Philadelphia Phillies

PHILADELPHIA -- Splitting time between an intermediate level crossword and a request for introspection, B. J. Surhoff handles both with ease. Approached for the turning point of a season that has been nothing short of remarkable, the Orioles left fielder ponders only briefly.If the reply were a crossword, he would answer in ink.Surhoff remembers May 29. A Saturday afternoon in Oakland when he did not start because of an 0-for-12 slump and the presence of starter Gil Heredia.A lifetime ago -- or, say, just last season -- Surhoff would've plopped heavily on the bench, grinding his teeth, perhaps obsessing over his recent string of failed at-bats and wondering how he could reverse a three-day slump sitting beside the water cooler.

Baseball history is filled with the slightly tarnished images of players who stayed too long at the party. No one wants to remember Babe Ruth as a bloated Boston Brave or Willie Mays as a miserably miscast New York Met, but there is no easy answer to one of the age-old questions of professional sport:When is the right time to say goodbye?NBA legend Michael Jordan went out on top -- twice. Quarterback John Elway announced his NFL retirement after winning back-to-back Super Bowls. NHL hero Wayne Gretzky decided that he would rather leave too early than stay too late.

Orioles closer Randy Myers finally arrived at his date with baseball history last night. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning to secure a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies and became the ninth pitcher in major-league history to accumulate 300 saves.2A look at Rafael Palmeiro's game last night:The goodHis home run in the seventh inning broke a 15-game, 16-day homerless stretch. How Palmeiro has fared month-by-month this season:Month .. HR .. RBIsApril ... 5 .. . 20May .. .. 5 .. . 17June . .. 3 .. . 13and the badPalmeiro's three errors were a career high.

BaseballAtlanta Braves -- Extended the contract of manager Bobby Cox two years through the 1997 season.Boston Red Sox -- Activated OF Mike Greenwell from 15-day DL. Optioned P Brian Bark (Randallstown) to Triple-A Pawtucket.California Angels -- Waived IF Carlos Martinez for purpose of giving him his unconditional release.Chicago Cubs -- Activated P Anthony Young from 15-day DL. Purchased contract of C Joe Kmak from Triple-A Iowa. Optioned C Todd Pratt to Iowa. Designated P Mike Walker for assignment.

Whoever it was who said "Into each life some rain must fall" must have worked for a newspaper on its last legs . . . or meant it as a prayer for a region like ours that could use about a four-day dousing to begin an hour ago.As we muse for one of the last times (promise) about this section, it's time to drag out our notebook of lists, bests and worsts, lows and highs, the pitiable and pitiful and some good old-fashioned name-dropping.Among the top three smartest moves I ever made was coming here to The Evening Sun. And memorable was that first day, a Monday in mid-October, 1965.

The Sun's national baseball writer, Peter Schmuck, ranks the major leagues' 28 teams.Rank, Team, Previous Rank, CommentRF 1. Cleveland Indians -- 1 -- Title drive now is on cruise control.2. Atlanta Braves -- 2 -- With Phillies out of the way, can Braves be stopped?3. Cincinnati Reds -- 3 -- Still sailing despite problems at first base.4. Colorado Rockies -- 8 -- Mountain men may be peaking.5. Boston Red Sox -- 4 -- Wakefield (7-1) still making everyone knuckle under.6. Texas Rangers -- 13 -- Could be ready to ride herd on AL West.

BaseballPhiladelphia Phillies -- Signed OF John Gibbons and C Joe Cipolloni to replacement contracts.CollegeRose-Hulman -- Announced that men's basketball coach Jim Shaw will return for the 1995-96 season.HockeyPhiladelphia Flyers -- Called up D Karl Dykhuis from AHL Hershey.San Jose Sharks -- Assigned LW Andrei Nazarov to IHL Kansas City.

The Sun's national baseball writer, Peter Schmuck, ranks the major leagues' 28 teams.1. Cleveland Indians -- 3 -- Hitting anything that moves, and have .314 team batting average to prove it.2. New York Yankees -- 2 -- Wetteland blows first save Wednesday. Yanks still win. Bad sign for other AL East contenders.3. Philadelphia Phillies -- 14 -- Surprising Phils suddenly are strong-arming NL East.4. Atlanta Braves -- 1-- Just keep that funny-looking Olympic mascot out of sight and everything will be fine.

The Sun's national baseball writer, Peter Schmuck, ranks the major leagues' 28 teams.Rank, Team, Previous rank, Comment.1. Cleveland Indians -- 1 -- Red Sox just got a taste of what it might be like in playoffs.2. Philadelphia Phillies -- 4 -- Van Slyke finally getting another chance to play on a winner.3. Atlanta Braves -- 8 -- May be ready to run down the Phillies.4. Cincinnati Reds -- 2 -- The rest of the NL Central is looking a little dog-eared.5. Boston Red Sox -- 3 -- Tried to come back to the pack.

