Orioles Deliver a Bronx Cheer to Indians

They had anticipated and yearned for a blood match with the New York Yankees, their hated rival from the East Division and the Evil Empire of George Steinbrenner.

They had wanted to avenge their loss to the Yankees in the American League championship series of last year and lay waste to the defending World Series champions.

They had wanted to show that owner Peter Angelos, with baseball’s No. 2 payroll, had been a better poker player than Steinbrenner, with the No. 1.

How much they anticipated and yearned for it was reflected by some of the headlines in the Baltimore and Washington newspapers on Wednesday:

* “It’s Not the Yankees, but It’s for Pennant”

* “Game Remains but Emotions are Yanked Out”

* “A New York State of Mind”

And this:

* “Orioles are Surprised to Run into Indians”

Surprised and disappointed that they were playing the Cleveland Indians for the AL title?

The Baltimore Orioles weren’t going to say that, weren’t going to stoke the fires any more than the headlines had.

But on Monday, in the wake of their division series victory over the Seattle Mariners, Manager Davey Johnson had said:

“I think it’s only fitting that we eliminate the Yankees. They had the second-best record all year [to the Orioles in the AL] . . . and I’m up for it.”

And on Tuesday, during the pre-series workouts, assistant general manager Kevin Malone had said:

“We were looking forward to going up to Yankee Stadium and doing to them what they did to us last year.

“The Indians are a super team, and the series will be tough, but we’ll miss the rivalry with the Yankees and all the things that came with it.”

Imagine the nerve of the Indians to take the fun out of it by eliminating the Yankees themselves.

Did Johnson have to gear up again?

“Not at all,” he said before Wednesday’s opener with the Indians. “I kind of had my heart and mind-set on the Yankees, but I didn’t cry when they lost. I mean, our goal from the first day of spring training was to get to the World Series, and I think we assumed that we would have to go through New York to do it.

“That doesn’t mean the [championship series] has lost any glitter for us. I’m grateful the Indians beat the Yankees.”

Grateful, perhaps, in more ways than one.

The Indians came in with an already suspect rotation stretched to the max by the five games with New York.

They won 10 fewer games than the Orioles this year and won’t start a pitcher with a lower earned-run average than 4.28. The Orioles won’t start a pitcher with a higher earned-run average than 4.01.

If pitching almost always wins a short series, this one could be real short.

Scott Erickson started that process with a 3-0 victory in Game 1.

The Oriole Way. A tradition. Great pitching and great defense.

The Indians were forced to ask their No. 4 starter, Chad Ogea, to make his first postseason start amid the pressure of the opener.

He pitched courageously, but paid the price for two hanging curves--a Brady Anderson homer on his first pitch of the first inning and a two-run homer by Roberto Alomar in the third. Alomar wisely refrained from thanking his brother, Cleveland catcher Sandy Alomar, for his pitch selection.

“Ogea pitched great, but Scotty pitched better,” Roberto said later.

Indeed. Erickson needed only 90 pitches to negotiate eight shutout innings against a team that had hit a club-record 220 home runs. He gave up four hits, walked none and produced 12 infield groundouts.

He was 16-7 during the regular season, is 2-0 in the postseason and has battled through a series of physical problems to regain the form with which he won 20 games with Minnesota in 1991.

“He’s the hardest worker I’ve ever had,” Baltimore pitching coach Ray Miller said. “I wish we could put a camera on him between starts so that people could see the amount of work he does. They’d watch with their mouths open. He reminds me of a hitter you can take to the batting cage every day.”

What Erickson has learned to do, Miller said, is use his devastating sinker on both sides of the plate.

“His location was outstanding tonight,” Miller said. “So was his concentration. Of course, he’s a guy who’s wired every game. From the first inning of the first spring training game, you can’t talk to him when he’s on the mound.”

It was with trepidation, Miller said with a smile, that he informed Erickson after the eighth inning Wednesday night that the Orioles were bringing in Randy Myers to pitch the ninth.

Who can argue?

Myers has been virtually invincible this year. He applied the finishing touch by striking out two of the last three Indians, who would seem in trouble if they can’t win a game in which their starter yields only three runs.

Now the Indians have to face Jimmy Key, Mike Mussina and Erickson again.

Mike Hargrove, the Cleveland manager, was asked if he was offended by the Orioles’ disappointment at not playing the Yankees.

“Everybody has a preference,” he said. “It doesn’t bother us. That’s all speculation for the fans and media. If you talk to the players and the staff, they’re just happy to be here. I mean, people bring up the fact we lost to the [wild-card] Orioles [in the division series] last year, but we’re not thinking about redemption and we don’t have any special feelings about beating Baltimore. We just want to win and advance.”

So do the Orioles. That’s the bottom line. Yankees or Indians. It doesn’t really matter, which is why some of the Birds were wearing T-shirts that said: “700 Players. Only 25 Rings. Get Focused.”