Slider

Orioles reliever Mike Fetters threw for about 10 minutes yesterday, again using all his pitches and saying, "It was my best day yet as far as my command and stuff. I was really able to command my slider and my forkball."Fetters was scheduled to throw a simulated game, but with Mike Figga starting yesterday and Charles Johnson getting a day off, there wasn't an available catcher.Manager Ray Miller said Fetters was "close" to being ready to go on a rehab assignment in the minors. "[Trainer]

Quote: "[Mark McGwire] hits my changeup, he hits my curveball, he hits my slider. I just try to pick the spots where he's going to hit his home runs." -- Rockies pitcher Brian Bohanon, against whom McGwire was 6-for-9 until Thursday, when he was 0-for-2.It's a fact: The Dodgers' Eric Young, who stole his 17th base in the third inning, entered the game with more steals than six NL teams -- Montreal, Colorado, Milwaukee, Chicago, New York and Florida.Who's hot: The Rockies' Larry Walker is hitting .563 (9-for-16)

Quote: "My slider wasn't really working all that great for me, my fastball was a little wild at times, but it seemed like every time I had to throw a strike, I was able to." -- Jason Schmidt, Pirates starter, who faced three batters over the minimum in a complete-game victory.It's a fact: Houston is 11-4 in games in which Richard Hidalgo has homered.Who's hot: The Cardinals are 4-0 under acting manager Rene Lachemann, running the team while Tony La Russa recovers from a stomach ailment.Who's not: The Expos made two errors in the game to raise their total to a major-league-high 97.On deck: Mets manager Bobby Valentine said he planned to give Kenny Rogers his first start Wednesday.

ATLANTA -- There were moments in the third inning yesterday, Kevin Millwood said, when he slipped a couple of sliders and curveballs past Houston hitters and knew he was in complete control of those tricky pitches. He felt buoyed by the way they veered across the plate."From then on," Millwood said, "I knew if I threw the right pitch and kept them guessing a little bit, it was going to be a pretty good ballgame."Try great. In his first postseason appearance, Millwood threw a one-hitter, facing just two batters over the minimum as the Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros, 5-1, to even their National League Division Series at one game apiece.

In what has been a ho-hum season, there was something to be excited about yesterday in the Toronto Blue Jays clubhouse.Dave Stieb, 40, returned to the majors Wednesday night from HTC Triple-A Syracuse, ending a comeback nearly as unlikely as the mid-30s retirement for someone who had been one of baseball's dominant pitchers."

One more pitch. That's all Armando Benitez needed to add to his budding reputation as one of baseball's best setup men, but instead he was lamenting two that didn't go his way in last night's combustible eighth inning against the Cleveland Indians.Benitez was handed the ball and a 4-2 lead to start the eighth. He had done the job all year, as opponents had batted just .125 against him, best in the American League. Counting the Division Series, he had entered a game with the lead 47 times and had held it 46 times.

In Tuesday night's opener of the American League Championship Series, Marquis Grissom lost a battle with the outfield wall at Camden Yards, bouncing off the padding and falling groggily to the warning track in pursuit of Cal Ripken's double.Last night, the career .344 postseason hitter got even the best way possible, slamming an Armando Benitez slider in the eighth inning over the center-field wall for a three-run homer to give the Indians a 5-4 victory over the Orioles to even the series.

For Armando Benitez, the reminders rained down on him like April showers. Throw your slider early in the count. Don't rely so much on your heater. Change speeds.He was told this during winter workouts with Orioles scout Carlos Bernhardt, and in spring training by anyone within earshot.So, why the inflated ERA four weeks into the season?"He was overthrowing," said pitching coach Ray Miller.Before a rare two-run, four-hit outing last night, he had been overwhelming hitters and taking the air out of an ERA that had ballooned to 8.64 after eight appearances.

SEATTLE -- Has he discovered a new attitude? A new pitch? A new delivery? The mystery surrounding Scott Erickson's overpowering start continues to grow with every appearance.The same pitcher who endured a fitful 1996 (13-12, 5.02 ERA, 262 hits), has transformed into a model of efficiency during a 7-1 run that left him temporarily tied with Jimmy Key and Toronto's Roger Clemens as the major leagues' winningest pitcher. Key earned his eighth win last night.After defeating the Seattle Mariners, 6-3, on Friday, Erickson denied any new weapons have been added to his arsenal.

ATLANTA -- Braves general manager John Schuerholz stood on the field yesterday and replayed some of the bizarre moments from Atlanta's 8-6 loss in Game 4 of the World Series on Wednesday night. The New York Yankees' two swinging bunts. A missed double-play ball. An umpire obstructing a Braves outfielder and possibly preventing him from making a catch."You could make a laundry list of it all," said Schuerholz.But what he remembers most of all is the pitch that Mark Wohlers threw to Jim Leyritz in the eighth inning, a hanging slider that Leyritz bashed over the left-field wall for a three-run homer, tying the game at 6-6Fox showed that pitch again and again, in slow motion, and Schuerholz watched in his private box. The replay "shows each and every spin of the pitch, and it seemed like it would never reach the plate.

