Mike Mussina

NOT GETTING IT DONE The Orioles needed Daniel Cabrera to continue his dominance over the home team at Yankee Stadium and to get deep into the game to rest an exhausted bullpen. He did neither. Cabrera's record now stands at 9-17, putting him ahead of Chicago's Jose Contreras for the most losses in the American League and tying St. Louis' Kip Wells for the major league lead. Only four Orioles pitchers have ever lost more games in a season. NOT GETTING IT DONE, PART 2 Trying to protect a three-run lead, Yankees rookie starter Phil Hughes was clearly tiring in the sixth.

Poll results The Baseball Hall of Fame's induction ceremonies do not include presenters for each inductee like the NFL's do. But last week we asked: If they did, who would be the best person to introduce Cal Ripken Jr.? The majority of the 4,500-plus voters said they'd most like to hear Eddie Murray speak about his old pal. The results: Eddie Murray, 42.5 percent (1,914 votes) Bill Ripken, 18.0 percent (811 votes) Brooks Robinson, 15.5 percent (696 votes) Earl Weaver, 14.8 percent (668 votes)

BOSTON -- It may be too late for the Orioles to alter the course of a 41-53 season. But for their signature and often star-crossed starting pitcher, the last several days may represent an opportunity to turn a merely excellent year into a historic one.Mike Mussina (13-4) pitched eight innings to take the 6-1 decision over the Boston Red Sox before 33,690 at Fenway Park, lifting the Orioles out of last place in the American League East. Only a day after being rear-ended in a traffic mishap, Mussina may have widened a sliver of opportunity to make the Cy Young Award race more than a coronation for Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez.

At Oriole Park at Camden YardsDay .......................... Time ...........TV ...........................StartersTonight .....................7: 05 ..........HTS ..............Mike Oquist (9-9, 5.30 ERA) vs......................................... ...................................Mike Mussina (15-7, 3.60)Tomorrow .................7: 05 ..........HTS ..............Tim Hudson (10-1, 3.06) vs......................................... ...................................Matt Riley (0-0, 6.75)

At Oriole Park at Camden YardsDay Time TV StartersTonight 7: 05 HTS Ed Yarnall (1-0, 1.42) vs. Sidney Ponson (12-11, 4.54)Tomorrow 7: 05 HTS Roger Clemens (14-9, 4.51) vs. Mike Mussina (17-7, 3.62)Tonight 7: 05 HTS Orlando Hernandez (16-9, 4.12) vs. Matt Riley (0-0, 7.36)Radio: All games on WBAL (1090 AM) and WTOP (1500 AM)Yankees updateNew York has a magic number of three for clinching its third AL East title in the past four years. The celebration could occur on Baltimore soil, with the usual throng of Yankees fans expected in attendance.

Order returned to the Orioles' universe last night at Camden Yards. Though the team's season no longer offers gravity, it does have its own laws of nature.Manager Ray Miller will insist the Orioles' write-off from playoff contention is a media fabrication.Albert Belle, who feeds on fan disapproval, receives his fill.And Mike Mussina (12-4) can make a 38-51 team resemble its $84 million pay scale. Not only does he suffocate opponents, he has the power to make his offense an unstoppable force.

At Fenway Park, BostonDay .....................Time ..............TV ...................................StartersTonight................7: 05 ...........HTS .................Mike Mussina (16-7, 3.74) vs......................................... .................................Bret Saberhagen (10-5, 3.11)Tomorrow ............1: 15 .........Ch. 45 ...............Doug Linton (1-2, 5.74) vs......................................... .................................Ramon Martinez (0-1, 7.04)Sunday .....

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Just as second baseman Delino DeShields insisted last week that getting acquainted with a new shortstop would be fairly routine this spring, Mike Bordick said he's had no problem gelling with DeShields."

At Veterans Stadium, PhiladelphiaDay Time TV StartersTonight 7: 35 13, 50 Juan Guzman (4-6, 4.39) vs. Curt Schilling (12-4, 3.20)Tomorrow 7: 05 13, 50 Mike Mussina (10-4, 3.61) vs. Paul Byrd (11-4, 3.72)Sunday 1: 35 13, 50 Scott Erickson (3-8, 6.34) vs. Chad Ogea (4-8, 5.29)Radio: All games on WBAL (1090 AM) and WTOP (1500 AM)Phillies updateThe Phillies are 6-3 in interleague games. More important, they are only 6 1/2 games out of the NL East lead, and only 1 1/2 behind the second-place New York Mets.

