Bullpen Coach

One popular former Orioles pitcher will be replacing another as a minor league coach at short-season Single-A Aberdeen in a restructuring that is designed to give the club's pitching prospects a better foundation. Former Orioles reliever Alan Mills will be the new pitching coach at Aberdeen, replacing Orioles World Series winner Scott McGregor. McGregor, who spent time in September as the Orioles' interim bullpen coach and coached at Aberdeen for four years, will now work out of Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla., dealing with both injury-rehabbing pitchers and pitchers who are selected in the June draft.

One popular former Orioles pitcher will be replacing another as a minor league coach at short-season Single-A Aberdeen in a restructuring that is designed to give the club's pitching prospects a better foundation. Former Orioles reliever Alan Mills will be the new pitching coach at Aberdeen, replacing Orioles World Series winner Scott McGregor. McGregor, who spent time in September as the Orioles' interim bullpen coach and coached at Aberdeen for four years, will now work out of Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla., dealing with both injury-rehabbing pitchers and pitchers who are selected in the June draft.

The Orioles are getting closer to finalizing their coaching staff for 2012. According to an industry source, former Brewers bullpen coach Bill Castro will take over that role with the Orioles and Boston Red Sox bench coach DeMarlo Hale will become the Orioles' new third base coach if he doesn't stay in Boston. Hale, 50, is still under contract with the Red Sox, who have yet to name a new manager, and therefore his future with that club is uncertain. The Orioles hope to know for sure whether Hale will join them this week.

After a couple months of speculation and negotiation, the Orioles have announced their coaching staff. DeMarlo Hale, the former Boston Red Sox bench and third base coach, will be joining the Orioles as third base coach and infield instructor, and Bill Castro, the longtime Milwaukee Brewers instructor, will be the Orioles' new bullpen coach. Hale, 50, was on Orioles manager Buck Showalter's coaching staff in Texas from 2003 to 2005. A former first baseman-outfielder in the minors, Hale has spent the past six seasons as a coach for the Red Sox, including four as a third base coach.

The Orioles' 2011 coaching staff is coming into focus with the hiring of hitting coach Jim Presley and bullpen coach Rick Adair, the first of six slots to be filled by manager Buck Showalter. The club isn't expected to officially announce its hires until the entire coaching staff is finalized, but an industry source said Presley and Adair both have agreed to two-year deals. The source said the Orioles could have the full staff completed within the next week. Don Wakamatsu (bench coach)

Mark Connor, who has been with Buck Showalter in each of his four stops as manager, resigned as pitching coach, citing personal reasons, the team announced Tuesday. He was immediately replaced by his longtime friend and the Orioles' bullpen coach, Rick Adair, signaling the organization's 13th big league pitching coach change since 1994. Former hitting coach Terry Crowley flew into Toronto and will serve as interim bullpen coach for the remainder of the nine-game road trip, which began Tuesday.

A constant presence at Orioles games for a club-record 37 seasons, bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks remained at a St. Petersburg, Fla., hospital last night after becoming ill following Thursday night's loss at Tropicana Field. A team official said Hendricks, 64, complained of numbness and weakness on his left side and dizziness after dressing for the return flight to Baltimore. He never made it to the bus that transported the Orioles to the airport, and it's believed he suffered a mild stroke.

Orioles bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks has listened to what is being said about Roberto Alomar since the second baseman spat in the face of umpire John Hirschbeck. And Hendricks says what he's hearing is far out of proportion to what Alomar did."I've gotten to the point where I don't want to turn the television on," Hendricks said, "because I know I'm going to see [the spitting incident] somewhere and all it's going to do is make me angrier to see them dissecting this kid -- this kid, who, in his lifetime, has been a model human being, a model player."

The Orioles paid homage to their other Iron Man yesterday, saluting Elrod Hendricks on the start of his 30th season with the club. Cal Ripken was in second grade in 1968 when Hendricks joined the Orioles. Talk about tenure: The catcher-turned-coach has seen a generation come and go, including eight managers, four general managers, three owners and a ballpark.Ripken has played in 2,479 straight contests, but Hendricks has suited up for nearly twice as many Orioles games."That's a lot of national anthems," said Hendricks, honored on rTC Opening Day for his three decades in Baltimore, a club record.

