Third Baseman

What is the best part of playing in New York? Melvin Mora, Orioles third baseman Their fans are exciting. They have fun on every pitch - every pitch we throw and every pitch they throw. At Shea Stadium, they are a little more quiet. The Bronx is loud. I like to go to New York. It's my favorite city in the big leagues. I met my wife there.

The question came at Buck Showalter a few minutes after the Orioles' shaky 8-4 loss to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, when it seemed the only bright spot at Camden Yards all afternoon was the white-hot bat of Manny Machado. "Is the way Manny's hitting even starting to amaze you guys?" a reporter asked. Showalter grimaced like a man who'd just dropped a brick on his foot. Then the Orioles manager put a finger to his lips in the classic "Shush" sign and looked around the room and said: "What else?"

Melvin Mora, Orioles third baseman Do you have to change your approach when you move from second to fifth in the batting order? Of course I have to change it. Hitting second is not the same as hitting fifth. Hitting second, you need to sacrifice your at-bat and try to move the runner over. Second is not easy, especially for me. I like to drive in a lot of runs.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Manny Machado was as surprised as anyone. He figured he would open the 2013 season in pretty much the same place he was when the Orioles ended their unlikely playoff run last October. Playing third base every day. Batting deep in the order. Learning on the job. So, what was a 20-year-old semi-rookie supposed to think when manager Buck Showalter announced Monday that he will bat second against 2012 Cy Young Award winner David Price when the Orioles open the regular season Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field?

When Leo Gomez sat out his first winter-league season in five years, he had no trouble occupying the time he suddenly found on his hands.There was the new home in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, that had to be decorated.There was quality time with his wife, Lee, and son, Leo Jr., 3.There were daily runs to keep his weight down.And there were the arm exercises designed to rehabilitate his right shoulder, the one he partially dislocated diving back into second base in September.The injury prematurely ended Gomez's first full season as the Orioles third baseman.

Having struck out in their pursuit of Pittsburgh left-hander Denny Neagle, the Orioles are focusing on other possible acquisitions -- including Philadelphia third baseman Todd Zeile.The Phillies have had a longstanding desire to trade for Orioles outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds and Zeile would fill the Orioles' need for improved right-handed punch in their lineup. Zeile, who turns 31 on Sept. 9, is hitting .265 with 20 home runs and 79 RBIs. He is a subpar defensive player but is a proven run producer.

Melvin Mora never wanted to leave Baltimore, and once Orioles owner Peter Angelos acceded to a no-trade clause, the third baseman felt reassured enough to sign a three-year contract extension. The Orioles announced the $24 million deal (with a club option for a fourth year with a $1 million buyout) yesterday afternoon. "It's been a goal of ours to add not only players of quality, but players who are great people," executive vice president Mike Flanagan said. "I think we've done that certainly with this signing of Melvin Mora."

The Orioles made what figures to be their final off-season acquisition yesterday, claiming 22-year-old third base prospect Willis Otanez off waivers from the Seattle Mariners' organization.Otanez hit 19 home runs for Single-A Vero Beach in 1994 and reached Double-A with the Los Angeles Dodgers last year. He went to the Mariners in the deal that sent veteran Mike Blowers to the Dodgers Nov. 29.The acquisition filled the final spot on the Orioles' 40-man roster. The club opens spring training this week, with pitchers and catchers reporting to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Thursday and the first pitcher/catcher workout scheduled for Friday.

He plays in a city where the team never has had a winning season.He plays a position where the glitter names in the league are Wade Boggs, Kelly Gruber and Gary Gaetti.He had 27 errors last season, including a record-tying four in one game against the Baltimore Orioles, leading to a good-hit, no-field reputation that insiders on his club say is undeserved because he was injured.But make no mistake. Edgar Martinez of the Seattle Mariners, a player barely known east of Puget Sound, is making an impact on the American League.

