Right Field

The Orioles announced their plans to renovate Camden Yards for the stadium's 20th anniversary this upcoming season and, as I am sure you all know by now, that includes six bronze statues of the club's current Hall of Famers. I've been lucky enough to visit nearly every Major League Baseball stadium. And Camden Yards, 20 years in, is still one of the best if not the best (I love the parks in San Francisco and Pittsburgh, too). Having the statues - of Frank and Brooks Robinson, Earl Weaver, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken Jr. - will make Camden Yards even cooler.

While the first day of round-robin play at the Cal Ripken 12-and-under World Series had its share of highlights yesterday, the buzz around the Ripken Youth Baseball Academy and Cal Sr.'s Yard was the performance in the Home Run Derby the night before by Carlos Munoz of Mexico. Munoz, a 12-year old left-handed hitter whose team will play against the Dominican Republic today at noon, put on a show, hitting 18 homers before making 10 outs. Munoz became the first player in any competition the past two years to hit the Courtyard by Marriott hotel behind the right-field fence - called the warehouse - at Cal Sr.'s Yard, a mini-replica of Camden Yards.

It's not an issue now because Jay Gibbons' balky right knee has left him unable to play the outfield. But some time this offseason, the Orioles are going to have to decide what position Gibbons is going to play in 2007. Nick Markakis moved from left to right field when Gibbons went down with an injury, strengthening the Orioles' outfield defense. At this point, club officials are unlikely to move him. That leaves Gibbons' status uncertain heading into next year. Gibbons said that he would play first base, a position he has played sparingly as an Oriole, but he isn't thrilled with the idea of being the team's everyday designated hitter.

Plans to renovate the University of Maryland's Byrd Stadium include lowering the field about three inches and installing a temporary bubble for winter workouts, but the first priorities are the suites and seating that are expected to pay for the upgrades, athletic director Debbie Yow said yesterday. The first phase, which also includes an addition to Tyser Tower that will help balance the look of the stadium, includes about 500 visiting suites, 50 to 60 box seats and chair rails for the lower bowl area.

Pity the conservative rock fan. So many musicians are ganging up on the president. Bruce Springsteen is on tour playing protest songs. The Dixie Chicks just put out a new album with a song - "Not Ready to Make Nice" - that finds them standing firm against President Bush. And Mick Jagger released a song last year that called the president a hypocrite. But to prove that there is still some music out there for conservative rockers, National Review has published a list of the 50 greatest conservative rock songs.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Orioles right fielder Jay Gibbons lay on the ground deep in the right-field corner, as fireworks shot out from beyond the center-field wall at Angels Stadium. Vladimir Guerrero's inside-the-park home run had just given the Los Angeles Angels a two-run eighth-inning lead, but the scene in right field made the score almost an afterthought. After a clearly hobbled Gibbons overthrew the cutoff man, he dropped to the ground. O's@Angels Tonight, 10:05, Ch. 54, 1090 AM Starters: Orioles' Erik Bedard (5-3, 5.08)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- On Sammy Sosa's checklist of first-time accomplishments with the Orioles, he can cross off "getting ejected from a game." Sosa stood in right field with a 2-0 count on Washington's Brad Wilkerson when second base umpire C.B. Bucknor tossed him. Sosa had argued a called third strike that ended the bottom of the first, remaining in the batter's box to debate plate umpire Joe West, but he said the ejection was a separate issue....

In the span of about 20 minutes yesterday, Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli made changes to his posted lineup that put two regulars on the bench and a Rule 5 draft pick in right field for his first major league start. A bottle of white-out was more valuable to Mazzilli than a pitching chart. Jay Gibbons was scratched because of a mild back strain, and David Segui took a seat next to him because of sore knees. B.J. Surhoff went from being a reserve to replacing Gibbons in right field to serving as the designated hitter, and his two-run double gave the Orioles a 4-0 lead in the third inning.

Players may consider the Camden Yards field their domain, but they're only borrowing it from Dave Nahila. The new head groundskeeper spends hours each day fussing over every inch of the 100,000-square-foot surface - left field to right, backstop to warning track - looking for imperfections in turf and soil. He and his staff have surveyed, fertilized, seeded, aerated, lined and raked the field to a fare-thee-well. They have ripped down the ragged ivy in center field and even cleaned behind the massive green pads that protect leaping outfielders from harm.

Outfielder Brian Jordan and the Texas Rangers agreed yesterday to a one-year contract that guarantees him $1,375,000. The former All-Star from Milford Mill hit .299 with six homers and 28 RBIs in 66 games last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers before surgery July 11 for tendinitis in his left knee. He is expected to be at full strength when spring training starts. "Last year, the surgery was a tough decision, but I had to make a decision based on my career," he said. "It was a decision to get healthy, and start over with a new team at 100 percent."