Unload

The Orioles' new effort to curb ticket scalping by inserting team employees as deal brokers at Camden Yards' scalp-free zone has become more than a little frustrating for fans hoping to unload tickets at games. Charles Branch sighed, rolled his eyes and threw up his hands as he paced the sidewalk last week. He had three tickets to sell for seats above the home team's dugout, the best seats in the house, he said. He eyed a stream of fans looking for tickets as game time approached. He could have brokered a deal more quickly under the old system, a free-for-all in which sellers could unload unwanted tickets by bombarding buyers and besting competitors' offers, waving their tickets like stockbrokers on a Wall Street trading floor.

The Orioles remain in talks with the Florida Marlins on a potential trade for right-handed pitcher A.J. Burnett, but the deal could be in jeopardy because of the Orioles' unwillingness to absorb most of the contract of third baseman Mike Lowell, according to industry sources. One industry source even maintained that the six-player deal, which would send Orioles pitching prospect Hayden Penn, outfielder Larry Bigbie and reliever Jorge Julio to the Marlins for Burnett, Lowell and a minor league outfielder, may have reached a breaking point, but that was disputed by a high-ranking Orioles official, who said the teams are "still in negotiations."

General Motors Corp. received a second major blow to its credit standing in three weeks yesterday, when Fitch Ratings downgraded the largest automaker's debt to non-investment, or "junk," status. Fitch joined Standard & Poor's Rating Services in lowering GM and its GMAC finance unit to junk, a move that will force some institutional investors, such as pension funds, to sell the bonds. Many funds are not allowed to hold bonds that are rated at junk levels by two of the three major ratings agencies.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Orioles traded struggling reliever Mike DeJean to the New York Mets yesterday for journeyman outfielder Karim Garcia in a move that had both clubs hoping the players involved could benefit from a change of scenery. DeJean had been one of the season's biggest disappointments for the Orioles, who signed him to be their primary right-handed setup man and watched him bungle several games. After acquiring Jason Grimsley from Kansas City last month, adding to their right-handed relief corps, the Orioles signaled a desire to trade DeJean, and the Mets stepped up with the offer they liked best.

Corporate insiders display remarkable timing in selling stock ahead of disappointing earnings, reaping millions before shares fall when investors learn about the bad news. A Tribune investigation of hundreds of earnings disclosures before formal announcements of results in the first nine months of this year - and the nearly 2,700 stock trades preceding them - discovered that insider sales accelerate before warnings, usually with profitable results. Executives and directors invariably say they had no significant, private information when they traded.

NORFOLK, Va. - The future of Virginia's biggest ports teetered precariously on the deck of the Chinese ship Zhen Hua 1 recently as it dwarfed yachts and tugboats alike on its way toward Norfolk International Terminals. Onboard, four of the world's largest and fastest container cranes stood fully assembled and upright as symbols of the port's commitment to grab a far larger share of global shipping business. The new Suez-class cranes will allow the port to unload gigantic cargo ships that even the nation's biggest ports cannot.

NEW YORK - Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. managing directors conspired with then-chief energy trader Daniel Gordon to inflate earnings at the firm's energy trading unit before its $490 million sale to Allegheny Energy Inc., federal prosecutors alleged yesterday. The Justice Department alleged in papers filed in federal court in New York that the conspirators falsified records to make Merrill's Global Energy Markets unit more attractive. The federal prosecutors didn't identify the executives.

One in an occasional series about the fitness habits of Marylanders. Thanks to his beard and tattoos (not to mention his seven motorcycles), Jim Schruefer looks like a biker. So maybe it's best to measure his fitness accomplishments in biker terms. In 10 months, he's lost his gas tank, his handlebars and a quarter of his payload. But his engine is revving better than ever. "Last December I decided I was fat and ugly, and there wasn't much I could do about the ugly part, so I thought I'd do something about that fat," the 47-year-old says.

PHOENIX - The Orioles might be a team to watch on the free-agent market this year, but they sure didn't jump yesterday, when the market opened, the way the Philadelphia Phillies did last year. As soon as the 2002 opening bell sounded, the Phillies made formal offers to Jim Thome, Tom Glavine and David Bell. Eventually, Philadelphia wound up signing Bell and Thome, whose six-year, $85 million contract was the biggest any player signed all offseason. This year, the Orioles have strong interest in Montreal Expos right fielder Vladimir Guerrero, the most coveted player on the market, but so far, they're using a more conservative approach.

Every ship, truck and cargo container that moves through the port of Baltimore is getting more scrutiny today as state and federal inspectors beef up their front-line defenses in response to war and heightened terror fears. Though the Coast Guard and Customs Service have added manpower to port operations, the increased security measures mean it may cost more and take longer for ships to reach port and unload their cargo. The news comes as some steamship lines serving Baltimore face the prospect of higher insurance premiums if they continue to call on ports in the Middle East, where war with Iraq has raised the threat to commercial shipping.