Inside The A.L. East

Sporting News, The, Sept 11, 2000

Whos' HOT

Blue Jays closer RHP Billy Koch had four blown saves by June 3, but he hasn't flubbed an opportunity since. After allowing hitters a .271 average over his first 37 appearances, the righthander has held batters to a .210 mark in his last 21 outings.

Who's NOT

Yankees LHP Denny Neagle, who got off to a fast start after being obtained from the Reds, has lost four of his last seven decisions and yielded 49 hits in a span of 35 innings. Neagle, 8-2 with the Reds with a 3.52 ERA. is 5-4 as a Yankee with a 5.04 ERA.

CIRCLE THE CALENDAR

Toronto. still in the playoff hunt, faces the Yankees six times in a 10-day period beginning Tuesday. Sandwiched between the two three-game series (away and home) against the A.L. East leaders will be three tough games against the A.L. Central-leading White Sox in Chicago.

Keep an eye on

Devil Rays rookie 3B Aubrey Huff was summoned from the minors August 1. He went 21-for-71 (.296) with nine RBIs in his first 20 major league games. His hits included four doubles and three home runs, He was charged with two errors.

High and inside

After his 120th game, Yankees SS Derek Jeter had 20 errors and a .960 fielding percentage. In his last four seasons as a big-league starter, he didn't have more than 22 errors or a fielding percentage below .969.

TSN's Wired World

In his last 15 games entering last weekend, Red Sox closer Derek Lowe had permitted only two earned runs in 20 innings. Plus, he had given up only one homer since June 27. For more on the Red Sox, visit: sportingnews.com/baseball/teams/redsox

PROSPECT WATCH

Orioles hopeful RHP Aaron Rakers is stingy. After allowing 14 hits in 32 1/3 innings in the low minors last year (his pro debut), the reliever gave up only 23 hits in 40% innings this year at Class A Frederick before joining Class AA Bowie, where he held hitters to 19 hits in his first 27 2/3 innings and is 3-2 with a 2.93 ERA.

Baltimore

61-74: 4th

Parrish's problems can be traced to a lack of command

Rookie LHP John Parrish was optioned to Class AAA Rochester last week after another disastrous start. He was expected to return to his spot in the rotation this week. His troubles have stemmed from poor command that has forced him to pitch behind in the count. Parrish attributes his struggles to the "mental part," but his mechanics are a factor. His between-starts bullpen sessions have been described by pitching coach Sammy Ellis as "perfect." In the bullpen, Parrish's delivery is fluid, allowing his arm to stay caught up to the rest of his body. On the mound, he has continued to rush, causing his arm to lag behind and leading to wildness.... Cal Ripken's return from a nine-week stay on the D.L. (back) coincided with the start of the season's longest trip, a 13-game, four-city, three-time-zone trek that includes a doubleheader, two day games after night games and three games on artificial turf, all factors that work against him.

SCOUTING REPORT: RHP Jose Mercedes, 29, has been the most pleasant surprise in an otherwise dismal season. By altering his grip and arm speed, he is able to change speeds on his fastball with devastating effect. His two-seam fastball clocks in as low as 86 mph, and his four-seamer can go as high as 95 mph. He also throws a cut fastball that behaves almost like a harder version of a slider. Mercedes also has a pair of off-speed pitches--a slow curve and a changeup--which he throws regularly.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: In a recent 12-2 loss, Parrish, without realizing it, began to pitch "backward" in an effort to find command, evidence of his lack of trust in his stuff. Instead of using his fastball to get ahead and set up his nasty curve and changeup, he threw off-speed pitches almost exclusively early. However, the strategy was foiled by his inability to throw those pitches for strikes. --Dave Sheinin

BURNING ISSUE

Will Cal Ripken's back hold up? If so, he is expected to play next season; however, it is still unclear where. The team has made no effort to re-sign Ripken--a free agent after the season--despite its lack of options at third.

ORIOLES

                  AVG     G    AB    R     H   HR   RBI

(*)Mora          .326    34   129   19    42    2    15
DeShields( )     .302   124   461   72   139    8    66
Lewis            .291    54   117   14    34    2    17
Fordyce          .286    68   217   32    62   11    38
Conine           .283   111   381   50   108   12    41
Belle            .277   134   531   64   147   22    97
Hairston Jr.     .260    22    77   10    20    4    11
(*)Richard( )    .259    32   112   18    29    5    12
Anderson( )      .253   117   431   73   109   16    41
(*)Kingsale(#)   .250     1     4    1     1    0     0
Ripken Jr.       .241    63   237   31    57   13    43
(*)Matos         .227    52   132   17    30    1    14
Myers( )         .227    32    97    7    22    1     6
Hubbard          .214    19    14    2     3    0     0
K. Garcia( )     .176     8    17    1     3    0     0
(*)Lunar         .000     2     4    0     0    0     0

                  OBP    SLG   SB    K   BB    E

(*)Mora          .396   .481    4   17   13    9
DeShields( )     .373   .447   31   69   56   13
Lewis            .352   .453    5   18   10    8
Fordyce          .329   .329    0   33   13    2
Conine           .341   .438    4   50   32   15
Belle            .338   .473    0   66   48    3
Hairston Jr.     .345   .429    3    7    8    3
(*)Richard( )    .325   .482    3   23   10    4
Anderson( )      .360   .411   14   85   68    1
(*)Kingsale(#)   .250   .500    0    0    0    0
Ripken Jr.       .290   .443    0   26   15    5
(*)Matos         .297   .333   10   22   11    2
Myers( )         .279   .309    0   26    7    0
Hubbard          .214   .357    1    0    0    1
K. Garcia( )     .176   .176    0    4    0    0
(*)Lunar         .200   .000    0    1    0    0

GRAND SLAMS: Belle (2), Clark (1)

                ERA    W-L    G      IP        H     R

(*)Kohlmeier   2.16    0-0   15    16.2       18     6
(*)Spurgeon    2.45    1-0    3    11.0       11     3
Groom( )       3.70    6-3   55    48.2       47    25
Mussina        3.85   8-13   29   205.2(a)   203    93
Mercedes       4.28   10-5   30   109.1      116    56
Trombley       4.77    4-4   61    54.2       54    30
Ponson         5.33   7-10   27   180.2      189   112
Rapp           5.86   7-10   26   144.1      170   105
McElroy( )     6.02    1-0   36    43.1       45    32
Mills          6.46    2-0   22    23.2       25    17
J. Johnson     6.82    1-9   21    97.2      104    84
(*)Ryan( )     7.53    2-3   28    28.2       30    25

                ER   HR     K   BB   SV   Avg.

(*)Kohlmeier     4    1    11    6    8   .273
(*)Spurgeon      3    2     3    2    0   .275
Groom( )        20    4    35   18    4   .260
Mussina         88   27   175   42    0   .255
Mercedes        52   10    51   37    0   .274
Trombley        29   13    53   28    4   .258
Ponson         107   26   122   75    0   .266
Rapp            94   14    88   70    0   .293
McElroy( )      29    6    34   26    0   .263
Mills           17    6    18   18    1   .263
J. Johnson      74   20    74   53    0   .269
(*)Ryan( )      24    6    28   25    0   .263