Cintron is Here

First baseman Kevin Millar had a big smile on his face and a helmet turned backward a few hours before the game as he prepared to catch Guthrie in a bullpen session. But when club management found out that one of their starting infielders was going to attempt to catch a big league pitcher, and potentially risk an injury, they pulled the plug.

Millar playfully stormed back into the clubhouse and shook his head.

"It got banged," Millar said in mock disdain. "I'm a franchise player. They lose me, boys, the Cinderella story's over."

Roberts leaves with foot injury

Melvin Mora's many Moras

After a highly successful run with the Atlanta Braves, Mazzone left for Baltimore after the 2005 season. He received a hefty raise and got to work with his best friend, Sam Perlozzo. But if he had it to do over, Mazzone would accept whatever Atlanta offered and assume his customary place in the dugout next to Braves manager Bobby Cox.

"At the time it was a great move, but now I regret it. You see the difference in organizations and how things are run and, believe me, the Atlanta Braves are about as good as it gets," Mazzone said.

"I got a chance to go back to my home state. My dad’s 86 and my mother’s 81, and they got to see me more in two years than they had in the last 16. Then I have three boys that live up in western Maryland. So we were able to get a lot closer. That part of it was good. But now, as I sit here on my back porch, I second-guess it."

He’s out of the game and desperate to get back in. He has no expectations of matching his salary with the Orioles, and won’t subject a would-be employer to dealing with an agent. If you want Leo Mazzone to be your pitching coach, just dial him up and make an offer.

"I’ve let it be known to general managers in the big leagues that money is not an issue. I don’t want them thinking it is," he said. "I’m ready to bounce whenever somebody calls. I’ll have my bags packed in 10 minutes."