Exposito excited to be back, N. Johnson has one more hit

BOSTON - Luis Exposito is back in Boston - just not the way he once imagined. Exposito signed a minor league contract with the Orioles after being designated for assignment by the Red Sox. As part of baseball's circle of life, he ended up at Fenway Park today after being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. Exposito takes the roster spot of outfielder Nolan Reimold, who's going on the disabled list with a bulging disk in his cervical spine. "It's a good experience to be there, and hopefully I can help out as much as I can and keep the Orioles on top," Exposito said. Tides manager Ron Johnson informed Exposito of his promotion during the 12th inning of last night's game against Indianpolis. "He told me to make sure I didn't get hurt," Exposito said. The Orioles haven't given Exposito a specific role here. He's a third catcher and an extra bat for the bench. That probably sums it up. "I was just told, 'You're getting called up.' That's all," he said. "I'm here to help the team as much as possible and when I get my opportunity, make the most of it." Exposito said he wasn't surprised that the Red Sox let him go, and he was "more excited that the Orioles liked me enough to want to pick me up and actually have confidence in me. They really showed that they liked me, and that was a confidence booster. "It's been awesome. I can't explain how happy I've been, the opportunities I've been getting, especially in Norfolk. I've been playing every day and that's what I worked all off-season for. I worked hard to put myself in a good position, and this is the opportunity I've been waiting for." Exposito can provide scouting reports on the Red Sox if anyone approaches him. "If anybody needs a pointer or something, I don't see why not," he said, smiling. "I'm here to help them and I'll do what I've got to do to help the team win." Catcher Allan De San Miguel moves up from Double-A Bowie to take Exposito's place at Norfolk. Also, according to various reports from the New York media, Joe Torre has overturned the error charged to Yankees left fielder Eduardo Nunez during the sixth inning of Tuesday's game against the Orioles. The significance? Nick Johnson had to wait until his next at-bat to collect his first hit of the season and end an 0-for-29 drought. Now you can credit Johnson with one more hit this season, making him 4-for-35. It becomes an 0-for-28 drought that Johnson ended. And he has four hits in his last seven at-bats.