[外電] Minor League Report: Randor Bierd
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Minor League Report: Randor Bierd
O's prospect learns deceptive pitch from Mets' Martinez
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The arm speed doesn't give it away, and neither do
the reactions from hitters standing in the on-deck circle or the batter's
box. Randor Bierd, a Rule 5 Draft pick by the Orioles at the Winter Meetings
on Dec. 6, has been fooling people all spring with an offspeed pitch learned
from Pedro Martinez, one of the greatest pitchers of his (or any other)
generation.
Recently, Baltimore manager Dave Trembley said that Bierd has a
"swing-and-miss pitch" and said he wasn't sure whether it was a changeup or a
split-fingered fastball. Bierd, however, said that it's a straight changeup
learned from Martinez in their native Dominican Republic, and he said that
his arm speed helps camouflage the pitch's effect.
"It's my best pitch and I'm confident in it," Bierd said recently. "I use a
two-seam fastball to set it up, and I use it all the time because I don't
throw 98 [mph]. I throw 92 or 93. Pedro doesn't play in winter ball, but he
watches the games.
"He taught me the changeup -- and to keep working hard -- around three years
ago. He said that people have more experience than I do, but to enjoy what I
do and not let pressure get to me. Do what I know and don't be pressured."
Bierd, who's pitched just 27 games above the Class A level, knows that he has
a tough job ahead of him. The right-hander racked up a 3-2 record and a 3.35
ERA at Double-A Erie in Detroit's organization last season, and he knows that
there will be a huge leap in competition if he's able to stick with the
Orioles and pitch in the big leagues all year.
For now, though, he's reveling in his first experience at big league Spring
Training, and the Orioles have pledged to give him every chance to make the
club. Bierd, who will turn 24 midway through March, said that he knows Daniel
Cabrera from winter ball and that he's slowly getting to know the other
people in Baltimore's clubhouse.
"There's a lot of new guys here, but I'm working hard," Bierd said Tuesday.
"I want to stay on the team and help the bullpen. The manager told me I have
a good chance, so I'm working hard every day."
On the move: The Orioles welcomed three extra prospects -- infielders Blake
Davis and Jonathan Tucker and outfielder Sebastien Boucher -- to help stem
the tide of a flu bug running around camp. The Orioles have been without a
few outfielders (most notably Jay Payton and Chris Roberson) and have seen
infielder Scott Moore slowed by illness. Davis, Tucker and Boucher joined the
team Thursday and will stick around until everyone's healthy.
On the pine: Reliever Fernando Cabrera's trip to the Minor League complex in
Sarasota, Fla., was delayed by the late arrival of his car, but the
right-hander will spend the next few months working on a throwing program in
an effort to build back from offseason arthroscopic surgery on his elbow.
Cabrera said his elbow bothered him down the stretch last year and probably
won't be ready to pitch until May at the earliest.
Names in the game: Former southpaw Mike Cuellar -- a four-time 20-game winner
and member of Baltimore's vaunted 1971 rotation (which featured four 20-game
winners) -- is in camp this spring to work with some of the Orioles' younger
pitchers. Cuellar, who's currently retired, has said that he'd like to get
back in the game as a pitching coach.
Trembley said he wants Cuellar in camp to meet with his young Latin American
pitchers and also to sit down with some of his southpaws and talk about their
craft.
"If you notice, I didn't put him in with the regular coaches. I put him in
the middle of the locker room," Trembley said. "I think he's a very good
influence for a lot of the younger guys. ... I know he's thrilled to be
here."
They're No. 1: Moore has hit well through the first few weeks this spring and
looks like a strong bet to break camp with the parent club. Catcher Matt
Wieters, Baltimore's top pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, has
impressed, but will soon leave the Orioles to work out at the Minor League
camp. Ben Davis, another former high Draft pick, is fighting against
Guillermo Quiroz for the backup catching job.
Class of '07: Wieters, the fifth overall pick, is the only '07 draftee in
camp.
What they're saying: "I just want him to watch when the guys throw on the
sides and in the games and tell [pitching coach Rick Kranitz] what he says.
And obviously, his background is such as an Oriole that I think it's good to
have those kinds of guys around here." -- Trembley, on having Cuellar in camp
to meet his young pitchers
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03/07 23:50, , 1F
03/07 23:50, 1F
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