"The debate about who was the game's best shortstop raged on around baseball in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The conversation started with Alex Rodriguez, continued with Derek Jeter and included Nomar Garciaparra and Miguel Tejada.

Only Jeter remains at that position.

Garciaparra retired this month, and now Tejada is attempting a transition that Rodriguez made in 2004 when the Texas Rangers traded him to the New York Yankees. Rodriguez moved from shortstop to third base when he was 28. Tejada is trying to do it at age 35. Rodriguez thinks he'll be just fine.

"I think he'll do great," Rodriguez said before going 0-for-2 with two strikeouts and a walk in the Orioles' 8-0 victory over the Yankees on Thursday at Ed Smith Stadium. "He was a Gold Glove-caliber shortstop, and I think his transition is going to be smooth."

Defensively, Tejada has looked pretty much the way the Orioles expected somebody who has played 1,846 big league games at shortstop and none at third to look. He has made four errors in 13 games, struggling at times but mostly showing he's capable of making the routine play, which is all the Orioles are asking of him.

"I think he's a lot more comfortable than he was," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "Can he get better? We can all get better."

In an interview with The Baltimore Sun in February, Cal Ripken Jr., the Orioles' everyday shortstop from 1983 to 1996 before he made the move to third base, said it takes about 100 games for a player to figure out a new position. Rodriguez, a longtime admirer of Ripken's, smiled when he was asked whether he agreed with the Hall of Famer's opinion.

"It's taking me about 350 games, and I'm still not sure I'm there yet," Rodriguez said. "But like I said, it's just more getting experience there. The more you play it, the more angles that you get to play. There are always different plays you have to see."

Rodriguez's error total has dropped each of the past three seasons after he was charged with 24 in 2006. In his first two seasons at third for New York, Rodriguez made a combined 25 errors. Last season, the two-time Gold Glove winner at shortstop committed nine errors in 116 games and had a fielding percentage of .967."