masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgUnless he fell asleep on the couch last night and hurt his back, Brad Bergesen will throw from the mound today in a much-anticipated bullpen session.

Bergesen says he’ll probably be held to 25-30 pitches, and most likely will stay exclusively with his fastball. Maybe he’ll be allowed to mix in a few changeups, but no breaking stuff.

Update: I just returned from the gym and a light rain is falling. Combined with the chilly temperatures, I’d say it’s far from an ideal day to be throwing…Unless he fell asleep on the couch last night and hurt his back, Brad Bergesen will throw from the mound today in a much-anticipated bullpen session.

Bergesen says he’ll probably be held to 25-30 pitches, and most likely will stay exclusively with his fastball. Maybe he’ll be allowed to mix in a few changeups, but no breaking stuff.

Update: I just returned from the gym and a light rain is falling. Combined with the chilly temperatures, I’d say it’s far from an ideal day to be throwing outside. Hopefully, it clears up and warms up. But it’s doubtful that Bergesen would attempt his bullpen session in the current conditions.

Assuming he doesn’t experience any setbacks, Bergesen estimates that he could catch up to the other pitchers in camp by March 15-20. That’s plenty of time before the Orioles head to St. Petersburg for their opening series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

There’s been some confusion here regarding the number of Bergesen’s flat-ground sessions. He’s turned in three of them, which explains why he received clearance to throw from the mound today and didn’t have to wait until Monday. The math got a little messed up.

Calling into last night’s Hot Stove Show, Bergesen said he couldn’t do any throwing after injuring his shoulder in the commercial shoot two months ago.

“It was that bad,” he said.

Naturally, his teammates showed little restraint while teasing him about it.

“I’d say out of 60 guys here, I probably received a smart comment from about 35 of them,” he said, chuckling.

At least it wasn’t unanimous.

MASN commercials are being filmed inside Ed Smith Stadium this week. Bergesen’s script included the following notation:

“No throwing involved”

And speaking of commercials…