It is the area directly behind the home team's on-deck circle at Camden Yards, in between the Orioles' dugout and the netting that protects well-seated fans from foul balls. Frequent visitors of the ballpark know the area simply as "Ellie's Place." Since the ballpark on West Camden Street opened, it is where the Orioles' beloved bullpen coach and the organization's biggest ambassador held court before games on so many days and so many nights. He tirelessly posed for pictures, signed autographs, delivered hugs and handshakes and shared stories from a baseball career that spanned 45 years, all but nine in an Orioles uniform.

The Orioles are getting closer to finalizing their coaching staff for 2012. According to an industry source, former Brewers bullpen coach Bill Castro will take over that role with the Orioles and Boston Red Sox bench coach DeMarlo Hale will become the Orioles' new third base coach if he doesn't stay in Boston. Hale, 50, is still under contract with the Red Sox, who have yet to name a new manager, and therefore his future with that club is uncertain. The Orioles hope to know for sure whether Hale will join them this week.

Mark Connor surprisingly stepped down as Orioles pitching coach three weeks ago, prompting manager Buck Showalter to promote bullpen coach Rick Adair to oversee the pitching staff in his place. I'm not laying the blame on Adair -- the mishmash rotation was already starting to crack when Connor left the team -- but the pitchers have really struggled since the midseason switcheroo. I could just be coincidence, but check out the numbers. The Orioles had a 4.22 ERA when Connor, who said he was tired of the big-league grind , resigned on June 14. Since then, it has risen to 4.50, giving the Orioles the second-highest ERA in the American League.

Knowing how little Jeremy Guthrie likes to come out of starts, the Orioles were concerned when the right-hander exited his last outing after five scoreless innings because of back discomfort. As it turns out, Guthrie won't even miss a start. Orioles manager Buck Showalter announced Monday that Guthrie will start Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates, four days after he was diagnosed with a muscle strain in his back. "He feels good," Showalter said. "I'm sure you all talked to him or he's tweeted or something.

Mark Connor, who has been with Buck Showalter in each of his four stops as manager, resigned as pitching coach, citing personal reasons, the team announced Tuesday. He was immediately replaced by his longtime friend and the Orioles' bullpen coach, Rick Adair, signaling the organization's 13th big league pitching coach change since 1994. Former hitting coach Terry Crowley flew into Toronto and will serve as interim bullpen coach for the remainder of the nine-game road trip, which began Tuesday.

Chris Jakubauskas will start Tuesday's game against the Oakland Athletics at Camden Yards, the first time he has started in the majors since April 2010, when he was carted off the field after getting hit in the head with a liner. This one is expected to go a little more smoothly. "Obviously, there's going to be a bunch made out of what I did in my last start in the big leagues, but I'm ready to go," said Jakubauskas, who is 0-0 with a 6.39 ERA in five relief appearances for the Orioles this year.

Orioles right-handed relief pitcher Jason Berken looks like a different man this spring after losing at least 20 pounds since last season. Fortunately for the Orioles, he again is looking like the guy who was the club's best pitcher in the first half of 2010. In his two outings this season, Berken has faced 10 batters and retired nine of them, including six on strikeouts. In the seventh inning of Sunday's win, his first big league game since being shut down Aug. 13 with shoulder inflammation, Berken struck out the side, throwing 10 of his 15 pitches for strikes in the Orioles' 5-1 win against Tampa Bay. In Monday's home opener, Berken pitched the seventh and the eighth, allowing just one hit and striking out three in the club's 5-1 win against the Detroit Tigers.

BaseballChicago White Sox -- Announced the resignation of pitching coach Sammy Ellis, who became bullpen coach for the Chicago Cubs.

Longtime Orioles bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks remains hospitalized at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson after undergoing successful surgery for severe spinal stenosis on Monday. Dr. Albert Dudley III performed the two-hour surgery, which affected the upper four vertebrae in Hendricks' back. Hendricks is expected to remain hospitalized until tomorrow.According to team personnel, the extent of Hendricks' condition, similar to the one that affected third baseman Cal Ripken until he underwent a 90-minute procedure Sept.

Five months after being fired by the Orioles, former manager and baseball lifer Dave Trembley has landed the minor league field coordinator position with the Atlanta Braves, according to an industry source. He is also expected to supervise the instruction of coaches and players throughout the Braves organization. Trembley, who has been out of work since he was fired by the Orioles on June 3, could not be reached for comment. Trembley, 59, spent eight years with the Orioles organization, including nearly three full years as manager, before he was dismissed after the team started 2010 with a 15-39 record and was buried in last in the American League East.