FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. - Recently acquired left-hander Rich Hill is progressing in his comeback from command issues in 2008, and he was throwing so well during his batting practice session yesterday that reserve catcher Guillermo Quiroz couldn't restrain his enthusiasm.
"That's the best left-handed stuff I've ever seen," Quiroz said.
Maybe that's a little bit much, but the issue with Hill has never been his talent. He was one of the brightest young pitchers in baseball a couple of seasons ago before he spun out of control.
"We all know the stuff," pitching coach Rick Kranitz said. "You don't just walk on a diamond and all of a sudden, you're [fourth] in the league in strikeouts. That's not a mistake. We know what kind of stuff he has. You just have to make sure it gets consistent. He has [gotten better each time]. We're taking little steps at a time."
The next big step will come Sunday, when Hill makes his exhibition debut in the Orioles' rotation on the road against the Washington Nationals.
Wieters honored again
Orioles catcher Matt Wieters was named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America at the end of last season. This week, the magazine released its top 100 prospects for 2009 and he was at the top of that list, too.
Guess that shouldn't come as a great surprise, but Wieters was chosen over Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price, who came up late in the season and starred in last year's American League Championship Series.
"It's a great honor, but you have to look at it as what I did last year and this is a whole new year," he said. "You can look at that kind of stuff in the offseason, but when spring training comes around, you've got to really get back going and focus on this year."
The Orioles have three prospects in the top 25 - the other two are Chris Tillman (No. 21) and Brian Matusz (No. 25). Jake Arrieta is ranked No. 67.
Hargrove in camp
Former Orioles manager Mike Hargrove is helping coach the Italian team, but he said again yesterday that he wouldn't mind getting one more chance to manage in the major leagues. He quit in Seattle while the Mariners were still in contention in 2007 - supposedly because he had lost the desire to manage the team - so he acknowledges that he'll have to convince a team he still has the fire to be an effective manager.
