These Birds Are Cuckoo, but They Can Crow a Little

BALTIMORE

After beating the world champ Red Sox twice in less than 24 hours, this time 6-3 on a late-inning grand slam by Jay Payton off Hideki Okajima, the Orioles jogged toward the pitcher's mound, acting cool as they congregated, but excited, nonetheless. As they ran, most of the Birds initiated their new victory ritual, flipping up the bill of their baseball caps, imitating their goofy southpaw George Sherrill, the only closer who has ever chosen to wear his hat in the style of Max Patkin, the old Clown Prince of Baseball.

Before this season, everybody said the Orioles would be a laughingstock. Now, the joke is on them. It's the Orioles, in a scene out of a slapstick circus, who grin when they win, slap hands and, hats up, act like fools. Very happy fools.

After trading Miguel Tejada and Erik Bedard for kids and, supposedly, second-tier talent like Sherrill, the Orioles are now 21-19 (ahead of the Yanks) and playing with an unselfish cohesion that hasn't been seen here in Camden Yards in more than a decade.

"I feel like I'm teaching seventh grade PE -- you know, all the high-maintenance [troublemakers]. You see these guys come off the field with their hats up, you know what I'm dealing with," joked Manager Dave Trembley, 56, who still hasn't managed 162 games, yet feels like the first manager here in years who's been in complete charge.

The Orioles are a symbol of this baseball season as it reaches the one-quarter mark: Throughout the sport, the last shall be first. The two teams with the lowest payrolls in the game, the Marlins ($21.8 million, less than Alex Rodriguez) and Rays, are in first place in their divisions. So are the Diamondbacks (23rd in payroll), while the Twins are a half-game out of the AL Central lead. The three richest clubs in baseball, the $209 million Yankees (20-21) and $138 million Tigers (16-24) are in fourth and last places in their divisions, respectively, while the No. 3 Mets are only in third.

"Don't forget Oakland," says Oriole President Andy MacPhail of the Athletics, who are the third-lowest paid team yet are a game out of first place. What does it all mean?

"The baseball gods have a sense of humor," said MacPhail, whose team is 22nd in pay.

"It's good for the game," said Trembley, noting that three of the four teams in the league championship series last season -- Colorado, Arizona and Cleveland -- were built on inexpensive player development, rather than high-priced free agents.

By closing day, many of these discount bubbles will be broken. The Marlins and Rays won't meet in the World Series and the Orioles may well have an 11th straight losing year. These wins, both comebacks from three runs behind, were exemplary, but only represent two of 36 endless meetings with the Yankees and Red Sox royalty in the brutal A.L. East.

But for now, Orioles fans, like the 28,939 who divided Camden Yards about equally with poaching Red Sox partisans, were able to spend the ninth inning drowning out cheers of "Let's go Red Sox" with much louder chats of "Let's go O's."

Asked to summarize his team's first 40 games, Trembley said: "The guys have fun playing. They are not intimidated. They really don't think they should take a back seat. They think they can play with everybody. . . .