Phil Regan

It's a different direction for the Baltimore Orioles because for the first time in more than a quarter century they'll be directed by a man who wasn't schooled in their farm system as a player or manager. This is good. It offers a different dimension to the same old way of doing things. Instead, there's going to be a fresh approach.Obviously, the Orioles didn't let sportswriters make the decision of Dave Johnson, who was the pre-selection favorite and the people's choice. Recycling the "old boys school" also takes a beating.

The Ripken countdown 56: Total games remaining 27: Home games remaining Highlight: Ripken played for six managers during his streak: Earl Weaver, Joe Alto belli, Cal Ripken Sr., Frank Robinson, Johnny Oates and Phil Regan. SCHEDULE Tue...........Wed.............Thu....... ......Fri............Sat...............Sun................Mon. 31.................1..................2. ...............3................4....................5......................6 Tam............Tam...........

ARLINGTON, Texas -- They kept paging Phil Regan at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport yesterday morning, but no one responded.An American Airlines flight arrived from Baltimore at 10:20 CDT.A television crew from Dallas filmed passengers coming off the plane, but Regan was nowhere to be found."

He came here 14 years ago as a young starter with a live arm and a world of promise. As half of the compensation in the deal that sent Mike Flanagan to a pennant-contending Toronto team, Jose Mesa was 21 years old and ticketed to become a stalwart in a rebuilding Orioles' rotation. It never happened. "When I first came up, I was throwing real hard and trying to throw it by everybody," said the Philadelphia Phillies' closer. "I didn't know how to pitch." Plagued by the inconsistency of youth, Mesa suffered a double whammy when his right elbow broke down.

It won't take Phil Regan as long to name a coaching staff as it took the Orioles to select a manager. And the first new name to surface will be a familiar one.Mike Flanagan, who wore an Orioles uniform for all but three of his 18 major-league seasons, will be the new pitching coach, with the announcement expected today. It also is expected that bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks will return for his 27th year with the Orioles, the last 18 as a coach.Shortly after being introduced as Johnny Oates' successor at a mid-afternoon news conference yesterday at Oriole Park, Regan said he'd have his coaching staff "in line within the next week."

The Orioles performed a wide-ranging managerial search before turning the club over to new manager Phil Regan yesterday, which left a long list of candidates to look for reasons they didn't get the job.Cincinnati manager Davey Johnson was considered the favorite in the nine-man field, but may end up returning to manage the Reds."

Orioles owner Peter Angelos didn't so much choose Phil Regan to manage his club as rubber-stamp a decision made by his hand-picked selection committee.That's how Angelos, who didn't appear at yesterday's Orioles news conference announcing Regan's hiring, described his role in choosing the manager."The committee selected him. I fully endorsed their recommendation and fully support their conclusion," Angelos said yesterday from his Baltimore home."That is a very formidable group. And contrary to what others have said, I am a delegator to groups or individuals in whom I have complete faith."

Johnny Oates became the leading candidate to manage the Texas Rangers when Phil Regan dropped out of the running to become the Orioles' manager yesterday.Regan was given a two-year contract by the Orioles plus a club option for the third season to replace Oates, who was fired at the end of the season.Regan had been scheduled for an interview with the Rangers yesterday but canceled his flight when he received the Orioles' offer.Oates remains the only candidate to have interviewed with the Rangers since Kevin Kennedy was fired Wednesday, and general manager Doug Melvin said Oates was a strong candidate, saying: "We had a good interview."

New Orioles manager Phil Regan has solid baseball credentials. He was a quality player, he has managed many years in the winter leagues and he was considered one of the premier pitching coaches when he was plucked from the Cleveland Indians organization yesterday.But to the players he inherits on the Orioles roster, he is largely an unknown quantity."I guess that's good," first baseman Rafael Palmeiro said when he learned the identity of his new boss, "but I don't really know that much about him. I didn't really know he was out there until people started to bring up his name."

Maybe it takes one to know one.Orioles manager Phil Regan says Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Ricky Bones is a cheater? Well, you should have heard what umpires and opposing teams were saying about Regan 27 years ago.They did not accuse him of throwing scuffed baseballs, as Regan did with Bones after Monday's home opener, but many said spitballs and greaseballs revitalized Regan's pitching career.Regan said his reputation helped him go after Bones."I figure they gave me all that grief for all those years -- I might as well give it to somebody else," Regan said before yesterday's game.

