BALTIMORE – The Iron Man will be allowed to rust a little this season, Orioles manager Mike Hargrove has decided.

	Kinkade

	Ripken

Third baseman Cal Ripken Jr., who set the major-league record for consecutive games played, will play between "two to five times a week," to give more time to backup Mike Kinkade.

Ripken was not in the starting lineup for the second time in three games Tuesday night as the Orioles opened a three-game series against Detroit.

"There are going to be some weeks when he's going to play three times, some weeks when he might play five times, and some weeks when he plays two times," Hargrove said in Wednesday's editions of The (Baltimore) Sun.

Ripken has gotten off to a horrible start, batting .154 with six RBI in 52 at-bats. Ripken got a late start in spring training because of a fractured rib – he only had 25 at-bats in camp.

There has been speculation this could be the last year for Ripken, who signed a one-year contract after last season. In February, he did not rule out the possibility that he could retire during the season if he struggled.

Hargrove said the move wasn't related to the slow start.

"We've got to find out about our younger guys," Hargrove said. "If we look up this summer and these guys haven't played, what we've done has gone for nothing."

"It's not performance-related on Cal's part ... It's all predicated on what Kinkade has showed."

Ripken said he wasn't surprised by the decision.

"I guess it would be a surprise if I had 20 hits in my first 40 at-bats," Ripken said. "The irony of this is that I'm feeling better now than at almost any time I can remember in the past few years... I need at-bats on the field to get going."

Hargrove said he didn't consider Ripken a part-time player.

"Not in the true sense of it," he said. "If you took out a dictionary, the definition might fit. But I don't consider Cal a part-time player. He's not a full-time player, but he wasn't a full-time player last year."