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Even though we had a lot of bad weather around Camden Yards during the last homestand, we've had no stormy touchdowns except for the Orioles rotation.
Three new pitchers have been elevated to the ML roster, and they are a welcome whirlwind. Brad Bergesen, Jason Berken, and David Hernandez have touched down on the mound.
I loved the way Brad Bergesen approached his very first game. He took the mound like a hurricane and PITCHED his way to a victory. He was focused; he was prepared; and he worked so fast nobody had time to dust their unies.
He showed very good mechanics, finishing every pitch ready to field his position.
One thing for me that stood out was his sinker. When he stayed on top, it had a lot of downward movement and made hitters look a little off balance when they swung.
That one pitch convinced me that someday he will be one of the premier pitchers in the league, and his minor league numbers prove my point. He finished 2008 with a 16-7 record with only 33 walks. He won't be a big strikeout guy but you'll see a lot of double plays as the game goes on.
Jason Berken, ditto, the same four pitches as Brad, except he uses his change up a little more and starts more hitters off with the curve and slider. His sinking fastball isn't in the league with Bergesen, but his other off-speeds are a bit better. Basically he is a hell of a grinder and keeps coming at you with anything you can't hit. He likes to win and you can see it in his eyes on the mound and in the stat book: 12-4 last year at Double A.
David Hernandez, ditto, ditto, he has the same four pitches, except his fastball is a little more dominant and he likes to use it up in the zone and the slider down. He works a little slower than the other two, but his selections are a lot like Berken's. He seems to be able to use either his curve or his slider when he wants and goes to the one that serves him better at the time.
The bottom line is that they all have excellent mechanics, which we havn't seen around here for a while. They have great poise on the mound; they aren't intimindated by the big names, and, oh yeah, they throw strikes. They could take this town by storm and I hope they do.
