That banging you hear is the figurative building of the gallows in the town square for Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo.

When they start taking polls about whether you should keep your job, unripe fruit is a risky purchase as the old baseball bromide goes.

The O's lost last night, 6-4, to Toronto in the type of game that's typical for Daniel Cabrera when he's not getting location on more than one pitch. He walked only two batters but, then again, he hit a guy during the Blue Jays' four-run fifth inning and struck out just two. He never got out of the fifth. And on offense, the Orioles were as tepid as they've been most of the year -- especially with people in scoring position (Melvin Mora's fourth-inning DP with the bases loaded, Miguel Tejada's strikeout with one out and a runner on third in the fifth). It all added up to five games under .500 and fourth place.

Sun reporter Jeff Zrebiec's story today did a good job in summing up the manager's position but as is often the case in such situations, it's less what is said than what is left unsaid, and the silence from front office guys Mike Flanagan and Jim Duquette sends an ominous message.

* The Red Sox-Yankee series goes to a rubber game tonight, with Boston winning yesterday, 7-3, as Manny Ramirez rocked Mike Mussina for a first-inning three-run homer.

* The San Antonio-Utah NBA Western Conference finals continued down a predictable track as the Spurs cruised to a 2-0 series lead, winning, 105-96. The Jazz was out of it by halftime, down by 17 to a superior opponent on the road. The Spurs, who have been terrific in distributing the ball, shot well over 50 percent; the Jazz well under 50 percent.