Rick Sutcliffe

Former Orioles pitcher Rick Sutcliffe had every intention of heading home for the 1992 season, and why not? His roots - and his family - were in the Kansas City area, where he grew up within a short drive of Royals Stadium. He had already accomplished quite a lot during the first 13 years of his major league career, and he figured the time was right to spend the rest of that career sleeping in his own bed after home games. Maybe it's true that life is what happens while you're making other plans, because Sutcliffe's lifeplan changed with one phone call from an old friend and a brief visit to an unfinished stadium in a place he had never heard of called Camden Yards.

Former Orioles pitcher Rick Sutcliffe had every intention of heading home for the 1992 season, and why not? His roots - and his family - were in the Kansas City area, where he grew up within a short drive of Royals Stadium. He had already accomplished quite a lot during the first 13 years of his major league career, and he figured the time was right to spend the rest of that career sleeping in his own bed after home games. Maybe it's true that life is what happens while you're making other plans, because Sutcliffe's lifeplan changed with one phone call from an old friend and a brief visit to an unfinished stadium in a place he had never heard of called Camden Yards.

NEW YORK -- Rick Sutcliffe of the St. Louis Cardinals was suspended for eight games and fined by National League president Leonard Coleman yesterday for throwing at and hitting pitcher Marvin Freeman of the Colorado Rockies in a game July 17.Sutcliffe, who went on the disabled list this week, appealed the suspension and will have a hearing before Coleman.

Athletics: Rickey Henderson got his major-league-leading 42nd steal in the first inning.Indians: Sandy Alomar returned to the lineup after missing seven games with a strained right hamstring. The last Cleveland pitcher to lead the league in ERA was Rick Sutcliffe (2.96) in 1982. Luis Tiant's 1.60 ERA led the AL in 1968. The last game at Jacobs Field that wasn't sold out was against the Tigers, on June 7, 1995.Yankees: In the past six games, New York relievers have allowed only one run in 21 1/3 innings.

BaseballAtlanta Braves -- Optioned P Jeff Parrett (0-2, 6.64 ERA) to Class AAA Richmond. Recalled OF Tommy Gregg from Richmond.Chicago Cubs -- Placed P Rick Sutcliffe (2-4, 6.75) on 15-day DL. Activated P Danny Jackson.Montreal Expos -- Suspended C Nelson Santovenia without pay for failing to report to Class AAA Indianapolis.Oakland Athletics -- Sent P Eric Show (0-0, 16.39) outright to Class AAA Tacoma.Philadelphia Phillies -- Placed IF Randy Ready (.303, 9 RBI) on 15-day DL with strained right side.

The signing of a couple of veteran players has helped push the Orioles' average pay up more than 50 percent, but the team still has one of the lowest player payrolls in the majors.Ranked by average salary, the Orioles are above only the Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros and Montreal Expos. Last year, the Orioles were next to last; the year before, they were last.According to The Associated Press, the Orioles' 25-man roster carries an average pay of $777,526, up 51 percent from $514,599 last year.

Here are the Baltimore Orioles: Middle American, slightly old-fashioned, maybe even a little dull.A dark-haired righthander shows up with a 90-mph fastball and a degree from Stanford. The manager says "gosh" a lot. The superstar shortstop is a spokesman for milk.Enter the pitcher who played Hollywood, survived Cleveland and starred in Chicago in baseball's longest-running daytime soap opera.Oh, and he once lent Bruce Springsteen a half-mil. For two days.His name is Rick Sutcliffe.It's still spring.

Righthander Bob Milacki became the first Orioles player to take the club to an arbitration hearing in 12 years yesterday, but the ruling will not be delivered until today.Milacki and agents Alan and Randy Hendricks presented their case to arbitrator Anthony Sinicropi in an afternoon session at the O'Hare Airport Hyatt Hotel outside Chicago. Club counsel Lon Babby, general manager Roland Hemond and assistant GM Frank Robinson represented the Orioles at the hearing.Sinicropi is expected to announce today whether Milacki will be granted the $1.18 million salary he requested during the arbitration filing process or the $700,000 figure submitted by the club.

With the Orioles' staff ERA hovering around the 5.00 mark, it's only natural to peek around the majors to see what's happening to pitchers who used to wear the black and orange. Through midweek, 10 former Baltimore starters had amassed a 2-11 record with a combined 5.48 ERA for their current clubs.PLAYERS .. .. .. .. .. .. COMMENTSPete Harnisch .. .. .. .. 0-2 with a 10.26 ERA, with four homers. TheLoser .. .. .. .. ... ... Glenn Davis deal still looks bad, though.Jeff Ballard .. .. .. .. Slid after winning 18 for the OriolesWinner .. .. .. .. .. .. in 1989, but has found happiness in.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... Pirates' middle relief.

