By Mark Maske
                  Washington Post Staff Writer
                  Thursday, January 7, 1999; Page D03

                  Baltimore Orioles majority owner Peter Angelos said yesterday he's
                  confident that all the necessary arrangements will be made and all the
                  required approvals will be secured for his club to play home-and-home
                  exhibition games this spring against the Cuban national team.

                  "It's moving forward," Angelos said from his Baltimore law office. "It's very
                  encouraging. I hate to be one who makes prognostications, but it looks
                  very positive."

                  Angelos said that he and other Orioles representatives will travel to Cuba
                  soon to attempt to complete negotiations on the terms under which the
                  games would be played. It's possible that members of the Orioles'
                  delegation will meet with Cuban President Fidel Castro, Angelos said. He
                  indicated that he expects to know within the next few days when the trip to
                  Cuba will occur.

                  The proposal would have to be approved by Major League Baseball and
                  the Major League Baseball Players Association. Commissioner Bud Selig
                  and Players Association chief Donald Fehr were noncommittal on the
                  subject Tuesday, saying that they need to study the matter further before
                  making any decisions.

                  Angelos said he doesn't believe that getting ratification from Major League
                  Baseball or the players' union would be a problem.

                  "Major League Baseball has been very favorably inclined," Angelos said.
                  "Don Fehr has been supportive in the past. When this began two years
                  ago, he and I had more than one conversation on the subject."

                  Baseball officials apparently have concerns about security, about the
                  willingness of major league players to play in Cuba, about the possibility of
                  a backlash by Cuban-Americans and about the prospects of Cuban
                  players defecting if a game is played in Baltimore.

                  Angelos said: "I don't know if it [defections] would happen. I hope it
                  won't.

                  "The goal here is to play both games for the purpose of using baseball as a
                  conduit for better contact between the Cuban people and Americans. I'm
                  hopeful all these concerns can be dealt with in a positive manner, and won't
                  be a hindrance to the successful completion of this."

                  The Clinton administration has made it clear that the games will be played
                  only if the proceeds do not go to the Castro government, but to aid
                  charities for the Cuban people. The Orioles have received approval from
                  U.S. government agencies to travel to Cuba to negotiate the terms under
                  which the games would be played. The Orioles would need to receive
                  further approval from the U.S. government to play the games.

                  Angelos indicated that he hadn't spoken directly to President Clinton about
                  the matter, but said that "the State Department and others in the
                  government have been very positive in encouraging us to move forward."

                  The reaction that the Orioles have gotten about the possibility of playing
                  the games has been "very positive" thus far, Angelos said. Former Orioles
                  first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, who was born in Cuba but grew up in
                  Miami, said that he wouldn't play in Cuba if invited. Palmeiro signed with
                  the Texas Rangers as a free agent this winter.

                  "The only negative reaction I've heard is the comments by Raffy," Angelos
                  said. "I understand where he's coming from. I don't necessarily agree with
                  his views, but he's entitled to his opinion."

                           © Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company