Jeff Nelson

The Orioles have been, for the past season and a half, one of the most opportunistic teams in baseball, so it would not be fair for them to curse the fates for letting one promising opportunity slip away in a 5-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox. They can curse home plate umpire Jeff Nelson if they want, as he blew a call that led to a pair of Red Sox runs in a three-run fourth inning on Saturday. They can curse their own inability to put the hammer down on Boston pitcher John Lackey when they had a chance to get more out of a first-inning rally that might have made things a lot more comfortable for starting pitcher Freddy Garcia.

The Orioles have been, for the past season and a half, one of the most opportunistic teams in baseball, so it would not be fair for them to curse the fates for letting one promising opportunity slip away in a 5-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox. They can curse home plate umpire Jeff Nelson if they want, as he blew a call that led to a pair of Red Sox runs in a three-run fourth inning on Saturday. They can curse their own inability to put the hammer down on Boston pitcher John Lackey when they had a chance to get more out of a first-inning rally that might have made things a lot more comfortable for starting pitcher Freddy Garcia.

Mariners: Ken Griffey is hitting .441 with four home runs and nine RBIs against Kansas City this season. He began the year batting .277 against the Royals. Seattle leads the major leagues with 170 home runs.Royals: Third baseman Joe Randa has hit safely in 24 of his past 25 games and is 46-for-103 (.447) with six home runs and 19 RBIs.Yankees: Second baseman Chuck Knoblauch did not start for the second straight game because of a severe head cold. Right-hander Jeff Nelson (elbow) is scheduled to throw a simulated game today instead of making his first rehab appearance, which should now come early next week.

I was a bit confused by the letter Jeff Nelson wrote regarding the need for a White Student Union at Towson University. For the record, "white" is how most people would describe me. That's no more a part of my heritage than the fact that my eyes are blue. Now I claim no particular expertise in racial matters, but it seems to me that being black comes with a heritage, much more so than being white. White people in the U.S. were spared slavery, Jim Crow, segregation and having to struggle for equal rights.

Quote: "That pitch hurt pretty bad. What's amazing is that he threw a ball that hard and it wasn't straight." -- Blue Jays catcher Mike Matheny, on rookie Billy Koch's fastball, clocked at 101 mphIt's a fact: Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez committed his first error in 57 games when he threw into center field trying to pick off Jose Canseco at second base in the first inning.Who's hot: The Indians' Manny Ramirez is 5-for-5 this season with the bases loaded.Who's not: A "Share the Wealth" demonstration in Kansas City draw only 700-800, compared to the estimated 4,000 for the first.

Who's hot Bret Boone of the Mariners is 7-for-13 with two homers and eight RBIs since moving to second in the batting order. Who's not J.D. Drew of the Cardinals was 1-for-12 in the series against the Braves with eight strikeouts. Line of the day Omar Viz quel, Indi ans SS AB R H RBI HR 5 2 5 2 0 He said it "It's not a message. This is the regular season. The post season is different." Jeff Nelson, Mariners reliever, after Seattle's sweep at Yankee Stadium, its 11th win in its past 12 regular-season games there On deck Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks goes for his major-league-leading seventh win to night, facing the Pirates.

I was a bit confused by the letter Jeff Nelson wrote regarding the need for a White Student Union at Towson University. For the record, "white" is how most people would describe me. That's no more a part of my heritage than the fact that my eyes are blue. Now I claim no particular expertise in racial matters, but it seems to me that being black comes with a heritage, much more so than being white. White people in the U.S. were spared slavery, Jim Crow, segregation and having to struggle for equal rights.

OFFICIALLY, HE was the Orioles' "video coaching assistant," the young man who recorded and logged videotapes of baseball games as a way of helping players with their hitting and pitching. But unofficially, Jeff Nelson was a lot more than that. In a short span -- the 1995 season through 1998 -- he became a clubhouse spirit, a friend of players and even a source of inspiration. His death the other day -- of complications after surgery -- shocked and saddened a whole lot of Orioles. Many of them will attend his funeral today in Randallstown.

