Mike Timlin

Orioles professional scouts received a memorandum last week reminding them to go beyond what they see, trust their instincts and base much of their read on intangibles. Without even answering, the club may have given its response to the John Rocker question: Namely, would a franchise dealing with the game's most inconsistent bullpen contemplate the addition of one of the game's most inconsistent, spurned personalities? Rocker is spending his weekend in Ohio trying to rediscover the form that made him the National League's most effective left-handed closer in 1999.

The Orioles found heroes in different places last night to rescue them from themselves. Rather than mourn another blown ninth-inning lead, third baseman Cal Ripken delivered a 4-2 win over the Seattle Mariners with a one-out, two-run homer off former teammate Jose Mesa. What might have become an ugly scene in front of 37,747 at Camden Yards instead became the Orioles' third win in 18 games as Ripken's homer erased a blown 2-0 lead by Mike Timlin (1-1) in the top half of the inning. It also helped celebrate eight shutout innings by starter Pat Rapp and newfound middle reliever Jason Johnson.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Orioles right-hander Mike Timlin took the mound Tuesday night and threw the ball as if there were no tomorrow, then insisted that the better course of action would be to act as if there were no yesterdays. The veteran closer retired the Anaheim Angels in order in the ninth inning to protect a one-run lead and help end a seven-game losing streak in the opener of a two-game series at Edison International Field. The 4-3 victory didn't wipe away all the frustration of an extended bullpen breakdown, but it allowed Timlin and his beleaguered fellow relievers - for one night, at least - to look forward instead of back.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- He is a classic turn-of-the-century Oriole, an aging veteran who has enjoyed a distinguished career but longs to accomplish more. Remember Will Clark in 1989? He was one of the top five players in the game. And his performance in the National League Championship Series was one of the greatest in postseason history. Clark, then with the San Francisco Giants, went 13-for-20 against the Chicago Cubs, driving in six runs against a young Greg Maddux in Game 1, then delivering a bases-loaded, series-clinching single off Mitch Williams in Game 5. It was Clark's third full season.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A near-perfect start suffered its first troubling blemish last night. The Orioles lost a game in 12 innings to the Kansas City Royals that they should have won in nine while manager Mike Hargrove attempted to make sense out of a shuffled bullpen. Four outs away from their sixth consecutive win, the 5-2 Orioles were undone when middle reliever Al Reyes surrendered a three-run homer to third baseman Joe Randa in the bottom of the eighth. The Orioles were beaten four innings later, 7-5, on Brian Johnson's one-out, two-run homer off Tim Worrell.

When Mike Trombley decided to sign with the Orioles in November, it wasn't with the incentive of becoming the team's closer. He planned on being a bridge to the ninth-inning specialist, never suspecting that the bullpen would be under construction a week into the season. A slight tear in Mike Timlin's abdominal muscle forced him to the disabled list April 2 and Trombley into a different role. If there's a slim lead to be protected in the ninth inning, perhaps tonight when the Orioles begin a three-game series in Kansas City, Trombley most likely will be the one standing guard.

Gabe Molina has been here before. In the Camden Yards clubhouse, and as an abrupt call-up from the minors. It has gotten to be old hat for a pitcher who doesn't turn 25 until next month. The Orioles recalled Molina from Triple-A Rochester yesterday as the corresponding move to closer Mike Timlin's placement on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 2, with a torn abdominal muscle. Molina pitched the ninth inning last night and allowed three hits, including a three-run homer to Wendell Magee, and walked one in the Orioles' 14-10 win over the Detroit Tigers.

Highlights and lowlights from the Orioles' 6-4 victory over a Cincinnati Reds split squad in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: UP - Calvin Maduro: Two scoreless innings and the early lead in the race for the fifth starter's job. UP - Mike Timlin: Every bit as effective as Maduro in same number of innings. UP - Harold Baines: Homers on the first pitch thrown to him this spring. DOWN - Buddy Groom: Gets roughed up in his debut. UP - Jeff Conine: His two-run single gives Orioles the lead for good.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- It was a hallmark of Mike Timlin's agony early last season, when hitters were torching him, saves were slipping away and fans at Camden Yards were howling for his head. Every day, regardless of how he pitched, the Orioles' closer stood by his locker, looked reporters in the eye and answered every question in a firm voice. Even the ugly questions. The ones that made him want to scream. "That's just the way I'm wired," Timlin said yesterday, after the Orioles' workout at Fort Lauderdale Stadium.

Orioles Manager: Mike Hargrove 1999 record: 78-84, fourth place No. 1: Will a renovated bullpen -- and scrutinized closer Mike Timlin -- respond to more careful handling? No. 2: Mike Mussina, Mike Bordick, Charles Johnson and Cal Ripken are pending free agents. Will majority owner Peter Angelos switch to a proactive negotiating tack? No. 3: Can nonroster arm Pat Rapp emerge as fifth starter and vanquish the ghosts of Shawn Boskie, Rocky Coppinger, Doug Drabek and Scott Kamieniecki?