BaseballBoston Red Sox -- Traded OF Mark Whiten to the Philadelphia Phillies for IF Dave Hollins. Activated P Vaughn Eshelman from the 15-day DL.California Angels -- Signed 2B Jose Lind to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Vancouver.Cincinnati Reds -- Activated IF Brian Hunter from the DL. Placed C Damon Berryhill on the 15-day DL.Kansas City Royals -- Acquired former Orioles P Gregg Olson from the Cleveland Indians and assigned him to Triple-A Omaha.Minnesota Twins -- Signed OF Van Snider from the Mexican League and assigned him to Triple-A Salt Lake City.

PHILADELPHIA - -Over three days at Citizens Bank Park, Orioles manager Dave Trembley listened to loud cheers and resounding boos directed at the Philadelphia Phillies, who just eight months ago captured a World Series championship. When pinch hitter John Mayberry's bid to tie the game off George Sherrill died in front of the left-field warning track to secure the Orioles' 2-1 victory Sunday, Trembley heard something else from an announced 45,256 - stunned silence. "It was real quiet here after the final out," Trembley said, a wide smile stretching across his face.

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard offered a warning to the Tampa Bay Rays earlier in the day that his bat was warming up. Joe Blanton, however, kept his emerging power stroke a secret before last night's World Series Game 4. Using two homers by Howard, the National League's most prodigious basher, one by Blanton, the starting pitcher who had never gone deep in his big league career, and one by former Orioles farmhand Jayson Werth,...

GLEN ROCK, PA. - When Bob Bogart married in 1989, his streak was in its infancy, about 500 games. His new bride couldn't have known it would keep going, that it would last 19 more years and counting, that it would be acknowledged by his heroes. Still, Lauri Bogart said she wasn't blindsided. "It's pretty obvious when you are around him," she said. "You know there is something else on his mind all the time, even in the offseason. "And all these people keep giving him attention for being nuts.

The Philadelphia Phillies are playing for the National League pennant even though in the opening playoff series, they really didn't do what they're supposed to do best - hit. They dispatched the Milwaukee Brewers in four games, scoring just under four runs a game, more than a full run below their season average. And their two most dangerous hitters, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, went a combined 4-for-26 with three RBIs. So, for starters, is it likely that Howard and Utley will stay this quiet?

It's hard to imagine this fall being better scripted for TV executives and Major League Baseball. Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Boston are all involved as baseball kicks off its postseason with three games today. New York teams failed to join the high-powered mix, but it was the Milwaukee Brewers, a pretty good story and baseball commissioner Bud Selig's hometown club, that ruined things for the Mets last weekend. So MLB can't be too upset with that. Besides, there are plenty of story lines worth following.

1 Big Game in Big D: With no Ravens game to watch, guess you have to watch the other game tonight, between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, two teams that don't like each other very much (8:30, ESPN). 2 Coachspeak: John Harbaugh (left) greets the media while his players enjoy their three-day bye week. Go to baltimoresun.com/ ravens for coverage of his news conference. 3 Playoff baseball: OK, not quite, but the New York Mets, who are trying to hold off the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East, face the Washington Nationals in D.C. (7 p.m., MASN)

Six weeks ago, during the 25th anniversary celebration of the Orioles' last world championship, Todd Cruz stood on the field at Camden Yards and reveled in the moment. "Being with these guys here is like being a little kid . . . getting ready for Christmas," said Cruz, who played third base on the 1983 title team. "I love them all, and I'll be an Oriole for the rest of my life." Cruz, 52, died Tuesday while swimming in the pool at his apartment complex in Bullhead City, Ariz. The coroner's office is conducting tests to determine the cause of death.

The Orioles continue interleague play by going on the road starting Friday for nine straight games in National League ballparks in Milwaukee, Chicago and Washington -- which brings up the prospect of Orioles pitchers performing the unfamiliar roles of batters and base runners. Fans might chuckle over Daniel Cabrera's perfectly imperfect career batting statistics of nine at-bats and nine strikeouts, but the recent experiences of American League East foes New York and Boston give sobering pause.

The Cincinnati Reds claimed former Orioles outfielder Jeff Fiorentino off waivers. The Orioles designated Fiorentino for assignment this week to make room on the 40-man roster for outfielder Chris Roberson, who was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies for cash considerations. Fiorentino, drafted in the third round in 2004, batted .282 with 15 homers and 65 RBIs at Double-A Bowie last season. He hit .253 with one homer in 32 games with the Orioles during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

The city that W. C. Fields would have preferred to live in if the only alternative was the grave is about to reach a milestone unprecedented in the annals of sport. Sometime in early July - or possibly even late June, if they revert to prior swooning form - the Philadelphia Phillies will lose their 44th game of the season, and the 10,000th in their history. No professional team, in any sport, has been there before. Philadelphians, a notoriously but maybe understandably vituperative bunch, are readying to mark the occasion.