FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Jeff Reboulet started yesterday's game against Minnesota, but will sit the next two days to aid a tender left heel. Rich Amaral may take batting practice today if his sore back allows it. Lenny Webster's left shoulder still bothers him at times. And Chris Hoiles must deal with the restrictions caused by a sore hip.

This is the Orioles' projected bench for the 1999 season. It may be a good group, but it's not exactly in good health.

Reboulet had missed the past two games after starting the previous two. The tendinitis in his heel was aggravated by running sprints in the outfield and from chasing a shallow fly over his head, and manager Ray Miller couldn't afford to push him this close to Opening Day.

Reboulet won't play again until Wednesday night. He'll get another break Thursday when the club is off, and Miller must decide about his status for Friday.

"It's OK, but it's not getting markedly better," said Miller, who has mentioned the possibility of putting Reboulet on the disabled list.

"We'll have to make a decision one way or the other, either shut him down completely for a week and go with him then or do something else. I think it's something that's going to kind of be there, but I also know when the season starts, with the amount of playing time, he'll be able to deal with it. Down here, you're on it every day, banging it and everything. I just want to get to the point where he takes ground balls at third, short and second and takes BP and then plays a game."

Reboulet went 1-for-3 with a run scored in yesterday's 6-4 win over Minnesota. He also made a diving stop and throw to rob Brent Gates in the fourth.

Amaral hit off a tee Saturday, his first swings since hurting his back while taking ground balls five days ago. He had been getting ice treatments until yesterday, when heat was applied to the sore area. He did some throwing and said he'll attempt to hit today.

"I don't want to push it too much. I think we're just day-to-day. The big thing is doing a little bit today and see how I feel in the morning," he said.

Signed this winter to serve mainly as an outfield reserve, Amaral had straightened up to throw and was struck by a sharp pain in his back. "It almost paralyzed me for a minute," he said.

Amaral began last season, his eighth with Seattle, on the disabled list because of a strained back. The problem he experienced last week "happens to me a lot," he said.

"I squished a couple of my disks my second year of pro ball. I'm aware of it, and I try to take care of my back. But lots of times in spring training, doing the bus rides and stuff, my back starts getting stiff. I keep playing, and it just gives."

DeShields update

More injury news: Delino DeShields will have his fractured left thumb X-rayed again on Thursday, three weeks after suffering the injury in an intrasquad game. At that time, he was told it would be four weeks before he could resume full workouts.

"It feels good," he said, "but they've already said they're not going to let me go until four weeks."

Otanez not worrying

Willis Otanez had a choice to make yesterday: either dwell on his home run and single or stew over his two throwing errors at third base.

He won't stew.

"I'm not afraid to make errors," said Otanez, who has three this spring. "If you're going to play hard, you're going to make errors. This can happen to anybody, trying to throw the ball too quick and too hard."

His first missile came with two outs and none on in the third. Doug Mientkiewicz followed with a double to center field for the first of two unearned runs off starter Mike Mussina.

A more bizarre play came in the fifth inning. The Twins had runners on first and second with two outs when Brian Richardson hit a chopper to Otanez. He threw wide of Reboulet trying for the force at second, and Jacque Jones raced toward the plate. Reboulet recovered and threw a strike to catcher Webster, who dropped the ball as Jones slid across. Webster then fired to shortstop Mike Bordick covering third, but his throw tailed off to Otanez backing up on the play and knocked the glove off his hand.

Only Otanez was charged with an error, though Webster also should have been given one.

"He's got some things he needs to work on," Miller said of Otanez, whose second-inning homer gave him three this spring, tying Charles Johnson and Bordick for the club lead. Bordick hit his third yesterday.

"Right now, he's trying to be perfect and he's making some mistakes. He doesn't want to do anything wrong. He'll be fine."

Miller has spoken to Otanez about not pressing. "He's under a lot of pressure, but it's a good pressure. You're out of options and you had 100 RBIs [at Triple-A Rochester] last season. That's good pressure."

Cuba game 'no-win'

Miller has likened this Sunday's exhibition in Cuba to playing the first interleague game in Atlanta in 1997. It's an event for the players -- and Game 7 of the World Series for the Cubans -- with national media coverage and a sold-out stadium. But what about the manager?

"It's a no-win situation for me," Miller said. "My only goal going there is to play a good game and get out of there healthy. That's my only concern. You hope somebody doesn't get hurt, but you can't play the game saying, 'I can't get hurt.' You've got to play.

"I don't know what the conditions are or anything, but I know there are 640 media passes and it's going to be on worldwide TV.

"I don't have any fear of losing or winning or any of that. It's going to be a high-atmosphere game seven or eight days before we open the season. I can't just play guys four innings and take everybody out and then have nobody else who can play."

Pub Date: 3/22/99