Leading the offense was Rondell White, who is struggling to win a left-field job in the playoffs.

From June 24 to July 2, he had 11 hits in 27 at-bats, hitting three homers, and it appeared as if he were winning the left-field job.

After winning the left-field job and predicting that he was ready to exceed his career highs of 39 homers and 108 runs batted in, Strawberry has been frustrated.

Allen had been competing for the left-field job with Butch Huskey, who hit .282 with 22 homers in 119 games for Seattle and Boston last season.

But Strawberry will win the left-field job only if he is adequate defensively.

He failed to win the left-field job, was demoted to Class AAA Columbus and then came back and watched Spencer dominate the position.

Polonia, with the Mariners this spring as a nonroster player, was beaten out for Seattle's left-field job by Darren Bragg.

He talked about winning the open left-field job with the Yankees, but he also turned somber while discussing the possibility that he could someday die of cancer.

That he is eclipsed by nearly everything Yankee-related is particularly unfair, considering he could easily outstrip any contender for the Yankees' right- or left-field jobs.

That should be enough to get the left-field job into 2012, but you know the Orioles; they might mess this up with a late veteran acquisition.