FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Nolan Reimold walked into the visiting clubhouse at City of Palms Park about three hours before yesterday's game and searched for an open locker. He was happy to be preparing for a major league spring training game but couldn't help feeling that this is what he should have been doing all along this spring.
Reimold, a 24-year-old outfielder whom Baseball America ranks as the Orioles' fourth-best prospect and second-best position prospect behind Matt Wieters, admitted that he was surprised and disappointed that he didn't get an invitation to major league spring training.
"I thought that I deserved one," said Reimold, who was one of six players who made the short trip from the club's minor league camp in Sarasota to join the Orioles yesterday for their 7-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Reimold played a half-inning defensively but didn't get an at-bat as the game was called because of rain in the seventh inning. "I'm 24, and I played well in Double-A when I played. It wasn't up to me. But I was disappointed."
David Stockstill, Orioles minor league director, said earlier this spring that the club wanted to make sure Reimold was completely healthy and getting regular at-bats this spring, something that might not have happened in major league camp.
"I heard that. I heard it was a numbers thing. I heard a couple of different things," he said. "There is nothing I can really do about it. This was the hand I was dealt, and I'm just going to have to live with it. I just have to go out and play and prove that I should have been there this year."
Reimold hit .306 with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs last season for Double-A Bowie but was limited to 50 games because of an oblique injury. He will start the season at Bowie or Triple-A Norfolk.
"I'm 24, and if you're not ready right now, then you're probably not going to be," Reimold said. "But I feel like I am ready to go right now and ready to play."
Training room
Scott Moore, who hasn't played since March 3 because of an abdominal strain, will start at third base today. ... Adam Loewen (tendinitis) played catch and reported no discomfort. He will throw a side session tomorrow and start Wednesday. ... Radhames Liz hasn't been able to pitch the past two days because he's sick. ... Luke Scott went 0-for-3 in his first game since March 6. ... Though a magnetic resonance imaging revealed no structural damage to Jim Hoey's shoulder, Orioles manager Dave Trembley doesn't expect the reliever to pitch "anytime soon."
