The Jays Are On The Wing

So which team in the division has the most reasonable claim to a reversal of fortune? The Orioles , who finished sixth last season and continue to assemble a pitching staff along the lines of Atlanta 's.

A Hallmark card couldn't touch Mike Mussina this spring. "I hope it goes on like this for 250 innings," says the 23-year-old righthander. Mussina, a fast worker who needed only 3� years to complete his economics degree at Stanford , joined the Orioles on July 31 last summer and immediately became the team's ace, with a 2.87 ERA. His ERA this spring? It was 0.90 in 20 innings pitched in his first five starts. As for 24-year-old righthander Ben McDonald ? At least he will not open the season on the disabled list, as he did the previous two. But can he perform for 250 innings, much less win the 20 games that once seemed to be his birthright? The most innings he has ever thrown were his 126.1 last season.

And while shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. may have had the best year of any professional athlete last season and a healthy Glenn Davis could hit 35 home runs for the Orioles , the center of attention this summer will be Baltimore 's new ballpark. Its clumsy name notwithstanding, Oriole Park at Camden Yards evokes the old Ebbets Field or Shibe Park, except that the bullpens at Camden Yards are, as God is our witness, wired for cable.

5. DETROIT TIGERS

Sparky Anderson may not be so quick with the hook this summer when that Elks Lodge emissary or PTA president throws out a ceremonial first pitch. Hey, good movement. Maybe she can go six? Which is to say that pitching is still a problem for the Tigers. "It's been a little problem for...23 years," concedes Sparky. "But I don't bitch about it. I've had many a good whacker."

Indeed, the Gambino crime family employs fewer full-time whackers than Detroit , which led all of baseball in home runs last season and finished second overall in runs scored. And here's a frightening thought: While his hindquarters could still headquarter most multinational corporations, the rest of Cecil Fielder was reduced by 30 pounds and converted to muscle by a workout regimen this winter—this after a season in which he joined Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx as the only players ever to lead the big leagues in homers and RBIs in consecutive years.

Impressed? Now take a look at some of the more hideous figures crafted last season in Sparky's Whacks Museum: the worst team batting average in the league; the most strikeouts in AL history; and three of the league's four most prolific whiffmeisters, outfielder Rob Deer (175), Fielder (151) and third baseman Travis Fryman (149).

Rust Belt? Detroit is smack in the middle of the Fan Belt.

What's worse, shortstop Alan Trammell awoke with back spasms one morning last month and was sidelined for 11 straight days. The condition of his back remains uncertain, as do the hopes of the Tigers. "We are legitimate contenders," says the ever enthusiastic Anderson . But we must enter a plea of nolo contendere on Sparky's behalf.

6. NEW YORK YANKEES