BALTIMORE -- For the second straight day, the New York media ventured into the Baltimore clubhouse to address trade rumors involving Orioles who might be headed to the Big Apple.

	Surhoff

On Monday, the rumor du jour was shortstop Mike Bordick going to the New York Mets. On Tuesday, the writers wanted to talk to left fielder B.J. Surhoff about the possibility of him being dealt to the Yankees.

Surhoff, like Bordick, was unwilling to entertain the possibility of being traded before the July 31 deadline.

"I haven't given it an ounce of thought. I don't even know what you guys are talking about," Surhoff said. "I have control over certain things, and I don't have control over others. I definitely don't have control over rumors."

The New York Times reported Tuesday that the Yankees are negotiating with the Orioles about acquiring Surhoff and might be backing off talks for Rondell White because of the Montreal Expos' request for top prospect Alfonso Soriano.

The Yankees and Orioles exchanged a handful of trade combinations Monday afternoon, according to the Times, and the Yankees haven't had to include Soriano in the mix. The Yankees offered David Walling, a Double-A right-hander who was their first-round draft pick last year, and one of the following three prospects -- Double-A shortstop Erick Almonte, Triple-A pitcher Ryan Bradley and Double-A pitcher Brian Rogers.

Surhoff, 35, is making $3 million this year and will make $3.5 million next year. He has a vesting option for the 2002 season for $4.5 million that he should easily qualify for, meaning that if the Yankees make a deal for him, they know he may be with them for another two years.

Surhoff's contract contains a limited no-trade clause, but the Yankees are not among the teams Surhoff can block. The Mets are among those teams, perhaps the result of a frustrating end to negotiations between Surhoff and the Mets after the 1998 season, when the Mets were negotiating with Surhoff and Robin Ventura at the same time and signed Ventura.

The Expos also are talking to the Red Sox about White. Boston appears to be offering third baseman Wilton Veras and another prospect, the Times reported.

Like Bordick, Surhoff made it clear that he would prefer to stay put rather than uproot his family, even it meant playing for a contender.

"For the umpteenth-thousandth time, this is where I'd like to play, this is where I want to play," he said. "If that changes somehow, then I would have to deal with it. But I hope I don't have to."

Syd Thrift, the Orioles' vice president of player personnel, has been working the phones for weeks. But he said the organization won't deal away veterans without receiving ample compensation.

"I can only do what other teams do with me. Depending on the quality of the prospects, it has to be fair for both parties," Thrift said. "Our goal is to get better."