Tampa Bay Devil

The Minnesota Twins appear to be the front-runners for Sidney Ponson, though a handful of other teams are interested. They'd likely try to sign him to a minor league deal. Ponson's grievance hearing still hasn't been rescheduled. Now I'm told it might not take place until spring training, perhaps right before the start of the season. For those of you wondering whether Jay Gibbons will be traded, he's not in great demand right now. I'd keep him and still try to sign Aubrey Huff. Craig Wilson does intrigue me, though, since the Orioles are traditionally inept against left-handed pitching.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Aubrey Huff stood at home plate longer than usual, admiring his three-run home run until it disappeared into a sea of blue seats in right field. He jogged around the bases and then touched home plate, where Kevin Millar and Miguel Tejada awaited him. Before he ducked into the visiting dugout at Tropicana Field, where he was congratulated by a mob of celebrating teammates, Huff tipped his helmet to a couple of fans who had spent the Orioles' 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays jeering his every move last night.

The Orioles have signed corner infielder/outfielder Joel Guzman, once one of baseball's top prospects, to a minor league deal. He will not receive an invite to major league camp. The former Los Angeles Dodgers' ballyhooed prospect was dealt to Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2006 as part of the Julio Lugo, trade-deadline deal. He was with the Washington Nationals organization last year, batting a combined .268 with 12 homers at Double-A and Triple-A. Guzman, 25, batted .232 in 24 big league games with the Dodgers and Devil Rays.

The Orioles signed first baseman-outfielder Aubrey Huff to a three-year, $20 million deal this offseason. Huff, 30, has played 6 1/2 of his seven major league seasons with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He is a career .285 hitter with 141 home runs and 487 RBIs. He was born in Marion, Ohio, and got married a couple of weeks before reporting to training camp. What are your early impressions on the team and the clubhouse? -- It's great. So far, so good. It's a great group of guys. Everybody is very positive and upbeat for the season.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Mark Hendrickson (4-7) threw seven solid innings and Jonny Gomes hit a two-run double for Tampa Bay. The Devil Rays scored four runs in the third inning to take a 5-0 lead. Gomes' hit was followed by a sacrifice fly from Toby Hall and Julio Lugo's RBI single. Hendrickson stopped a personal four-game losing streak.

NEW YORK - Reality and Mike Mussina reintroduced themselves to the Orioles and 40,433 witnesses last night at Yankee Stadium. No more Tampa Bay Devil Rays, No more forgiveness for slipshod starting pitching. Instead, No. 35 and the New York Yankees dealt the Orioles a familiar fate in a 14-5 beating that left the visitors with their seventh loss in nine games. Jumping rookie starter Willis Roberts for five first-inning runs and nine earned runs before he could get his 10th out, the Yankees rid the game of suspense before Mussina even broke a sweat.

At Safeco Field, Seattle Day ..................... Time ....... TV .............................. Starters Tonight ............... 10:05 ..... 54, 50 .................. Jose Mercedes (7-16, 5.90) .......................................................................... vs. Paul Abbott (14-3, 4.30) Tomorrow ...........10:05 ..... 54, 50 .................. Rick Bauer (0-1, 1.42) .......................................................................... vs. Joel Piniero (4-1, 2.08) Sunday .....

At Fenway Park, Boston Day......Time......TV......Starters Tonight 6:05 CSN Rodrigo Lopez (2-0, 2.21) vs. Frank Castillo (1-1, 3.80) Tomorrow 6:05 CSN Calvin Maduro (1-2, 6.00) vs. Darren Oliver (2-1, 4.26) Wednesday 6:05 CSN Sean Douglass (0-0, 7.36) vs. John Burkett (2-0, 1.64) Radio: All games on WBAL (1090 AM) Red Sox update Red Sox Nation had an extra day to celebrate Derek Lowe's no-hitter, as yesterday's game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays was rained out. The Red Sox kept their pitching rotation the same, giving the Orioles a break because they will face Castillo tonight and not face John Burkett in the series finale as originally scheduled.