Jack Armstrong

Orioles -- Re-signed C Chris Hoiles to a five-year contract.Chicago Cubs -- Signed P Tom Edens and C Todd Pratt to minor-league contracts and invited them to spring training as nonroster players.Chicago White Sox -- Agreed to terms with P Jose DeLeon on a one-year contract.Cincinnati Reds -- Agreed to terms with free-agent OF Eric Anthony.Cleveland Indians -- Signed free-agent OF Dave Winfield. Signed P Jack Armstrong and P Les Lancaster to minor-league contracts.Florida Marlins -- Agreed to terms with IF Mario Diaz and P Chris Hammond on one-year contracts.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- This was late Friday night, after the clubhouses had cleared out and there was time for fanciful notions, and someone rattled off Mike Mussina's numbers and put the question to Johnny Oates: Have you thought about what you might be dealing with here?Meaning that the kid might be more than just a pitcher with obvious talent. Meaning that he might be something truly uncommon.And Oates nodded. "You have to wonder, don't you?" he said.This was after Mussina had delivered his 27th straight start in which he made life difficult for hitters, a one-hit, 10-strikeout stuffing of the potent Rangers, whose Ruben Sierra said that "the kid pitched like a devil."

By 9 a.m., the media center at Solley Elementary School is buzzing.Children scan the library shelves, then rush to the front desk clutching their selections. Volunteers work quickly to keep the checkout line moving.In a corner, pupils breathlessly tell media specialist Mary MacNemar about the books they've just finished."It's like a madhouse in the morning," MacNemar observes. "But it's a fun madhouse."The reason behind the early-morning madness at the Anne Arundel County school is a reading incentive program called "Chessie," developed last year for beginning and struggling readers by MacNemar and Andrea Horton, her counterpart at Cape St. Claire Elementary.

Eddie Murray, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Most Valuable Player last season, has been denied a request for a contract extension, and Murray is considering leaving the team when his contract expires at the end of the season.Murray's representatives told the Dodgers that if the team did not grant him an extension by the end of spring training, he would be unwilling to negotiate this season and probably would test free agency next winter.Murray, 35, is in the final year of a five-year contract that will pay him $2.8 million this season.

SEATTLE -- What team do you think of when these past and present ballplayers are mentioned? Roger Maris, Graig Nettles, Chris Chambliss, Tommy John and Mel Hall? Yankees, right?How about Brett Butler and Bud Black? Julio Franco? Greg Swindell? Joe Carter? Tom Candiotti? Rick Sutcliffe? Dennis Eckersley? Or Pete O'Brien?Those players, some stars but all competent players, can trace their playing history at some point to Cleveland, which, in major-league terms, is a good place to be from. They went in trades or as free agents, sometimes because of stupidity by the organization, but mostly because it could not afford them.

Loyola's Mike Powell has some unsettling news for Greyhounds opponents: He's getting accustomed to playing point guard.Starting his seventh straight game at the point, Powell guided Loyola to a 71-65 come-from-behind victory over Niagara yesterday at Reitz Arena with his scoring, passing and well-timed defense. Powell, a 6-foot-2 sophomore transfer from Virginia, finished with game highs of 24 points, five assists and four steals.The Greyhounds (5-9, 2-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)

After paying $95 million each for the privilege of trying to avoid 100 losses, the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins took the economic approach.Maybe the National League's two expansion teams will get involved in the free-agent market, but if the first steps of their track record are any indication, it will be with extreme caution.After Tuesday's expansion draft, it appeared that the Rockies were better prepared for the immediate future, but the Marlins had the best hopes for the long haul.

American League president Bobby Brown and umpires chief Marty Springstead viewed about 35 minutes of videotape Monday that, according to the players' association, proves that umpire Terry Cooney lied about what Roger Clemens said to him before the pitcher was ejected during Game 4 of the playoffs.Brown declined to say whether he was persuaded by the evidence or whether it would result in a reduction of Clemens' five-day suspension and $10,000 fine. The final evidence on rTC Clemens' appeal, a brief that summarizes the pitcher's case, will be filed by the union by March 22, attorney Gene Orza said.

The 15-man protected lists of the 25 other major-league clubs, as reported by the Chicago Tribune. None of these players can be taken next week when the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies each will select 36 players in an expansion draft. AlsoUnprotected: OF Ellis Burks, P Greg Harris, P Joe Hesketh.California AngelsPitchers: Jim Abbott, Chuck Finley, Hillary Hathaway, Mark Langston, Joe Grahe, Troy Percival, Julio Valera, Ron Watson. Catcher: John Orton. Infielders: Gary DiSarcina, Damion Easley, Kevin Flora, Luis Sojo.

BaseballColorado Rockies -- Agreed to terms with SS Walt Weiss on a two-year contract and OF Jack Daugherty on a minor-league contract. Traded SS Freddie Benavides to the Montreal Expos for P Ivan Arteaga and P Rodney Pedraza. Assigned Pedraza to Triple-A Colorado Springs. Named Stan Kyles pitching coach at Single-A Bend and Bill Champion pitching coach at Double-A New Haven.Houston Astros -- Named Tim Purpura assistant director of minor league operations.Kansas City Royals -- Agreed to terms with OF Hubie Brooks on a minor-league contract.