Threw

One more pitch. That's all Armando Benitez needed to add to his budding reputation as one of baseball's best setup men, but instead he was lamenting two that didn't go his way in last night's combustible eighth inning against the Cleveland Indians.Benitez was handed the ball and a 4-2 lead to start the eighth. He had done the job all year, as opponents had batted just .125 against him, best in the American League. Counting the Division Series, he had entered a game with the lead 47 times and had held it 46 times.

IT IS FEBRUARY. Boring. Yawnsville. Nap time.I suppose there are some sorts who stand up for February. There are those who regard all these dark, forbidding days as excellent opportunities for interior reflection. These are the kind of people who spend February afternoons rereading their New Year's resolutions, redesigning their life plans, pondering the meaning of existence.While these brooders are lost in thought, the rest of us are staring at the walls, looking for some action.Snowfall helps break the monotony.

WASHINGTON - A Navy chorus sang "God Bless America," members of the U.S. Army National Guard unfurled a giant American flag and the beaming President of the United States threw out the first pitch. For the first time in 34 years, America's pastime returned to the nation's capital last night, doing so with patriotic gusto and a who's who list of Inside the Beltway heavyweights. Yet the real movers and shakers here were a Mexican third baseman, a Cuban pitcher and the rest of the shiny-new, first-place Washington Nationals.

Mike Mussina will reach 20 victories for the first time in his career if he continues to pitch the way he did yesterday, but there are times when being merely good is not good enough.Mussina came in with a six-game winning streak and would have made it seven with even modest offensive support, but Oakland starter Don Wengert pitched his first career shutout as the Athletics averted a three-game sweep with a 3-0 victory before 45,282 at Camden Yards.For those keeping score at home, that's three shutouts in six games for a Baltimore batting order that otherwise averages six runs per game.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - It's the baseball custom for reporters to avoid talking to the starting pitcher until after his game is complete, but Sidney Ponson wasn't going to let an unwritten rule dictate how he interacted yesterday morning. This was a good day to be him. And how often could he say that lately? The Orioles right-hander needed a shave and some attention. He finally would take the mound in an exhibition game, face hitters who didn't share the same clubhouse with him, feel more a part of the team.

WASHINGTON -- He threw two interceptions. Defender dropped another two.He missed a wide-open 1-yard touchdown pass at the end of the first half.The other team's starter passed for almost 90 more yards.The fans' opinion? "Booooooooo," was the assessment.The coach's opinion? "He missed some things. . ." began the post-game assessment.Considering that the final score was 41-3, does that sound like a description of the winning quarterback or the losing quarterback? (Author's note: The preceding was a trick question.

A "go home" Raw (the last episode before a pay-per-view event) is always watched with extra attention, mostly because critics have the same question -- did this particular show do anything to increase my interest in buying the pay-per-view on Sunday? Lately, many of these critics have answered no. Many people feel that Raw last night was no different -- that it was flat, lacked spark and didn't do very much to push the figurative "buy rate" needle. These, of course, are criticisms that always arise for this particular (mostly monthly)

The Orioles' top position player prospect, Jonathan Schoop, was placed on the seven-day minor league disabled list Thursday with a lower back strain. The 21-year-old Schoop, who raised his stock after strong offseason performances in the Arizona Fall League and the World Baseball Classic, is hitting .268/.331/.386 with three homers and 18 RBIs in 34 games at Triple-A Norfolk. The injury isn't expected to be serious. Schoop is the Orioles' No. 3 prospect according to Baseball America behind pitchers Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman.

Marlene Millard from Longview, Wash., said that back in the 1960s she had a recipe for making a delicious sour cream cake that used a boxed white cake mix as the base. She said it was one of those cravings she had during pregnancy that she thought she would never get back, so she threw away the recipe. Now she finds herself craving the cake some 50 years later and would like to be able to recreate the taste. Perhaps back in the '60s doctoring cake mixes was something new. These days, entire books exist with nothing but doctored cake mix recipes.

Note: Since I recap both Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance and they're overlapping seasons this week and next, I'll be covering both nights in one recap for these first two weeks. They open with past winners and notable contestants being interviewed about how their life changed by putting on a number and getting in the audition line. My favorite bit is Mary with a giant, tight, curly hairdo, like when we had perms in the '80s. Tuesday Night - Los Angeles Auditions We're in Los Angeles at the Orpheum Theatre.