Starting Pitcher

CLEVELAND -- In a game the Orioles frequently led but never controlled, it took Roberto Alomar only four plate appearances to remind his former team of his worth.The former Orioles second baseman capped a night of quick comebacks by his new team with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly that broke a tie and sent the Cleveland Indians toward a 6-4 win before 40,615 at Jacobs Field. Alomar insisted before the game there were no hard feelings. So why did the Orioles leave the game bruised?Ask Juan Guzman.

The Orioles' 6-game-old season hit its low point yesterday and resurrected questions about the composition of an already well-worn pitching staff.What started as a possible break-even homestand and a personal landmark for starting pitcher Doug Linton degenerated into a 9-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays pocked by a calamitous five-run seventh inning.A botched rundown play between third base and home plate helped extend an inning that turned a 4-2 lead into an insurmountable 7-4 deficit before an announced paid crowd of 40,273, about half of whom may have made it to Camden Yards.

A mystery starting pitcher. Jeff Conine homering twice and playing third base for the first time in his career. Harold Baines tripling for the first time since before the Clinton re-election campaign. Relief pitcher Ricky Bones scoring the winning run after the Orioles rallied from a four-run deficit.But out of the Orioles' 9-5, 10-inning win over the Chicago White Sox last night at Camden Yards, perhaps nothing was more significant than their putting one win behind another. For the first time in 38 games, the Orioles own a winning streak.

Anaheim AngelsManager: Terry Collins1998 record: 85-77, second placeNo. 1: The Angels must assemble a capable -- and durable -- starting rotation. Tim Belcher is the only significant addition.No. 2: Club tries to tap great outfield depth to get a front-line starting pitcher by Opening Day.No. 3: Will the presence of Mo Vaughn create a more dynamic team chemistry?No. 4: Is promising third baseman Troy Glaus ready for prime time?No. 5: Can right fielder Tim Salmon shake off last year's injury problems and open the season as a solid MVP candidate?

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Orioles are scheduled to meet today with the agent for Arthur Rhodes to discuss parameters for a contract extension that the left-handed reliever says must either be completed before Opening Day or wait until he files for free agency after the season."

OriolesManager: Ray Miller1998 record: 79-83, fourth placeNo. 1: Albert Belle should make the Camden Yards bleachers a hard hat zone.No. 2: Mike Mussina, Scott Erickson and Juan Guzman must finish with a far better record than last year's 39-39.No. 3: Is Mike Timlin the answer after having the fourth-lowest save percentage in the AL?No. 4: The Orioles still seek another starting pitcher (Kenny Rogers, Denny Neagle, Brian Anderson).No. 5: Given healthier pitching and a set lineup, Miller may become a more confident manager.

Atholton Raiders1998 record: 17-6 overall, 13-5 leagueCoach: Kevin KellyTop players: Adam Beaver, Sr., P-3B; Andy Severt, Sr., P-1B; Ross Laidig, Sr., 2B; Seth Williams, Sr., SS; Nick Hartman, Sr., P-OF; Scott Sebor, Jr., COutlook: The Raiders finished second in the league and graduated their entire outfield, but return their entire infield and starting pitcher Beaver, who was 5-4 in 44 innings. Beaver batted .430 with 28 RBIs, 31 runs, 15 walks, and was 12-for-12 in stealing bases. Severt batted .392 with six home runs and was 2-0, pitching 23 innings.

SEATTLE -- Whack.It could have been the sound of Will Clark's right hand plowing into a dugout wall after a fourth-inning flyout.It could have been the sound of Ray Miller picking up a fungo and pile-driving it into the dugout floor after watching his starting pitcher suffer the latest in a string of mental lapses, this one giving the Seattle Mariners an out in the second inning.Or it could have been the sound of the Orioles dropping their third consecutive game, guaranteeing themselves another losing series on another losing road trip.

HOOVER, Ala. -- The Orioles finalized their Opening Day roster yesterday by following the path of least resistance. They also may have exposed themselves to the same pratfall as last season by opting to keep 11 pitchers rather than manager Ray Miller's stated preference for 12.The joint verdict of general manager Frank Wren and Miller was announced following the Orioles' unsightly 8-7 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium outside...

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Chicago Cubs have emerged as the most active team at baseball's winter meetings, and why not?This is the team that went from the playoffs to the National League cellar in the space of one season. Now, general manager Ed Lynch and new manager Don Baylor are trying to deal their way back into contention just as quickly.The Cubs completed a major deal yesterday morning, acquiring starting pitcher Ismael Valdes and second baseman Eric Young from the Los Angeles Dodgers for right-handed relievers Terry Adams and Chad Ricketts and a player to be named.