Moves Baseball CARDINALS: Activated OF Roger Cedeno from 15-day DL. Optioned P Josh Pearce to Triple-A Memphis. GIANTS: Activated 2B Ray Durham from 15-day DL. METS: Activated OF Cliff Floyd from 15-day DL. Designated IF Ricky Gutierez for assignment. RANGERS: Placed P Jeff Nelson (Catonsville High) on 15-day DL. Activated P Brian Shouse from 15-day DL. WHITE SOX: Recalled P Feliz Diaz from Triple-A Charlotte. Optioned CF-IF Jamie Burke to Charlotte. YANKEES: Called up C David Parrish from Triple-A Columbus.

LANDOVER -- NHL teams now know when they play the Washington Capitals they're going to face first-class goaltending from Jim Carey, first-rate team defense and some pretty snazzy scoring from the likes of Peter Bondra, Michal Pivonka and Joe Juneau.But what the rest of the NHL is learning is that the Capitals are capable of doing something they've never had a knack for.The Capitals are continually finding a way to win.Yesterday, with three forwards out with injury and flu, their top defenseman, Sylvain Cote, tossed from the game 6:07 after the opening faceoff for checking from behind, and their usual goal producers closed down, the Capitals used goals by rookie Jeff Nelson and Kelly Miller to beat the Boston Bruins, 2-1.Miller's game-winning goal came with 2:01 left.

Moves Baseball CARDINALS: Activated OF Roger Cedeno from 15-day DL. Optioned P Josh Pearce to Triple-A Memphis. GIANTS: Activated 2B Ray Durham from 15-day DL. METS: Activated OF Cliff Floyd from 15-day DL. Designated IF Ricky Gutierez for assignment. RANGERS: Placed P Jeff Nelson (Catonsville High) on 15-day DL. Activated P Brian Shouse from 15-day DL. WHITE SOX: Recalled P Feliz Diaz from Triple-A Charlotte. Optioned CF-IF Jamie Burke to Charlotte. YANKEES: Called up C David Parrish from Triple-A Columbus.

Who's hot Bret Boone of the Mariners is 7-for-13 with two homers and eight RBIs since moving to second in the batting order. Who's not J.D. Drew of the Cardinals was 1-for-12 in the series against the Braves with eight strikeouts. Line of the day Omar Viz quel, Indi ans SS AB R H RBI HR 5 2 5 2 0 He said it "It's not a message. This is the regular season. The post season is different." Jeff Nelson, Mariners reliever, after Seattle's sweep at Yankee Stadium, its 11th win in its past 12 regular-season games there On deck Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks goes for his major-league-leading seventh win to night, facing the Pirates.

SEATTLE - The Seattle Mariners will get precious little time to bask in the glory of one of the greatest regular-season performances in baseball history. They open the postseason today against the Cleveland Indians at Safeco Field, and not one of their major-league-record-tying 116 victories will count toward the outcome of the best-of-five American League Division Series. The New York Yankees were in a similar situation in 1998, when they set an American League record with 114 regular-season victories on the way to their first of three straight world titles.

Quote: "It's tough if you're not in a groove to get in a groove when you only get one batter. I don't know it it's not being aggressive, I'm just not facing many guys." - Jeff Nelson, one of the Yankees relievers victimized in Anaheim's four-run seventh inning. It's a fact: Detroit failed in its bid to reach .500 for the first time since they were 1-1. The Tigers, who have won eight of 11 and 14 of 21, haven't been .500 this late in a season since 1997. Who's hot: Anaheim reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa recorded his sixth save for the Angels.

Mariners: Ken Griffey is hitting .441 with four home runs and nine RBIs against Kansas City this season. He began the year batting .277 against the Royals. Seattle leads the major leagues with 170 home runs.Royals: Third baseman Joe Randa has hit safely in 24 of his past 25 games and is 46-for-103 (.447) with six home runs and 19 RBIs.Yankees: Second baseman Chuck Knoblauch did not start for the second straight game because of a severe head cold. Right-hander Jeff Nelson (elbow) is scheduled to throw a simulated game today instead of making his first rehab appearance, which should now come early next week.

OFFICIALLY, HE was the Orioles' "video coaching assistant," the young man who recorded and logged videotapes of baseball games as a way of helping players with their hitting and pitching. But unofficially, Jeff Nelson was a lot more than that. In a short span -- the 1995 season through 1998 -- he became a clubhouse spirit, a friend of players and even a source of inspiration. His death the other day -- of complications after surgery -- shocked and saddened a whole lot of Orioles. Many of them will attend his funeral today in Randallstown.