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THE BALTIMORE SUN

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N.Y. state of mind

Preakness winner Shackleford declared ready to go for Saturdays Belmont Stakes PG 2

Out, but not down

Navy baseball eliminated from NCAAs PG 2

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2011

BELMONT STAKES BELMONT STAKES

ORIOLES

NATIVE SON
Sagamore Farms long-shot Monzon has the bloodline of a champion

Patterson has no regrets

Former Os outfielder says hes just focusing on the game he loves
By Dan Connolly
THE BALTIMORE SUN

If Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Corey Patterson had to pinpoint a reason hes had success so far this season it would be because he no longer worries about what might happen. Its a philosophy he perfected last April, when he was unemployed and working out at home. Eventually the , Orioles called and of fered BLUE JAYS@ him a minorORIOLES league job Today, 1:35 p.m. with no promises. TV: MASN HD, He acCh. 13 cepted, made Radio: 1090 AM it to the big leagues in mid-May and stuck all year, playing 90 games and hitting .269 with eight homers and a team-high 21 stolen bases. The Orioles didnt re-sign him this winter, while the Blue Jays offered a minor-league deal. There might have been a time when Patterson, the third overall pick in the amateur draft in 1998, would have held out for a better offer. But no longer. Minor league deal, big league deal, it doesnt matter, said the Patterson, 31, who was back at Camden See ORIOLES, page 5

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Saturday nights game against the Blue Jays ended too late for this edition. For a full report, go to baltimoresun.com/orioles

Dimitris Dimitropoulous exercises Monzon at Reisterstowns Sagamore Farm in preparation for the Belmont Stakes. Monzon is a descendant of Native Dancer, the 1953 Preakness winner.

Showalters no savior, but his Os are better

uck Showalter doesnt walk on water. We know that now. Hes not some sort of magician, either. He cant just wave his arms and fix the Orioles. Kevin Its going to take Cowherd time to do that. And money which , they dont seem to want to spend. And good players, which they dont have at least not enough of them. I bring up Showalter today because Friday marked the one-year anniversary of the firing of Dave Trembley , which led to the hiring of Showalter and the ushering in of yet another new era for this franchise. I forget how many new eras the Orioles have had in the past 13 years. But it sure seems like a lot of them. This team goes through new eras the way you and I go through Kleenex. Getting back to Trembley you re, member how that sad business with him went down last season. The Orioles got off to that horrorshow 15-39 start. They were coming off a road trip in which they went 0-6 and were outscored 34-8 by the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. Trembley could feel the ax man coming. See COWHERD, page 3

JOE SORIERO/BALTIMORE SUN PHOTO

By Sandra McKee |

THE BALTIMORE SUN

BELMONT STAKES When the foal dropped to the ground at Sagamore Saturday Farm in Green Spring Valley in February 2008, he had no idea what was in store for him or what he might Belmont Park, mean to a horse farm with deep Maryland roots and a Elmont, N.Y. long history of greatness. TV: 5 p.m., But Saturday Monzon is expected to go to post in the , chs. 11, 4 Belmont Stakes as possibly the first Sagamore homePost time: bred to compete in a Triple Crown race since the great 6:32 p.m. Native Dancer in 1953. Isnt it fitting, then, that Monzons breeding tracks back to Native Dancer a winner at both the Preakness and in the race. Belmont as well as two-time Horse of the Year who was bred by He has a fighters chance, Sagamore general manager Tom Sagamore owner Alfred G. Vanderbilt? Mullikin said. We know were long shots and up against the best And isnt it curious that the horses conformation, his physical in the country but were going to have fun with it. We like taking , build, is more like that of his ancestors than of those who run See MONZON, page 7

today? His rump is high, his back slightly dipped and his neck long. Hes named not for his parentage but for an Argentine boxer, Carlos Monzon, who held the world light heavyweight title for seven years. Monzon (pronounced MON-zone) is not gray like Native Dancer, who was nicknamed the Gray Ghost, either. And while Native Dancer was the first horse to become a television star, so bright TV Guide once ranked him second only to Ed Sullivan as TVs biggest attraction, Monzon is a bay and when he gets to Bel, mont Park he may be one of the lesser-known horses

FRENCH OPEN

Serving notice
With a confident display of power and accuracy at the French Open on Saturday, Chinas Li Na became the first player from an Asian nation to win a grand-slam title. Li, the sixth seed, trounced last years champion, Francesca Schiavone of Italy, 6-4 7-6, in the final. I did not have the feeling I could lose the match, Li said. COVERAGE PG 8

Li Na, known as Big Sister Na and Golden Flower in China, celebrates the victory.

BENOIT TESSIER/REUTERS PHOTO