Of all the things that happened in the Orioles' 18-10 loss to the Boston Red Sox Sunday in a game that seemed like it would never end, this sequence was the most deflating for the home team. The Orioles scored six times in the bottom of the third inning to get back within a run in a game that, just minutes earlier, they seemed hopelessly out of. When they came back to the plate for the bottom of the fourth, their deficit had suddenly ballooned to eight. "There's that song, 'Momma said there'd be days like this.

MIAMI - -Orioles right-hander Koji Uehara's next start is in jeopardy as he deals with what the team is describing as arm fatigue. "Physically, I'm OK," Uehara said through his interpreter, Jiwon Bang. "Elbow-wise, not perfect. It's like a fatigue." Uehara acknowledged that he asked out of his start Tuesday after six innings in which he allowed only one earned run and seven hits while throwing 76 pitches. Uehara (2-4, 4.05 ERA), who got a no-decision and remained winless in his past 10 starts dating to April 13, said after the game, "I couldn't really [use]

Stress kills. It's a well-known fact, particularly given that cardiovascular disease is the nation's top killer. With the recession, the rise in unemployment, continued uncertainties in the Middle East and other global hot spots, and all the other anxiety-producing events unfolding around us, the last thing Baltimore needs is to get overwrought about Major League Baseball. Today, as Orioles Nation experiences yet another Opening Day, let us take comfort in the fact that we, as fans, need not trouble ourselves with stress-inducing thoughts of pennants or playoffs.

It took 11 1/2 innings and the first error of the night, but Mexico finally got the break it needed to beat Japan, 4-0, and win the international championship of the Cal Ripken World Series last night in Aberdeen. Mexico, the defending champion, will play U.S. champion Jupiter, Fla., at 3 p.m. today for the world championship here in cozy Cal Sr.'s Yard, a petite replica of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Jupiter came back from a two-run deficit to beat Lexington, Ky., 7-2, last night, led by Kevin Fry, who had a home run, two runs and two RBIs.

C. Milton Wright and Harford Tech nearly brought home two state baseball championships for Harford County last weekend, but both suffered heartbreaking losses. The Mustangs held a one-run lead in the seventh inning but couldn't hang on and suffered a 7-6 loss to Sherwood from Montgomery County in eight innings in the Class 4A state title game. Harford Tech's loss in the Class 1A title game to St. Michael's might have been more painful. The Cobras were just one out away from the championship but couldn't finish the job, and St. Michael's scored two runs to pull out a 4-3 victory.

SEATTLE -- The Orioles maintain that Adam Loewen, whose scheduled start last night in the series opener with the Seattle Mariners was pushed back to tomorrow, is not injured. Monday's day off simply gave the Orioles the luxury of pushing him back a couple of days to work on his poor fastball command, while keeping Jeremy Guthrie and Daniel Cabrera on regular rest. However, that didn't stop manager Dave Trembley from saying yesterday that he might limit Loewen's pitch count to about 100 or 110 in coming starts.

Luke Scott lined a single into left field yesterday, his seventh hit in the past three games. Then he wrote about it to make sure he remembered every detail. Hearkening back to a lesson he learned in the Cleveland Indians' system after being drafted in 2001, Scott keeps a brown notepad in the Orioles' dugout during every game so he can record his at-bats for research purposes. He marks down the date and opponent, what the starting pitcher normally threw and what he saw each time he came to the plate.

Ace pitcher Erik Bedard said yesterday that he is resigned to being traded this season and is disappointed that the Orioles haven't made a greater effort to sign him to a contract extension. "If they don't want me, [a trade] is the best thing to do," Bedard said in a phone interview with The Sun. "Obviously, they don't want to keep me because there are a lot more talks [about] trading me than signing me. What am I supposed to do? I just go with the flow. I'll keep it as it is, and go with it, day by day."

CHICAGO -- As he always does, pitching coach Leo Mazzone stood back and to the right as Daniel Cabrera worked through his bullpen session before last night's game. However, Mazzone and Cabrera also had company. Seeking to get the struggling pitcher back on track, Mazzone invited Orioles broadcaster and Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer to the bullpen to get a closer look at Cabrera. Palmer was extremely active during the bullpen session, frequently talking to the pitcher and demonstrating his advice.

Do you enjoy the National League style of play? I always did. Managing in the minor leagues in the [Chicago] Cubs system, we didn't have the DH and it kind of gets everybody involved. It also reminds your starting pitcher that he has to stay away from the big inning, because, if he doesn't, he won't be around very long. And if your starting pitcher can't bunt, he usually gets pinch hit for earlier than needed.