SYDNEY, Australia - He has marched in the opening ceremonies, lived among athletes from around the world in the Olympic Village, signed autographs for Australian fans - done everything he was supposed to do as an Olympic athlete except the one thing he was brought here to do: Pitch. "It's been a little crazy, just sitting and watching," Rick Krivda said yesterday. Twenty-three of the 24 players on the surprising U.S. Olympic baseball team have gotten into at least one of the team's first four games, all of which the Americans have won to take charge of the competition's round-robin phase.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- In his second incarnation as Orioles pitching coach, Mike Flanagan has found peace, contentment and a chance to be a real pitching coach.That much is apparent even in the early stages of spring training. Manager Ray Miller, the second former pitching coach to hire Flanagan in the past four years, may turn out to be a hands-on manager, but he has made it clear that he wants to see Flanagan's fingerprints on the pitching staff."I had to find out if he was willing to come down out of the [broadcast]

Don't mess with JohnsonI have been a die-hard Orioles fan for 36 years. I am now at the crossroads as to whether I should stay an Orioles fan. Since Peter Angelos became owner, he has done an excellent job of putting a winning team on the field. Angelos, Pat Gillick and Kevin Malone should be commended for their work.However, once again it is October and the Orioles are not in the World Series. Though I am disappointed, I am not going to jump out my office window. We have a good team with a great manager.

Well, Davey Johnson is no dummy.He thinks he'll get fired if the Orioles don't make it to the World Series, and he's absolutely right.Johnson nearly got fired last season when the Orioles didn't make it to the World Series. The New York Mets fired him. The Cincinnati Reds fired him. And Orioles owner Peter Angelos probably is just waiting for his chance.Knowing all that, why would Johnson even entertain a question regarding his job security at this critical point of the season? And why would he give Angelos such a blatant opening?

Baseball's rumor mill is thick with trade talk. Some of the deals being discussed as Wednesday's midnight deadline approaches: San Diego is talking with Pittsburgh about a possible blockbuster -- the Pirates would send outfielder Orlando Merced and shortstop Jay Bell to the Padres for left fielder Rickey Henderson, pitchers Bryce Florie, Scott Sanders and a minor-leaguer.San Diego general manager Kevin Towers used to be the scouting director for Pittsburgh, and knows the Pirates players firsthand, always a factor when trades are considered.

No one needs to tell any Orioles fan that the team has been enigmatic and inconsistent through the first half of the season. You only have to watch them stumble against the strong and whip up on the weak, usually during the same week, to know that this team has troubles.Or does it? Seems that some of our national baseball broadcasters are just as perplexed by the Orioles as anyone in Baltimore.For the cantankerous pre-game show gang at Fox, the Orioles' problems start with what they perceive as a contrary clubhouse that has been unwilling to deal with managers, starting with Johnny Oates, continuing with Phil Regan and extending to Davey Johnson.

The Orioles have taken a risk by turning down Davey Johnson and making Phil Regan, a 57-year-old rookie, their new manager. But the risk is worth taking.Regan is a wise, dignified baseball man who could well become a first-rate manager, particularly if Peter Angelos is smart enough to leave him alone.Turning down Johnson is the risk, of course. Johnson is a proven commodity who has managed a World Series winner, and he would have come from Cincinnati if the Orioles had wanted him. They didn't because he is strong-willed and egocentric and asked a lot of questions in his interview.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- In his second incarnation as Orioles pitching coach, Mike Flanagan has found peace, contentment and a chance to be a real pitching coach.That much is apparent even in the early stages of spring training. Manager Ray Miller, the second former pitching coach to hire Flanagan in the past four years, may turn out to be a hands-on manager, but he has made it clear that he wants to see Flanagan's fingerprints on the pitching staff."I had to find out if he was willing to come down out of the [broadcast]

Brad Pennington's Boston Red Sox teammates were waiting for him yesterday afternoon, waiting to needle the former Oriole about his first outing against his old team."

There are a lot of officially licensed items with "2131" on them in collections across the country.But the real "2131," the large numerals that hung from the B&O warehouse during Cal Ripken's pursuit of Lou Gehrig's consecutive-games record last summer, have found a home at the Babe Ruth Museum. The banners are part of an exhibit on Ripken's streak that opened Friday.Also on display are Orioles manager Phil Regan's lineup card, the pitching rubber and second base from the record-breaking game Sept.