At Oakland (Calif.) ColiseumDay Time TV StartersTonight 10: 35 54, 50 Mike Mussina (7-1, 4.45) vs.Tom Candiotti (2-5, 6.90)Tomorrow 9: 15 54, 50 Jason Johnson (0-1, 7.50)vs. Gil Heredia (3-4, 5.56)Sunday 4: 05 HTS Scott Erickson (1-6, 6.02) vs.Mike Oquist (5-3, 4.31)Radio: All games on WBAL (1090 AM) and WTOP (1500 AM)Athletics updateThe Athletics are involved in a three-team scramble for second place in the American League West, having rebounded from a recent six-game losing streak by sweeping the Royals in a three-game series that concluded with yesterday's 6-1 victory.

Jazz beats Pacers for 12th win in row nba Mehmet Okur scored 24 points and the Utah Jazz beat the host Indiana Pacers, 112-100, last night for its 12th straight victory. Paul Millsap finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, Ronnie Brewer scored 18 points and Deron Williams had 12 assists for the Jazz (41-23), which moved closer to the franchise record of 15 consecutive victories. Troy Murphy hit seven three-pointers and scored 23 for Indiana (28-38). Other results: : Tim Duncan had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and the host Spurs (43-20)

Mike Mussina won't get to decide whether his cap on a Hall of Fame plaque features a bird or the "NY" logo that can make Baltimore fans want to flip the bird. That call is up to the poohbahs of Cooperstown. But listen up, you guys, it should be an Oriole. Mike Mussina became Mike Mussina in Baltimore. Let's run some numbers: He spent 10 of his 18 major league seasons here. He recorded 147 of his 270 victories and 1,535 of his 2,813 strikeouts as an Oriole. All but eight of his 23 career shutouts came in orange and black.

Mike Mussina will finish the season stuck on 19 wins for the third time in his career. Some might believe Mussina is karmically destined to fall just short of pitching greatness. He has not won 20, thrown a no-hitter, pitched for a world champion or picked up a Cy Young Award. But I don't think the former Oriole is cursed. It's just hard to win three times in four starts, especially when two of his likely opponents - the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox - are playoff contenders fighting for position.

He has four starts left and little room for error, but when Mike Mussina walks off the mound for the final time this season, it will be as a 20-game winner, a career first. Mussina needs three wins to reach that plateau and to notch 270 victories in his career. Nice symmetry. Twice - both times with the Orioles - he flirted with 20, only to fall one win short. Three times he won 18. He has paid his dues, and the stars are aligned. In his past two games, he beat the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox, so it's obvious he isn't running on fumes.

Baseball Yankees @Orioles 7 p.m. [MASN]: The Orioles bring back pitcher Radhames Liz from the exile of Triple-A Norfolk to go against the Yankees and Mike Mussina, who is working on a 16-7 record.

A recap of the Orioles' 11-6 win over the Red Sox last night: It takes three The Orioles trailed 4-0 heading into the bottom of the second, and it appeared that a three-game sweep was inevitable. But they scored three times in the inning, four more in the fourth and three more in the fifth. Ramon Hernandez landed the big blow in the third with a three-run homer off David Aardsma. Melvin Mora did the honors in the fourth, depositing a pitch by Javier Lopez into the left-field seats for a three-run shot of his own. Remember him?

NEW YORK - Mike Mussina's reincarnation as a soft-tossing right-hander has produced impressive results. He entered last night with 13 wins, one off the American League lead, and had allowed two earned runs or fewer in 13 of his previous 17 outings. It seems that everyone is impressed by the transformation - except his former team. The Orioles knocked around Mussina for the second time this season en route to their best offensive game in nearly two years. They pounded out 17 hits and belted four home runs in a 13-4 rout of the New York Yankees before an announced 54,120 at Yankee Stadium.

Orioles@Yankees 7 p.m., MASN The Orioles, three games above .500, begin a three-game series at Yankee Stadium with Daniel Cabrera (4-1) trying to extend his stretch of strong outings. Former Oriole Mike Mussina (above), who is 6-3 so far, starts for the Yankees.

A recap of the Orioles' 2-1 loss to the Nationals yesterday: Bloody Sunday Perhaps the Orioles need to come up with a different routine for their Sunday afternoon games. They are 1-6 on Sundays with six straight losses. The common denominator in those games has been a lack of offense. Yesterday, Nationals rookie left-hander John Lannan held them to one run on four hits over 7 1/3 innings. The previous Sunday, they were shut out by the Kansas City Royals' combination of Brian Bannister and Joakim Soria.

Day ...................... Time ............... TV ......................................... Starters Tonight .............. 7:05............... MASN .................. Mike Mussina (11-10, 4.96) ........................................ ................................................ vs. Jon Leicester (2-3, 6.51) Tomorrow ......... 7:05 ........... MASN ....................... Andy Pettitte (14-9, 3.81) ........................................ ......................................