Johnny Oates

If you lighten up, I'll shut up.That, in essence, is what Orioles majority owner Peter Angelos is trying to tell his manager, Johnny Oates.He imparted that message most eloquently in the final of six paragraphs in a letter he hand-delivered to Oates yesterday."

Just about the most ridiculous story since the unearthing of the remains of the Cardiff Giant is that Johnny Oates was about to be buried as manager of the Baltimore Orioles. Such a decision at this juncture would not be in the immediate interest of the franchise or the team's long-range future.It's a move entirely premature and if it has entered the mind of the new owner, Peter Angelos, he should purge the thought by taking a long walk or a cold shower to cool off. Operating a baseball team in what is the longest of sports seasons is pressure enough without hearing your job is in jeopardy with the team in second place.

The innings are starting to pile up for reliever Mark Eichhorn, and he wouldn't have it any other way.When things are at their best for Eichhorn, as they appear to be right now, he's getting the ball early in the game and is charged with keeping the opposition close until the offense can get going.Going into last night's game with the Detroit Tigers, Eichhorn has been doing his job well, blanking opponents over his past nine appearances, covering 14 innings."It's just like hitting, I guess.

Someone smart once said that managers are hired only to be fired. Alas, that bright person didn't work on this column, but fortunately, "Winners and Losers" is intelligent enough to spot six skippers who have already run into rough times on the managerial seas, with one already cast adrift by a mutinous front office.MANAGERS .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. COMMENTJohnny Oates ... ... Winner ... ... Since when has a .600 winning.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... ... ... percentage not been enough to.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... ... ... insure job security?

There is a lot of talk about whether Johnny Oates should be fired, which is hardly surprising. One of the advantages of spending $173 million to buy a baseball team, as Peter Angelos and his group did, is that you get to pick the manager you want.Spending that much money means you have every right not to have to live with your predecessor's version of a good idea.But spending that much money doesn't necessarily mean you know what's right. It doesn't mean you know how to fix what ails your ballclub.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Generally speaking, professional athletes don't scare easily. There are, of course, exceptions. The clanking sound of a baseball hitting a batting helmet definitely is one of them."

Six months to the day after American League owners unanimously approved the sale of the Orioles, the Pope of Camden Yards will watch his human investments get down to business on Opening Day.In such a short time, Orioles principal owner Peter Angelos has altered for the better the mood of a city already in love with its team, the game it plays and the stadium it calls home.Now, the passion is accompanied by confidence. Where once September was feared, now it is anticipated brashly. The mood swing can be traced to a change in ownership.

Let's get right to this business of whether Peter Angelos is going to fire Johnny Oates if the Orioles don't get off to a good start.Use your common sense. If the Orioles start off 3-8, Angelos is not going to fire his manager.Not even George Steinbrenner would do that. Not even Jerry Jones.Oates was named Sporting News 1993 American League Manager of the Year, picked by his peers. Oates knows how to manage.It doesn't mean a thing when the first-year owner of the Orioles says, as he did last weekend in Florida, that Oates is OK unless.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Johnny Oates had an off-season wish list that was very basic. "Pitching . . . more pitching . . . and more pitching," was his request.After 11 untidy exhibition games what the Orioles manager has seen has been less pitching . . . even less pitching . . . and even less pitching. To say that nobody has stepped forward is like saying the weather in Baltimore has been uncomfortable this winter.A little more than a third of the way through the preseason schedule, the Orioles still are trying to find a way to get the other team out.There actually were three encouraging performances here yesterday, but one came from a rookie (Rick Forney)

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- It's an indication of how things have been going for the Orioles that one scoreless inning was the big news yesterday.Scoreless innings have been tough to come by this spring, especially for relief pitchers. The fact that Lee Smith, penciled in as this season's closer, was able to get three outs without allowing a run was the goods-news part.The bad-news side of the story is that the Orioles wasted their best-pitched game of the spring, losing a 2-1, 10-inning decision to the Los Angeles Dodgers.