Gant

In the dark, cluttered basement of a 19th-century building, two workers saw and hammer at rusted equipment in a cramped boiler room. The steady wail of their drills makes shouting and finger-pointing the only feasible forms of communicating. The workers are in the first stage of the ground-to-roof renovation of the Bennett Mansion in the first block of W. Mulberry St., where officials hope to re-establish the Baltimore International Youth Hostel and attract world travelers to the city's cultural center.

NEW YORK - Old No. 8 - Yogi, not Cal - would say it's not over 'til it's over. But precedent says when the Oakland Athletics can beat the New York Yankees, 2-0, on a Bronx night that begged for emotion but received only silence, it's over. When Andy Pettitte can make one mistake and be beaten by A's designated hitter Ron Gant's fourth-inning home run and starting pitcher Tim Hudson's eight immaculate innings, when closer Jason Isringhausen can almost melt before rescuing the ninth inning, and when the A's can head home with a two-game lead in the best-of-five Division Series, well, it's over.

Astros: Jack Howell was sent to a hospital for X-rays after colliding with Vladimir Guerrero on a play at first.Cardinals: Mark McGwire has 407 home runs, tied for 24th place with Duke Snider. McGwire's upper-deck shot was the first at Veterans Stadium this year. ... McGwire's 45 multihomer games put him 10th place all-time. Ron Gant led off, the first time he's done that since 1996.Cubs: Third baseman Kevin Orie did not play because of back spasms. Jim McMahon, who quarterbacked the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl championship in 1985, led the seventh-inning stretch.

TORONTO -- Proclaiming that real progress had been made over the weekend, Orioles general manager Pat Gillick said yesterday that a deal that would bolster the Orioles' depleted lineup with a significant hitter may be only days away.Gillick stopped short of naming a favorite, but he confirmed that San Diego Padres left fielder Rickey Henderson is "in the mix" along with Oakland Athletics hard-handed right fielder Geronimo Berroa and Montreal Expos first baseman David Segui.Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Darren Daulton remains a candidate, but because of financial complications he appears to be a second-tier possibility.

TORONTO -- The Orioles' ongoing search for offensive help has settled for the moment on out-of-favor St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Ron Gant, according to team sources.Gant, 32, batted a career-low .246 with 30 home runs, 82 RBIs and 13 stolen bases last season. This year he has fallen to .216, with 11 home runs and 33 RBIs in 227 at-bats.Gant is regarded as one of the game's most streaky hitters with strong pull-hitting tendencies. Gant has struck out at least 100 times in four of his last five seasons played but was also a #F two-time 30-30 player with Atlanta.

TORONTO -- The Orioles continue to scour both leagues for hitting help, apparently with the goal of securing assistance by the end of next week. Their interest in Oakland Athletics outfielder/DH Geronimo Berroa took a serious hit Thursday night when Berroa injured his right shoulder making a throw.The A's have not made a decision whether to put Berroa on the disabled list, but the problem is significant enough that the Orioles have begun looking elsewhere.General manager Pat Gillick has dispatched a scout to follow the San Diego Padres, who are looking to move one of their two left fielders, Rickey Henderson or Greg Vaughn.

ST. LOUIS -- When Ron Gant broke his leg in a dirt-bike accident before the 1994 season, he couldn't make his employers, the Atlanta Braves, pay more than one-sixth of his $5.5 million contract. Eventually, he was released and, for a long time, bitter at what he viewed as professional abandonment.Last year, as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, Gant had a chance to make the Braves pay for letting him go. But all he could manage were three singles in 16 at-bats in the National League Championship Series that resulted in a four-game sweep by the soon-to-be World Series champion Braves.

The chaos of the past two seasons served its purpose. Peter fTC Angelos learned his lesson, and the hiring of Pat Gillick proves it. The humiliation of the previous front office, the obsession with high-priced talent, the delay in naming a GM -- yesterday's news makes it all worthwhile.The last time something this good happened to the Orioles, they won the 1983 World Series. Finally, Angelos gets it. He needed a strong GM, and he got one of the strongest. Hello, minor-league upgrade. Hello, AL East title.

The Orioles' efforts to sign major free agents like Roberto Alomar and Ron Gant likely won't be hurt by the fact they haven't hired a general manager to replace Roland Hemond, according to others in baseball.But whoever gets the job will have to crush a lot of work into a short period of time. "The key thing is, this is an important three weeks coming up right now," said new San Diego general manager Kevin Towers.Orioles owner Peter Angelos has interviewed at least seven candidates. For several weeks, former Montreal general manager Kevin Malone and ex-Detroit GM Joe Klein appeared to be the front-runners, with New York Mets scouting director John Barr a possibility.