Relief Pitcher

AS ANY PARENT of a Little League player knows, there's nothing more stressful in life than watching your kid pitch. Here's an idea I have advocated for years: At every game, there should be a little bar set up on the sidelines expressly for the parents of the kid who's pitching. As soon as your kid takes the mound, you'd be allowed to sit at the bar and order a drink. And this drink would be on the house. Beer, wine, mixed drinks, blender drinks, whatever you want. (Actually, I haven't worked out the details of how the money for all this booze would be raised.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- John Rocker reported to the Atlanta Braves spring training facility yesterday and attempted to cool the lingering controversy that has enveloped him since his mean-spirited diatribe against homosexuals, immigrants and minorities hit the pages of Sports Illustrated more than two months ago. The embattled relief pitcher arrived less than a day after arbitrator Shyam Das overturned the spring training ban imposed by baseball commissioner...

Hot-stove baseball's fires are burning in January with the latest issue of Baseball America. The publication's college baseball preview showcases Severna Park's Mark Teixeira.Teixeira, who played at Mount St. Joseph and was The Sun's Metro Player of the Year last spring, setting state career records for homers (29) and RBIs (108), is a freshman third baseman at Georgia Tech. He is the subject of a feature article in Baseball America.Ranked No. 9 in the publication's preseason Top 20, the Yellow Jackets and coach Danny Hall are expecting big things from Teixeira, a ninth-round draft choice of the Boston Red Sox in June.

The Orioles and the San Francisco Giants appear to be close to a trade that would exchange veteran outfielder Joe Carter for a right-handed relief pitcher -- either Julian Tavarez or Jose Mesa, a former Oriole who was dealt to the Giants last night by the Cleveland Indians.Tavarez, 25, is on the disabled list with a strained lateral muscle beneath his right arm. He is scheduled to be activated Monday when the Orioles travel to Cooperstown, N.Y., to play in the Hall of Fame Game. Tavarez is 3-3 with a 2.71 ERA in 63 innings in 39 games.

Orioles reliever Terry Mathews had his inflamed right wrist checked again by team orthopedist Dr. Michael Jacobs yesterday and was given permission to begin playing catch today -- the first measured step toward a return to the club.Mathews is eligible to come off the disabled list tomorrow but won't be ready for a while. He has been treating the wrist with rest and medication, and also has been doing some bending exercises with trainer Richie Bancells to test its strength. He was told by Jacobs to have the wrist taped before throwing to limit its movement.

Orioles center fielder Brady Anderson and closer Randy Myers beat the rush yesterday as both filed for free agency on the first possible day.It didn't take much longer for the cordial relationship between Anderson and the club to assume a sharper edge. Anderson's agent, Jeff Borris, insisted that by failing to sign his client to a contract extension during the season, the Orioles have imperiled their chances at retaining the popular outfielder.Retaining Anderson and Myers represents the off-season priority for an organization hoping to make an even stronger push for a world championship in 1998.

Embarrassment on 33rd StreetLast Sunday's Ravens game was something right out of "West Side Story." The Pittsburgh Gang invaded our turf and we surrendered it. We let ourselves get beat up by the bully next door. I'm not talking about the Ravens; I'm talking about Ravens fans.There I am, sitting in Section 1, Seat 1 with my season tickets trying to root for my team. Unfortunately, the majority of the season-ticket holders that sit near me decided to make a buck. They sold their tickets to Steelers fans who were only too happy to torment me and other Ravens fans all afternoon.

The cards and letters keep coming, along with balloons, flowers and repeated assurances that Saturday night's humiliation was nothing personal.Orioles reliever Terry Mathews said the amount of mail he normally receives has quadrupled since the sound of booing fans reverberated through Camden Yards upon his entrance into Game 3 of the Division Series, then again after he surrendered back-to-back home runs in a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners.Mathews was so upset that he showered, dressed and left the clubhouse before the media had been allowed in, fearful of what he might say in an emotional state.

ATLANTA -- Mark Lemke was standing by his locker last night when someone noticed the letters MV stitched into the front of his cap."Are you going to add a P to that," the Atlanta Braves' shortstop was asked."

Arthur Rhodes was coming in from the outfield during batting practice last night at Camden Yards when he crossed paths with Cecil Fielder.Fielder, the Tigers' immense first baseman, stopped and shook hands with Rhodes, who had struck him out in the eighth inning the night before."