderson and Mike Bordick led off the game with a single and double.
SPORTS
By Roch Kubatko | April 15, 1999
NEW YORK -- Another assignment for Scott Erickson last night brought another start for Orioles catcher Lenny Webster, the second time in two opportunities that manager Ray Miller has paired them in a game.The acquisition of four-time Gold Glove catcher Charles Johnson led to speculation that Webster wouldn't catch Erickson exclusively, as he has done since their days in Minnesota. But Erickson has stated a preference for keeping Webster behind the plate when he pitches, and Miller now appears less inclined to disrupt the arrangement.