Third baseman Cal Ripken underwent a magnetic resonance imaging yesterday and will miss at least the remainder of this weekend's series against the Boston Red Sox due to nerve irritation in the same region that forced him to undergo lower back surgery last September. "I don't think any of us anticipated this happening, but I don't think any of us are real surprised it's come to this point right now," manager Mike Hargrove said. Ripken is all but certain not to play today or tomorrow, and his status will be reassessed on Monday's day off. While the club downplayed the possibility of him going on the disabled list for the third time in two years because of the nerve, the chances may be enhanced by an upcoming six-game road trip to Anaheim and Texas.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Orioles manager Buck Showalter won't announce his Opening Day starting lineup until after today's workout at Tropicana Field, but he did reveal some interesting tidbits about the batting order that he plans to send out to face reigning AL Cy Young Award winner David Price. In his first Opening Day start, third baseman Manny Machado will hit out of the No. 2 spot, a place we've seen Machado hit over the final week of spring games. With a left-handed hitter, either Nick Markakis or Nate McLouth, leading off tomorrow, it will allow Showalter to flip sides with right-handed hitting Machado.

Another day, another inquiring mind wanting to know what it's like to be baseball's next big thing. Manny Machado is ushered into the large conference room at the Orioles' Ed Smith Stadium training complex, his attention quickly drawn to the portraits on the far wall. Brooks Robinson. Frank Robinson. Boog Powell. Cal Ripken. All in a row. "Someday," he says almost sheepishly, "I want to be up on that wall. " Someday, he probably will, but first things first. There is the small matter of living up to the advance billing and Machado instinctively knows that he won't be able to do that if he takes his eye off the ball.

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado returned to camp Tuesday morning after missing Monday's workout to have additional testing for his physical. The 20-year-old planned to be a full go for Tuesday's workout, which included a variety of drills, including sliding, bunting for base hits and hitting off the curveball machine. “[I'm a] full go,” Machado said. “I'm ready to get back out there. I was bored yesterday. I'm ready to come back out here and participate with the team.” Machado said the test was for “something personal,” but Orioles manager Buck Showalter alluded that Machado had some sort of acid reflux issue show up on his tests.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Around this time last year, Manny Machado spent his spring on a nomadic journey shuffling between the Orioles' minor league and major league camps. He wore No. 95. When he made appearances in the major league camp, he dressed in an auxiliary clubhouse isolated from the big league players. But after an early-August call-up from Double-A Bowie - a move that helped propel the Orioles to the playoffs - the 20-year-old Machado is entrenched in the clubhouse this spring.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Before this past offseason, Orioles third baseman Manny Machado spent the previous two offseasons training with Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez. Machado - the Orioles' 20-year-old wunderkind third baseman - has often been compared to Rodriguez. They were both highly touted prospects coming out of Miami, catapulting through the minors as power-hitting shortstops. When the Orioles and Yankees faced each other in the American League Division Series last October, the headlines of the New York papers trumpeted Machado as Rodriguez's protege.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- In his first public move in an Orioles uniform, infielder Danny Valencia stepped in front of a podium on Wednesday and vehemently denied ever using any performance-enhancing drugs. Valencia's name was listed on records obtained by Yahoo Sports from a now-defunct clinic named Biogenesis, which the Miami New Times previously reported had provided PEDs to several major leaguers, including New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez. Major League Baseball has been investigating Biogenesis and its owner, Anthony Bosch.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Third baseman Melvin Mora says he loves the Orioles, loves being part of the team and the community, loves the daily interaction with players and fans. He has no desire to leave, and the Orioles aren't pushing him out the door. So why is there a chance he won't return in 2007? Mora would prefer to end negotiations on a new contract once the season begins, though he stopped short of issuing that threat yesterday. Former closer B.J. Ryan was more adamant last year and eventually left as a free agent, signing a five-year, $47 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.

JUPITER, Fla. -- Melvin Mora was expected to be in the Orioles' lineup against the Florida Marlins yesterday, but those plans changed about two hours before the first pitch, when manager Sam Perlozzo learned that the third baseman wasn't even with the team. An apparent mix-up led Mora to stay in Fort Lauderdale yesterday morning to work out and take batting practice. Perlozzo said Mora probably misread the travel sheet posted inside the clubhouse and didn't realize he was playing in yesterday's exhibition, although the manager hadn't spoken to the player as of yesterday afternoon to get an explanation.

Typical Brooks. Everybody who was anybody in Orioles history showed up to honor him when the Orioles unveiled his statue on the center field plaza Saturday at Camden Yards, and all he wanted to do was thank everybody else and turn his ceremony into a celebration of this year's amazing, surprising, contending team. “How 'bout them O's?" he said, to a huge ovation from the thousands of fans who crowded around the plaza and lined every terrace and exposed walkway with a view of the last bronze in the Legends Celebration Series.