He was listed as the 18th-best right-handed amateur pitcher by Baseball America, but his stock skyrocketed as the draft approached.
Gathering the troops
With his team a season-high 10 games below the .500 mark, Orioles manager Dave Trembley held a brief meeting before Friday's game and encouraged the players to relax and start having fun again.
"I usually leave the players alone," Trembley said. "I talk to a lot of guys one-on-one. I call a lot of guys at night, talk to them on the phone, that kind of stuff. But today I had to talk to the group as a whole. It's all about basics, fundamentals, relax, let your abilities take care of itself. ... Let's just have a little fun playing."
The meeting lasted about 15 minutes, and Trembley said he was the only speaker.
"I'm the only one that needed to talk," Trembley said. "I think you have to have a little empathy for the players and just make them feel comfortable. That's all I'm trying to do - make them feel comfortable and appreciate what they've been doing. Everybody is going to go through their struggles. We've played 60 games. We got 102 to play, and we're going to win a lot of them."
Around the horn
Woodie Held, an infielder and outfielder for the Orioles during the 1966 and 1967 seasons, died Wednesday in Wyoming after a bout with brain cancer. He was 77 years old. ... Triple-A Norfolk second baseman Justin Turner (sprained right wrist) was put on the minor league disabled list. ... Bobby Livingston was demoted from Norfolk to Double-A Bowie, changing places with Jake Arrieta, who made his Tides debut Friday night.
Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Zrebiec contributed to this article.