Athletics: Rickey Henderson got his major-league-leading 42nd steal in the first inning.Indians: Sandy Alomar returned to the lineup after missing seven games with a strained right hamstring. The last Cleveland pitcher to lead the league in ERA was Rick Sutcliffe (2.96) in 1982. Luis Tiant's 1.60 ERA led the AL in 1968. The last game at Jacobs Field that wasn't sold out was against the Tigers, on June 7, 1995.Yankees: In the past six games, New York relievers have allowed only one run in 21 1/3 innings.

NEW YORK -- Rick Sutcliffe of the St. Louis Cardinals was suspended for eight games and fined by National League president Leonard Coleman yesterday for throwing at and hitting pitcher Marvin Freeman of the Colorado Rockies in a game July 17.Sutcliffe, who went on the disabled list this week, appealed the suspension and will have a hearing before Coleman.

Fact: The Ex-Oriole rotation (Pete Harnisch, Curt Schilling, Dennis Martinez, Mike Morgan, Rick Sutcliffe) has combined for a 6-21 record and two stays on the disabled list.Opinion: It would be interesting to see if America stayed inside in the middle of June to watch the Pacers and Jazz in the NBA Finals.Fact: (from the CFL transaction wire): Slotback Rob Crifo was traded from the Rough Riders to the Roughriders. (Ottawa to Saskatchewan.) He said, "In my heart, I'll always be a Rough Rider."

With the Orioles' staff ERA hovering around the 5.00 mark, it's only natural to peek around the majors to see what's happening to pitchers who used to wear the black and orange. Through midweek, 10 former Baltimore starters had amassed a 2-11 record with a combined 5.48 ERA for their current clubs.PLAYERS .. .. .. .. .. .. COMMENTSPete Harnisch .. .. .. .. 0-2 with a 10.26 ERA, with four homers. TheLoser .. .. .. .. ... ... Glenn Davis deal still looks bad, though.Jeff Ballard .. .. .. .. Slid after winning 18 for the OriolesWinner .. .. .. .. .. .. in 1989, but has found happiness in.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... Pirates' middle relief.

By Alan Mills' count, it won't take much to drop his ERA below its current stratospheric 18.00."All I need to get it down to 2.00 is 32 innings without a run. I can do that," said Mills. "If I get just five, I cut it in half."It's not as if Mills and the other five relievers who make up the Baltimore bullpen won't get the work necessary to lower their ERAs.Orioles manager Johnny Oates said he intends to keep the starting pitchers more closely to a pitch count than he has in the past.Oates so far has shown no hesitation in going to his relievers early and often.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Mike Mussina's spring stayed on the bittersweet side yesterday, when Orioles manager Johnny Oates announced he will be the Opening Day starter April 4 at Camden Yards against the Kansas City Royals."

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Ben McDonald still takes his morning runs at spring training, sometimes with Arthur Rhodes, sometimes by himself. "I'm trying to keep the tradition," McDonald said yesterday. "It worked the last few years. Why quit now?"The tradition started with Rick Sutcliffe -- once around the fields at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota, or the lake at Miller-Huggins Complex in St. Petersburg. But this spring, McDonald's lonely jogs symbolize a new era for the Orioles' young pitchers.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Manager Johnny Oates has been impressed with the way that designated hitter Harold Baines has been swinging the bat during the first few days of spring workouts, but he isn't surprised."

The idea of giving Rick Sutcliffe extra starts down the stretch seemed to be a pretty good one at the time for a couple of reasons.Sutcliffe is the only Orioles starter to have done that in a pennant race and, with a little luck, he might have been able to reach 20 wins.But now the numbers, and perhaps the calendar, suggest that the grand experiment of working Sutcliffe on just three days' rest, as opposed to the normal four, may go by the wayside, along with the Orioles' flagging pennant hopes.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- It was too soon for nostalgia and too late for second thoughts, so Rick Sutcliffe took the mound yesterday and tried to treat the Orioles like any other opponent. He just couldn't do it.He's trying to win a place in the St. Louis Cardinals' starting rotation, but it took him awhile to get comfortable with the idea of pitching against a team that he fully expected to play for this season."I'd rather not," he said. "When you want to come inside, it's tough to have your friends standing there.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Concern and worry are words that Johnny Oates likes to keep out of his baseball vocabulary. So don't expect the Orioles manager to use either as he assesses his team for the 1994 season.Those words are reserved for life's more pressing issues, not for a kids game played by adults.However, Oates readily admits there's one area involving the Orioles that draws his attention. It's the one that will be spotlighted throughout spring training, which starts today when 26 pitchers and catchers have their first workout.