Intrasquad Game

Oates dismisses sloppy playST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- There was a lot not to like about the intrasquad game that replaced the Orioles' scheduled exhibition against the Cleveland Indians yesterday.But manager Johnny Oates was quick to dismiss everything other than that everybody got his work done. "Don't get any impressions from what happened out there," Oates said after Team B beat Team A, 8-3, in a sloppily played game."I'm not worried about today [yesterday]," said Oates. "I'm not worried about Harold Reynolds making three errors at second base and I'm not worried about Brad Pennington walking four batters in one inning."

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.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was a particularly unpleasant day for the Orioles to begin live competition, but yesterday's first spring intrasquad game produced a string of pleasant developments.The wind was gusting at about 30 mph, making the game a blowout in more ways than one, but there were answers blowing in that wind, answers to questions that have been buffetting the Orioles all winter.* Catcher Chris Hoiles, who underwent wrist surgery soon after the end of the 1992 season, hit a 460-foot home run in his first competitive at-bat since the operation.

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.

Intrasquad game is old-timers dayEvans gets two hits; Dempsey stars againSARASOTA, Fla. -- Dwight Evans had two hits for the second straight game yesterday, as the Black Jerseys beat the Orange Jerseys, 4-3, in the last intrasquad game. Evans, who doubled and scored the first run on a single by Luis Mercedes, was the only player with two hits.Rick Dempsey was the other old-timer who was prominent iboth games. After hitting a home run off Gregg Olson in the first game, Dempsey delivered a game-tying single in the sixth inning that set up Joe Orsulak's game-winning double.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Francisco de la Rosa was announced yesterday as one of the players to be named in last week's trade with the New York Yankees that brought Alan Mills to the Orioles.And there'sspeculation that Jose Mesa, another right-hander, could be the next to go.De la Rosa, a reliever who was injured almost the entire month after being promoted to the major leagues last September, had been designated for assignment when the Orioles obtained Mills, also a right-handed reliever. He could not be announced as part of the trade until he cleared waivers.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Francisco de la Rosa was announced yesterday as one of the players to be named in last week's trade with the New York Yankees that brought Alan Mills to the Orioles.And there continues to be speculation that Jose Mesa, another right-hander, could be the next to go.De la Rosa, a reliever who was injured almost the entire month after being promoted to the major leagues last September, had been designated for assignment when the Orioles obtained Mills, also a right-handed reliever.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Dwight Evans had two hits for the second straight game yesterday, as the Black Jerseys beat the Orange Jerseys, 4-3, in last intrasquad game. Evans, who doubled and scored the first run on a single by Luis Mercedes, was the only player with two hits.Rick Dempsey was the other old-timer who was prominent in both games. After hitting a home run off Gregg Olson in the first game, Dempsey delivered a game-tying single in the sixth inning that set up Joe Orsulak's game-winning double.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Non-roster invitee Rick Dempsey has fired the first real shot in the battle for the No. 2 catching job.Dempsey hammered a bases-empty home run off relief stopper Gregg Olson yesterday in the seventh inning of the Orioles' first intrasquad game of spring training.It wasn't exactly the shot heard 'round the world, but it was the kind of first impression that Dempsey, 42, needs to make if he is to beat out Triple-A prospect Jeff Tackett and stick with the major-league club.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Baseball could be headed for another labor showdown sooner than anyone suspects, said players union director Donald Fehr.Fehr and special assistant Mark Belanger briefed the Orioles players on a variety of union issues during a lengthy meeting at Twin Lakes Park yesterday, and they warned them that the collective bargaining agreement could be reopened after this season.The basic agreement signed before the 1990 season called for a four-year term, but included a provision that either side could reopen collective bargaining after three years.