First Baseman

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Free-agent first baseman Wally Joyner proved yesterday that money isn't everything, choosing to end a bitter relationship with the California Angels and accept a much smaller contract from the Kansas City Royals.Joyner signed a one-year deal that will pay him $4.2 million and retained the right to become a free agent next year. He could have re-signed with the Angels for four years and close to $16 million, but instead said farewell in a teary news conference at the Fontainebleau Resort.

The Baltimore Orioles have examined all of the medical evidence, but the prognosis for injured first baseman Glenn Davis remains unclear.Davis will not have surgery to correct damage to the spinal accessory nerve that controls the major muscle in his right shoulder. That much was known. But he apparently is not close to returning the Orioles lineup, either.Orioles orthopedist Dr. Charles Silberstein has been compiling the data that was gathered during exhaustive examinations in New York, Cleveland and Los Angeles.

Randy Milligan's uncertainty about his 1993 playing address ended yesterday, when the former Orioles first baseman signed with the Cincinnati Reds.Terms were not revealed, but Milligan did get a major-league contract."

On a day major league teams had to set their 40-man rosters, the Orioles set theirs at 35 yesterday, adding some top pitching prospects, but leaving room for some important moves to come. A slew of players came off the roster when their contracts expired - a group including Albert Belle, Scott Erickson, Tony Batista, Brook Fordyce and Pat Hentgen - and the Orioles are in the process of finding their replacements. "We feel we've got some flexibility within this roster," said Orioles executive vice president Jim Beattie.

MILWAUKEE -- For most teams, a 7-6 stretch would be cause for little alarm. For the Orioles, who required 28 days to lose their previous six, it has become a signal to look for outside help.Manager Davey Johnson has said repeatedly that first baseman Rafael Palmeiro requires greater protection. He has never cited cleanup hitter Cal Ripken, but some within the clubhouse have made the connection. Especially with the club taking a slump of a .232 average with only 21 extra-base hits since June 11 into last night's game.

VIERA, Fla. -- It was the same vantage point he's had for every game of his big league career, but crouching behind home plate yesterday was a bit strange for Javy Lopez. "I had caught a little early in spring training, so it didn't feel that weird," Lopez said. "But when I made my first throw to second base, I was like, `Wow. It's been a while.' " Lopez, who has caught in all but two innings of his 14-season career, is attempting to switch to first base this spring. Arriving in mid-February with pitchers and catchers, he almost immediately began taking grounders at first.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Asked what discovery has pleased him most since the Orioles exchanged a veteran clubhouse for an impressionable one, manager Mike Hargrove gives the name of a 26-year-old, left-handed hitter who wondered in 1998 whether his career might be over. After a three-hit, five-RBI game in last night's 9-4 win over the Texas Rangers, rookie first baseman Chris Richard is batting .276 with nine home runs and 26 RBIs since being acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals on July 29 for reliever Mike Timlin.

FORT MYERS, FLA.-- --With all the things he had to do this winter, the countless interviews, appearances and rubber-chicken banquets, Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau said there was only one awkward moment. Nothing was stranger than boasting to a rolling TV camera and several young baseball stars, "I'm the MVP." He had little choice. It's tough to say no to Spike Lee. "I didn't want it to come across too cocky so the first couple takes I didn't even say the lines," Morneau said.

The Orioles' team plane bounced, dipped and rattled while passing through a thunderstorm on its way to Kansas City, Mo., early Thursday morning. Later that evening, Orioles manager Dave Trembley asked first baseman Aubrey Huff about the experience. Prepared for a rough flight, Huff said that when he got on board he downed a couple drinks, sufficiently chilled out and then went to sleep. "Couldn't have told you it was storming," he said with a sly smile. Welcome to Huff's world, where outside tumult - even occasional self-created chaos - doesn't seem to affect his easygoing attitude.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS -- Kevin Millar's answer on whether he wants to stay an Oriole through this month's trade deadline probably would have been different three weeks ago. But now in the lineup virtually every day, hitting in the middle of the order and for a team that is playing much better baseball of late, Millar feels invigorated. And though the veteran has drawn some trade interest and will likely continue to do so before the July 31 deadline, Millar wants to stay right where he is. "If you would have asked me that three, four weeks ago, I would have said, `Bro, help me out.' But now I can't say that," he said.