Incaviglia

Mike Bordick said he feels comfortable at the plate. Coach Rick Down said the Orioles shortstop is hitting some balls "very, very hard."Too often, they've gone right at people, which served as one explanation for a batting average that stood at a sickly .074 before last night's game against the Texas Rangers."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Orioles outfielder Pete Incaviglia vented several weeks of pent-up energy on Kansas City Royals pitcher Jose Rosado on Wednesday night. He popped from his seat in the visitors' dugout and lambasted the animated young left-hander for an irritating on-field breach of baseball etiquette.Rosado angered the Orioles by "showing up" outfielder Brady Anderson. He threw his arms in the air and did a dancer's turn on the mound after a big strikeout in the eighth inning. Incaviglia waited for the appropriate moment -- after Rafael Palmeiro knocked Rosado out of the game with a game-tying home run -- to illustrate that what goes around comes around.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Orioles face their first roster decision of the season today when designated hitter-outfielder Pete Incaviglia returns from the disabled list.Manager Davey Johnson insisted he will not go any longer without a backup infielder. Asked about the status of Jeff Reboulet, Roberto Alomar's replacement, Johnson asserted, "Reboulet stays."With the end of Alomar's five-game suspension today, Johnson will have a fifth infielder available for the first time this season. The unattractive alternative would be to keep B. J. Surhoff as an emergency fill-in.

General manager Pat Gillick said it's "disappointing" that the club hasn't reached contract agreements with Mike Mussina, Cal Ripken and outfielder Brady Anderson by today's deadline. Gillick has said he won't negotiate past Opening Day."I'll stop talking," he said. "Now, Mr. [Peter] Angelos might not. It's his ballclub. He's in charge. If he wants to talk during the season, that's certainly his prerogative."I just don't like to negotiate during the season. I wanted to get the thing done by [yesterday]

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- How could you tell it was the Orioles' last day in Florida? After almost seven weeks of wearing shorts and flip-flops, the players came to work yesterday morning wearing coats and ties, the better to change back into for their flight to Baltimore last night.There was still one more game to play yesterday, but the clubhouse took on a deserted appearance as the players packed their belongings and shut down their spring training home at Fort Lauderdale Stadium.Pete Incaviglia, the burly designated hitter, stuffed his clothes into a Gucci bag as hitting coach Rick Down shook his head.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Three days ago, Jeffrey Hammonds appeared headed for Rochester. Orioles general manager Pat Gillick conceded that the outfielder probably would be crushed by another demotion. Hammonds shrugged and asked, "What can I do?"There was only one answer, the same answer Hammonds has heard his entire professional career: Wait. And that wasn't going satisfy the former No. 1 draft pick, not when he's leading the Orioles in hits, home runs, doubles and stolen bases this spring.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Orioles received some good news on center fielder Brady Anderson, and a scare with catcher Lenny Webster yesterday.The X-rays taken on Anderson's bruised ribs Monday came back negative. "It's one of those proverbial day-to-day jobs," he said yesterday after walking out of the trainer's room with a bandage wrapped around his left side.Anderson sustained the injury while diving back to first base on an attempted pickoff during Sunday's game against the Atlanta Braves.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Jerome Walton removed any doubts about his health yesterday. Starting at first base, he singled twice and knocked in two runs in the Orioles' 7-3 victory over the New York Mets.Both hits came off former Orioles right-hander Pete Harnisch. And they were proof that Walton, making his first start since March 11, has recovered from a strained abdominal muscle.He also went from first to third on a single up the middle by Pete Incaviglia, diving into the bag to beat the throw.

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The ball sailed out of Holman Stadium the same way it has everywhere the Orioles have played this spring. The tradewinds seem to be blowing out to every field. Either that or little has changed since the club broke the major-league record for home runs in a season last year.The Orioles hit four more home runs in yesterday's 7-1 exhibition victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Pete Incaviglia and Lenny Webster hit back-to-back homers in the second inning. Jeffrey Hammonds hit his third of the spring in the seventh and utility man Jeff Reboulet completed the team's third four-homer performance in the first six Grapefruit League games.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- He'd play flag football, fall in a patch of dirt and that would be it. Another asthma attack. Another trip to the hospital. Another shot of adrenalin.This was life for the young Pete Incaviglia. He wasn't always a 230-pound slugger with a size-52 jacket. Heck, he might never have grown to those proportions if he hadn't started lifting weights at the age of 10.That's too young for most children, but Incaviglia's doctor and father saw it as the best hope for Pete to lead a normal childhood.