masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgI just got off the phone with Brad Bergesen, who had boarded the team bus after Triple-A Norfolk’s game in Charlotte.

Bergesen is hopeful that yesterday’s start will be his last with the Tides. Nothing against the club, of course, but he’d like another turn in the Orioles’ rotation.

It would be a major surprise if the Orioles bypassed Bergesen on Saturday. He did enough yesterday to leave team officials encouraged, allowing only two runs over seven innings, walking none and getting 14…I just got off the phone with Brad Bergesen, who had boarded the team bus after Triple-A Norfolk’s game in Charlotte.

Bergesen is hopeful that yesterday’s start will be his last with the Tides. Nothing against the club, of course, but he’d like another turn in the Orioles’ rotation.

It would be a major surprise if the Orioles bypassed Bergesen on Saturday. He did enough yesterday to leave team officials encouraged, allowing only two runs over seven innings, walking none and getting 14 ground ball outs.

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Bergesen said he’s mostly worked on the mental part of his game with Norfolk pitching coach Mike Griffin.

“I’ve worked a lot with Mike Griffin down here, who I feel really comfortable with and who helped me a lot in 2008, and he came up with a plan for me,” Bergesen said. “He shared some insight with me on what he went through in his career and how to get out of it. Yesterday, there were times when I did feel like my old 2009 self, and also times when I knew there were still some of my pitches that weren’t where they needed to be. But it was much, much better than my first three starts with the Orioles.

“One of the biggest adjustments for me is more the mental side of it. Talking with Mike, he told me he went through the same things that I’m going through right now, and he told me, ‘You’re not going to get over anything mechanically, physically or mentally until you learn to relax,’ so I really tried to do that.

“I made a couple small, minor adjustments in my mechanics, but nothing major. Right now it’s just more the mental side of it.”

Bergesen hasn’t been notified that the Orioles are recalling him this weekend, but that’s the assumption. They don’t have to make a roster move until later in the week. Jake Arrieta can continue to build on his early success and crack the rotation later.

A reader asked about the differences in the major league and minor league baseballs. The weight’s the same, but the seams on the major league ball are thinner and slicker.

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