Ripken’s Eyes Opened to Love of Shortstop

Now the hand-wringing can stop. The furor is over. Baltimore Oriole third baseman B.J. Surhoff will be off the disabled list soon, his sprained ankle sound again.

Cal Ripken Jr. won’t be moving to third.

“I don’t know if the whole issue is resolved,” Ripken said Friday. “But now that B.J. Surhoff is going to be back the window has closed and I’m going to stay at shortstop.”

Tuesday, Oriole Manager Davey Johnson told Ripken he wouldn’t be moving and Ripken hit three homers. Mere coincidence?

“If I’ve got to hack him off to have him hit three homers every night, I’ll try to do it,” Johnson said. “Maybe I’ll ask him to DH tomorrow.”

Said Ripken: “I guess the possibility of moving from shortstop made me realize how much I loved playing shortstop. Sometimes that has a way of motivating you.”

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Right-hander Steve Ontiveros, sidelined since spring training because of elbow trouble, made a rehab start for Class A Lake Elsinore and gave up two runs on six hits with four strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings. He made 51 pitches. . . . The Angels designated right-handed reliever Todd Frohwirth for assignment and activated Mark Langston and Mark Eichhorn from the disabled list. Frohwirth had an 11.12 earned-run average in 5 2/3 innings. . . . The club also signed catcher Matt Merullo to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Lake Elsinore. Merullo batted .282 in 76 games for Minnesota last year. . . . Neither Rex Hudler’s tight left quadriceps nor Don Slaught’s bruised left thigh kept them from starting. Hudler replaced Jim Edmonds, who missed his game in a row in center field. It’s possible Edmonds will go on the disabled list if his strained stomach muscle does not improve.