Intrasquad Game

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Though he worked out with the team yesterday, Orioles second baseman Jerry Hairston was scratched from the second intrasquad game and later underwent some tests at a local hospital as a follow-up to his physical examination. Hairston insisted again yesterday that he's bothered by flu-like symptoms, but the Orioles scheduled EKG and stress tests as a precaution. "Obviously, he's not limited in what he can do," said Jim Beattie, executive vice president of baseball operations.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Orioles' competition at second base took an unexpected turn yesterday in the first intrasquad game. How did Mark McLemore wind up in the mix? Jerry Hairston was scratched because of flulike symptoms and Brian Roberts remained unavailable because of back spasms, so McLemore joined the lineup that contained all the regulars. Eddy Garabito, who homered off left-hander Ryan Hannaman, started at second for the other team. "I've just been feeling real sick with the flu," Hairston said.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Chris Richard is a new husband and a homeowner. That part of his life is complete. It's the baseball aspect that still lies in pieces. Richard is trying to fit into the Orioles' crowded outfield, and numbers aren't the only deterrent. He still hasn't regained full range of motion in his left shoulder after arthroscopic surgery last winter to reattach the capsule and clean some fraying in the rotator cuff. Though finally able to throw, something he couldn't do after returning to the lineup July 31, Richard said he continues to experience some mild discomfort.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The exclusive fraternity of major-league baseball players took a double hit yesterday, and there were reverberations felt throughout Florida and Arizona. The deaths of Cleveland pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews in a boating accident left the Orioles in a state of shock and dismay.Their scheduled exhibition game against the Indians was canceled, and instead the Orioles worked their way through an intrasquad game. There was a work schedule to be kept, but the intensity was the lowest it's been all spring.

Bo knows.He hobbled down to first base after delivering a base hit in an intrasquad game Wednesday and everybody else knew, too. He struggled down the base line a couple more times during the Chicago White Sox's exhibition opener on Thursday and removed all doubt.It's sad. It's unfortunate. It will be over soon.Bo Jackson has made a career of proving people wrong, but last week he proved that the doctors in Kansas City were right. His injured hip has not healed sufficiently to carry him around the bases, much less through the rigors of a 162-game season.

Kevin Millwood threw 88 pitches (56 strikes) in his five innings of work against minor league hitters in today's intrasquad game. He struck out seven, walked two and gave up three runs in his final inning of work, but looked much sharper than in his two exhibition outings. "I liked what I saw," said pitching coach Rick Kranitz, who stayed behind to watch Millwood and Jim Johnson before rushing to Fort Myers for the Grapefruit League game against the Twins. "Every time he goes out there, he closes the gap to where he needs to be. He got a lot out of today.

No matter how pleasant it is to spend a few weeks in Florida this time of year, you can only watch so many pitchers cover first base or throw off the half-mound before you start pining for some actual competition. The players and coaches feel the same way, so everybody was happy to be out on the back fields for Wednesday's two concurrent intrasquad games at the Ed Smith Stadium spring training complex. Nobody kept score, but there were some highlights, starting with Chris Davis' opposite-field homer off teammate Tommy Hunter on the field that is built to the exact same dimensions as Camden Yards.

Wednesday will mark the first of two consecutive days of Orioles intrasquad games leading up to Saturday's Grapefruit League opener against the Minnesota Twins at Ed Smith Stadium. The Orioles will play a pair of three-inning intrasquad games Wednesday starting at 10:15 a.m. Each pitcher is scheduled to throw one inning. The games are open to the public. On Field 3 at the Ed Smith Stadium complex, Steve Johnson, Zach Clark and Mike Wright will pitch in the top half of innings, and Todd Redmond, Dylan Bundy and T.J. McFarland will throw the bottom half of innings.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The Orioles played on the Ed Smith Stadium main field for the first time this spring on Thursday afternoon, making it the site for their second straight day of intrasquad games. Much like the back-to-back intrasquad games on Wednesday, Thursday's game was played within a controlled environment. Pitchers were limited to 15 pitches, but they faced extra hitters if they retired three batters without meeting the pitch count. The game lasted 4 ½ innings. One example of the controlled environment: When catcher Matt Wieters launched a solo homer to left field off Troy Patton, Wieters didn't run around the bases.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Top pitching prospect Dylan Bundy made his first competitive appearance in Saturday's intrasquad game, and it could be summed up in three words: Short and sweet. Bundy struck out Adam Jones and Mark Reynolds looking and got Matt Wieters on a soft fly ball to right. Nobody got a long look at him, but he made a great first impression just the same. "That guy is going to be as good as he wants," said Jones, who got a small but steady diet of fastballs from the 19-year-old right-hander.