Billy O'Dell might be feeding the cows, or fishing for bass, or hunting the wild turkeys that scuttle about on the edge of his farm in South Carolina. Then it hits him. "I'll think, 'Did I really pitch against [Stan] Musial and [Willie] Mays and that crowd?' " O'Dell said. "'Was I really good enough to play with those guys?' "Sometimes it feels like a dream." The bronze plaque hanging on the wall of his den says otherwise: "Billy O'Dell, Baltimore Orioles, 1958 Major League All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.

If baseball is a game of second chances, reliever Greg Aquino is getting one with the Orioles. How he handles it will determine his future in the bullpen, and in the organization. Aquino had his contract purchased yesterday from Triple-A Norfolk, where he totaled nine saves and posted a 2.45 ERA in 23 appearances, walking six and striking out 29. He's taking the place of reliever Ryan Bukvich, who was designated for assignment - just as Aquino was April 29 before clearing waivers and being outrighted.

The seared something balances atop a scallop, the quintessence of culinary refinement and elegant dining - and the cause of so much trouble. It is foie gras, a velvet-textured delicacy loved by some gourmets. And it presents a provocation to certain animal rights activists. Only days ago, it brought a dozen yelling, sign-wielding protesters to the doorstep of Kali's Court, a Fells Point restaurant that features it on its menu. The taste of foie gras - "fat liver" in French - isn't the problem.

Pitches -- He's got some power stuff. His fastball is at 96 to 99 [mph]. He's a Chris Ray type with a real power slider and a good curve. Weaknesses -- The one thing I wonder about is that on 1-2 and 0-2 counts, he likes to come with his fastball. And I don't know why, because he has that good slider. Evidently, he has more confidence in that fastball. Future -- He is going to be a good one. He'll be up soon (he's currently at Triple-A). He could do whatever they want. He could start, and he has closer's stuff right now. Mariano [Rivera]

Watching Parkville's Kevin Jacob pitch, it's obvious why Georgia Tech gave him a baseball scholarship. He's a loose and fluid 6-foot-5, 215-pound right-hander with long arms and command of three pitches - a fastball in the 88-91 mph range, a curve and a nasty slider. That's what visiting Kenwood saw yesterday in a 3-0 loss to Jacob and the No. 10 Knights (12-3). Jacob (6-1), who lowered his ERA to 0.36, lost a bid for his first no-hitter with one out in the seventh. He struck out a career-high 16 (for 81 in 39 innings)

Good news: Umpires just ruled that right fielder Ron Swoboda trapped Brook Robinson's fly ball in the 1969 World Series. The Orioles actually won Game 4. Other decisions I'd like to see reversed: "Hey, I think we can get Glenn Davis if we convince Houston to take Curt Schilling off our hands!" "Forget Davey Johnson. If we don't hire Phil Regan today, some body else is going to get him!" "Forget Davey Johnson. Tell him to take his Manager of the Year award and don't let the door hit him on the way out!"

Pitches / / His fastball tops at 97 mph and he usually throws it at about 93, 94. His No. 2 pitch is a slider. He's got a version of a splitter, a slider and a [changeup] he mixes in. His fastball explodes and hitters don't hit it. It's not a movement where it tails or cuts; it's a movement all over the place. Weaknesses / / He is either on or he isn't. Clubs hope you can catch him when he isn't throwing strikes. When he doesn't throw strikes you can work the count and get him out of there.

FORT MYERS, FLA. -- Melvin Mora stumbled across home plate, stood in the opposite side of the batter's box and collected his thoughts, rather than a hit. Jay Gibbons took two bad swings and flung his bat and helmet toward the visiting dugout. For one inning, the Orioles' attempts to get to Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka got lost in translation. They looked bad. They looked confused. They looked frustrated enough to board the team bus early - say, before the second inning - and head back to Fort Lauderdale.

In baseball terms, Delmarva is a very long way from Baltimore. It's the difference between kids fresh out of college and men who are among the best in the world at what they do. But the Orioles' newest reliever, Jim Hoey, has climbed all the way from the low Single-A Shorebirds in less than five months. He used a 97-mph fastball and sharp slider to dominate hitters at three levels along the way, and the Orioles are ready to see whether the 6-foot-6 right-hander might be one of their setup men next season.

Baysox pitching coach Scott McGregor has a philosophy that applies to Radhames Liz: "If it isn't broke, don't fix it." Despite the Orioles pitching prospect having a mixed showing in his first two starts with Double-A Bowie, the right-hander appears to be on baseball's fast track. "To get to this level as quickly as he has says something about his competitive nature and his ability to adjust and adapt his pitching," said McGregor, who added that perhaps the biggest thing for Liz is learning how to be consistent with his pitching motion.