Angelos comments on season and future, umpires issue statement

NEW YORK - Majority owner Peter G. Angelos visited a quiet Orioles clubhouse tonight, shaking hands with players and speaking briefly with reporters. "These young men and certainly Buck (Showalter) and Dan Duquette and all the other officials of the organization have done a spectacular job," Angelos said following a 3-1 loss to the Yankees in Game 5 of the American League Division Series. "We are thankful as we are to you, the press,the broadcasters. "As far as the local team here is concerned, we just want to tell them we will be back next year. They better get ready for it." When it was suggested that Angelos had to be happy with how the season unfolded, he said, "Especially for the Orioles, which we all know is an institution in Maryland. And for a long period of time, as you gentlemen and ladies have stressed frequently, there was a long, long arid period. I hope this will be the case this year, that we mean business, and in the future you can depend on this kind of a performance and hopefully much better." Angelos hasn't initiated talks with Showalter on a contract extension, but he stated that he wants his manager to stay. Showalter has one year remaining on his deal. "That's something that hasn't come up, but if they're interested in staying, nobody's more interested in keeping him than I am. And certainly I speak for everyone in the organization," Angelos said. "They had Buck as the manger, Dan Duquette as the GM, and you certainly couldn't ask for a better, better combination." Meanwhile, umpires Fieldin Culbreth, who worked right field, and Brian Gorman, who served as crew chief, commented on the disputed ball hit by Nate McLouth in the sixth inning which was ruled foul. Culbreth: "I saw it go to the right of the pole. There is netting there and it didn't touch the netting. It did not change direction." Gorman: "We saw the same thing on the replay. There was no evidence to overturn the decision."