Tarasco

VIERA, Fla. -- Orioles manager Davey Johnson would like to plug a right-handed hitter into the No. 2 spot in the batting order, behind Brady Anderson and ahead of Roberto Alomar and Rafael Palmeiro. It's a role Todd Zeile often filled last season before signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent."You try not to make it real easy for opposing managers to go to their bullpen," Johnson said. "You want to make them think a little bit about it."Johnson isn't thinking about batting Eric Davis second, since the preference is for a good contact hitter.

Curtis GoodwinWhat he would be doing if there were no strike: At the outset of spring training, Orioles manager Phil Regan made it clear that he was leaning toward using Goodwin as his regular center fielder and leadoff hitter. Part of Regan's rationale was that Goodwin excelled in winter ball and was ready to make the jump from Double-A to the major leagues. Although the strike may wipe out Opening Day, Regan still wants Goodwin to win the job.What he's doing instead: Since returning from Venezuela, Goodwin has been living in Los Angeles.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The agent for Orioles outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds met with general manager Pat Gillick and assistant GM Kevin Malone yesterday to get a better read on his client's status with the club. But whatever talking Jeffrey Moorad did couldn't match the statement Hammonds made in the exhibition opener.Hammonds homered twice in the Orioles' 12-4 win over the Minnesota Twins at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, leading off the fifth with a blast to center field that tied the score, 3-3, and putting another ball into the netting above the left-field fence.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- How could you tell it was the Orioles' last day in Florida? After almost seven weeks of wearing shorts and flip-flops, the players came to work yesterday morning wearing coats and ties, the better to change back into for their flight to Baltimore last night.There was still one more game to play yesterday, but the clubhouse took on a deserted appearance as the players packed their belongings and shut down their spring training home at Fort Lauderdale Stadium.Pete Incaviglia, the burly designated hitter, stuffed his clothes into a Gucci bag as hitting coach Rick Down shook his head.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Center fielder Brady Anderson isn't going to hit 50 home runs this season, but he appears to have recaptured his power stroke. He homered off Anaheim Angels starter Ken Hill in the third inning yesterday and has three homers in his past seven games.Anderson opened the season with a broken rib, which clearly affected his ability to drive the ball during the early weeks of the season. Instead, he concentrated more on reaching base and spent much of the first half among the league leaders in on-base percentage.

B. J. Surhoff's first official game as an Oriole yesterday had been largely uneventful. No hits in three at-bats. Only three chances at third base, all in the same inning.It had the makings of a forgettable afternoon, but it would become so much more.Surhoff delivered an insurance run in the eighth inning with a two-out, opposite-field double to left off former Baltimore reliever Terry Clark, scoring Bobby Bonilla from first base in the Orioles' 4-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals.Of all the contributions made by Baltimore's newest players, his was among the most important.

Until early Wednesday evening, Jeff Maier was just another nameless, faceless Little Leaguer with major-league dreams. What he has become since then speaks volumes about what's going on in the media.Make no mistake; Jeff Maier, who stuck his glove out over the right-field fence at Yankee Stadium in the eighth inning Wednesday, giving a home run to Derek Jeter, is the innocent in this case. After all, 12-year-olds will occasionally let their youthful exuberance get the best of them and young Jeff is no exception.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - They spent hours together yesterday, did Orioles general manager Pat Gillick and Montreal GM Jim Beattie, and all the talk paid off: After the Orioles' exhibition game with the Expos yesterday, the Orioles traded outfielder Sherman Obando to Montreal for outfielder Tony Tarasco.Tarasco, a left-handed hitter who batted .249 with 14 homers and 24 stolen bases for Montreal last season, will be an extra outfielder for the Orioles, someone to play against tough right-handers and possibly platoon with Mike Devereaux.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Salary hardball is scheduled to begin tomorrow for the Orioles when they move from a winter of pleasant free-agent acquisitions to arbitration hearings with two of their own.Barely 24 hours after arriving at the Orioles' spring training headquarters, general manager Pat Gillick and assistant Kevin Malone left last night for Phoenix, where arbitration hearings are BTC scheduled with outfielders Jeffrey Hammonds and Tony Tarasco tomorrow...

In the greater scheme of things, the second interleague game between the Orioles and the Montreal Expos didn't amount to much. The Orioles, stunned by the news that teammate Eric Davis had been found to have colon cancer, still went about their business and won for the fourth time in their past five games, but that was the only reason anyone had to smile last night.Right-hander Scott Kamieniecki bounced back from a rocky start in Boston last week to pitch five solid innings and the Orioles scored a 5-4 victory before a sellout crowd of 47,793 at Camden Yards.