Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jose Acevedo broke four ribs and his collarbone Friday in a motorcycle accident and is expected to miss the entire season, his Dominican winter league team said.

Acevedo was conscious and in intensive care Friday, Aguilas Cibaenas executive Luichy Sanchez told The Associated Press.

“Is this a surprise? Absolutely,” Orioles executive vice president Mike Flanagan said in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “We’re obviously saddened to hear the news. This sounds like a serious accident.”

A non-roster invite to Orioles spring training, Acevedo crashed his motorcycle into a car early Friday in Santiago. Aguilas Cibaenas officials did not know if the car was moving at the time of the accident.

Acevedo, who did not pitch for a major league team in 2006, is 18-25 with a 5.74 ERA in five seasons with Cincinnati and Colorado. He threw eight innings and was named an All-Star in the recent Caribbean Series in Puerto Rico, which the Aguilas won for the Dominican Republic.

Acevedo was supposed to report to Orioles camp Wednesday, but he never arrived.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

Venezuelan infielder Miguel Cabrera is expecting the arbitration results. In an interesting money spending era, ¿how worth  the young third base man?…

After Carlos Lee´s 100 millon contract; Gary Mathews jr. 50 million deal and Ted Lilly´s 40 million pact, everybody is asking the current Cabrera´s value.

He can hit really hard the ball. He can run with intelligence around the bases. He can put his average over .300 without problems and has an incredible defensive even as an outfielder as an infielder. ¿What else do you want in a player?… Oh!, one more thing: he´s only 24…

Last year, he was fighting for a batting tittle against Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Freddy Sanchez. Cabrera failed in the last 15 days, but clearly showed his baseball tools that make him one of the game´s best promises (already a phenomenal player, but the best is yet to come, for sure).

Cabrera´s agent said they want 7.4  million  for one year(almost a 7 million raise) and the Marlins are thinking about 6.5 for that period. The player is not so far from his expectations and the major league club is clear about the kind of Cabreras´s seasons in the recent past.

More than 100 RBI´s; a fine number of homers and a leadership inside the clubhouse are pretty enough to make Miguel another baseball millionaire.

This is the last year without exploring the free agents market. That market, obviously, will be waiting him with open arms in 2008.

Will the Florida´s team preserve him or the wonder boy will turn so expensive for them?. Who knows.

Now, is the time to take the things easy and focus in the most important season of his career. Next year, we´ll see…

He´s still so far from Cal Ripken´s record. Even far from Lou Gehrigh´s mark, but Miguel Tejada is without a doubt, the current “Iron Man” in baseball.

Right now, he has almost 1,000 games in a row, the longest streak in MLB since Ripken broke the Gehrigh´s record in 1995.

“I like to play hard every day, and I´ll be in the line up untill my body says no more…”.

Tejada is called, in his native country Dominican Republic, “La Guagua” (name  they give to all kind of buses) and “El Pelotero de la Patria” (the country player), because always make the trip to the Caribbean Series (9 in a row, including the 2007 edition in Puerto Rico).

This is a point that generate a daily debate in the rest of the countries playing in that series: Venezuela, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

How can you explain that a millionaire player, with a huge numbers of games played day after day in Major League, put his dominican uniform up, and represent his country every year?.

The rest of players clearly get in hard position to explain the reasons they don´t appear in their leagues.

“I have not authorization” or “I´m waiting for my agent call” or “I´m trying to sign a new contract”…

Tejada beats that kind of explanations all the time. “If you want to play, you just do. Make a phone call and tell your team that you will take care about yourself, and put the things clear about your responsability with your people. Lots of them has not the opportunity to watch you in action all year”.

In this moment, Miguel is representing his town in Puerto Rico, and his team maybe champion… again.

Yes, Tejada puts the rest in evidence and broke the main excuse for not going down and play.

He did all he could. Perhaps the future demands “less action in vacation”, but his nationals for sure will forgive and upholds his decision.

I was thinking and thinking about the simplicity of some aspects of life. If you´re good, you´ll get good things back. ¿Am I ok or not?.

In the baseball, as in life, you need to be  honest too. If you lie, nothing right is going to be in your window every morning.

Barry Bonds… ah, Barry. How many times somebody told you that treating and talking with press guys was not a bad thing to do?

A lot of people remember when you showed your bat as an excuse for not use your words. Always working, always hitting, always walking in the front side…

Now, you´re in troubble, and the guys you never talked to, are ready to make you pay.

Is that necessary?, obviously not.

A few days ago, anonimous General Manager (who knows who was…), made an interesting comments about your “home run party”. He said that “the world needs to celebrate,  not the Bonds skills, but the Hank Aaron´s courage for facing history with racial problems environment that made harder his performance…”

And the Baseball Commissioner didn´t say a word. He´s thinking about birds, books and movie films once retired in Milwaukee.

Your agent is doing everything for you. Maybe he gets a big TV commercial or one million of interviews for you. Perhaps some media puts you on spotlight in a good way… but deep inside yourself, sleep quietly won´t be by your side.

Don´t try to use a smile to make people to forgive your temperamental way. They´re not stupid.

Thye world, believe it or not, likes honesty, and you wasn´t.

Remember Jason Giambi´s speech?. He said “Yes, I used steroids, and I´m sorry..”. Is that so dificult to admit?

Giambi, for sure, wo´t be a Cooperstown guest, but in the fans memories, will live like somebody who told the truth.

And that´s the key. Baseball fans needs to believe in the game and trust in the guys who make it possible.

History is really cruel and has a fantastic memory.

But you already know it.

I´m going to bed right now. Yes, I can do it without heavy things on my mind.