Nanner
02-27-2002, 09:59 AM
I'm a little late with this article, but here ya go. It seems he's rarin' to go, and if they don't have him playing everyday, and with his being obsessed with working out in the off-season, he should be healthy and steady for the season.:biggrin:
http://orioles.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/bal/news/bal_news_story.jsp?article_id=mlb_20020221_bordick _news&team_id=bal
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2/21/2002 5:41 pm ET
Birds' Bordick has healthy wing
By Tom Singer
MLB.com
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- You only need to spend a few minutes in the Spring Training camp of the Baltimore Orioles to realize this is an organization which treasures its tradition. Much of it is walking around among the various workout fields.
Elrod Hendricks. Terry Crowley. Rick Dempsey. Andy Etchebarren. All pillars of the Orioles' past, all brought back to tutor the future.
The Birds sometimes have the same open-arm, open-door policy toward active players. It's how Mike Bordick found his way back to Camden Yards, a few months after being "loaned" to the Mets in the middle of the 2000 season.
Following his July 28 trade, Bordick helped spark the Mets into the Subway Series, then became a free agent without suitors.
"I didn't have that many opportunities," he said. The Orioles spread out a two-year welcome mat worth $9.5 million, and Bordick happily wiped his feet. It might be the only time in history that someone signed as a free agent with the same club twice.
Now, it's an even more significant homecoming. In a clubhouse without Cal Ripken, Jr. and Brady Anderson, Bordick, who first moved in as their shortstop in 1997, is the Orioles' senior position player.
"My goal when I first came here was to help bring a championship to Baltimore," said Bordick, who came over after spending his first six seasons in Oakland. "Unfortunately, at the time of the trade to New York, that job was unfinished. But the Orioles had a need at shortstop, and they gave me another chance.
"When I first got here, I thought this would be my last stop, and now it still can be. And I can still work toward that goal. Baltimore certainly deserves a championship, everyone's worked hard to make it happen."
For the time being, all of Bordick's hard work is to just make it back into a box score. He hasn't been in one since June 13, when he was spilled while making a double-play turn at second base and separated his right shoulder.
Months later, he was still displeased with his rehabilitation. An exam revealed a bone spur in the joint, for which he underwent surgery at the end of the year.
Now here he is, smoothly digging the fungos out of the dirt, making mostly-soft and always-accurate tosses to first.
"He looks good. He seems to have a good range of motion," said Orioles Manager Mike Hargrove, who is just happy to again be able to glance at the six-hole and see Bordick there. "We'll take it easy with him once the (exhibition) games begin, but it's just good to see him on the field.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"My goal is to again be out there every day, to stabilize things, so the lineup doesn't have to be messed around with."
-- Mike Bordick
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"People like Mike Bordick make other people around them better."
That's a nice quality. Unfortunately, by definition, the opposite is also true: Removing someone like Bordick makes those other people lesser.
So the Orioles' 2001 season took a spill along with him. They were still feeling their oats in early June. With green Brian Roberts (a total of 147 professional games) force-fed at short and Hargrove forced to juggle through 139 different lineups, Baltimore lost 65 of its last 99 games without Bordick.
"It made the year very frustrating," said Bordick, who played 58 games last season after putting in 150-plus in each of the previous five. "In my mind, shortstop -- or any position up the middle -- is critical, and me not being out there messed up the stability of the team.
"My goal is to again be out there every day, to stabilize things, so the lineup doesn't have to be messed around with."
Bordick excused himself for a few minutes, to make his contribution to a promotional video being shot by the club. The day's subject, asked of several players taking their turns in front of the camera: Memorable moments in Orioles history.
Naturally, the name "Cal Ripken" was dropped quite often. It underscored the fact that, at least at the outset, one of the season's recurring themes will be the absence of the retired star.
Bordick -- who, ironically, missed much of Ripken's farewell tour last September while tending to his shoulder -- views the celebrity of Tony Batista with a wry grin. Batista has the burden of replacing Ripken at third base, but a lot of people may have forgotten that Bordick was cast in perhaps an even less-popular role -- he's the one who nudged Ripken from short to third.
"Making that move may have been tough on the organization, and on the manager," Bordick said. "For me, there was nothing to the transition. I was more concerned with just coming into a new situation. I didn't know anyone. But this was a great team, and that made everything easier. I know Cal was very helpful.
"Tony will be fine. It was probably more stressful for him last year, with the way people reacted when he played instead of Cal. This year, there will be no pressure on him."
There could be plenty of pressure on Bordick. He comes off a partial season in which he hit .289, with seven homers and 30 RBIs. He will turn 37 in mid-season. He has no contract for 2003.
He flashed that contagious grin. It's late February, it's Spring Training. There is only optimism, as far as the eye can see.
"I'm excited. There's always anticipation at the start of a new year," he said. "We're starting to get together as a team. Who knows ... if you play the game the right way, with good pitching and solid defense ... we could be right there."
Taking steps toward fulfilling his goal? Yes, but the Yankees, who live in the same American League East Division and have spent the winter ravenously reloading -- they don't seem very sympathetic to anyone else's goals.
"They do their thing to make the team better. They're certainly very aggressive, and you can't knock them for that," Bordick said. "You're left just hoping things turn out well for your team.
"It's a long season. You get off right, and good things can happen."
Better things, with Bordick back in the hole.
Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to approval by Major League Baseball or its club
http://orioles.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/bal/news/bal_news_story.jsp?article_id=mlb_20020221_bordick _news&team_id=bal
------------------------------------------------
2/21/2002 5:41 pm ET
Birds' Bordick has healthy wing
By Tom Singer
MLB.com
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- You only need to spend a few minutes in the Spring Training camp of the Baltimore Orioles to realize this is an organization which treasures its tradition. Much of it is walking around among the various workout fields.
Elrod Hendricks. Terry Crowley. Rick Dempsey. Andy Etchebarren. All pillars of the Orioles' past, all brought back to tutor the future.
The Birds sometimes have the same open-arm, open-door policy toward active players. It's how Mike Bordick found his way back to Camden Yards, a few months after being "loaned" to the Mets in the middle of the 2000 season.
Following his July 28 trade, Bordick helped spark the Mets into the Subway Series, then became a free agent without suitors.
"I didn't have that many opportunities," he said. The Orioles spread out a two-year welcome mat worth $9.5 million, and Bordick happily wiped his feet. It might be the only time in history that someone signed as a free agent with the same club twice.
Now, it's an even more significant homecoming. In a clubhouse without Cal Ripken, Jr. and Brady Anderson, Bordick, who first moved in as their shortstop in 1997, is the Orioles' senior position player.
"My goal when I first came here was to help bring a championship to Baltimore," said Bordick, who came over after spending his first six seasons in Oakland. "Unfortunately, at the time of the trade to New York, that job was unfinished. But the Orioles had a need at shortstop, and they gave me another chance.
"When I first got here, I thought this would be my last stop, and now it still can be. And I can still work toward that goal. Baltimore certainly deserves a championship, everyone's worked hard to make it happen."
For the time being, all of Bordick's hard work is to just make it back into a box score. He hasn't been in one since June 13, when he was spilled while making a double-play turn at second base and separated his right shoulder.
Months later, he was still displeased with his rehabilitation. An exam revealed a bone spur in the joint, for which he underwent surgery at the end of the year.
Now here he is, smoothly digging the fungos out of the dirt, making mostly-soft and always-accurate tosses to first.
"He looks good. He seems to have a good range of motion," said Orioles Manager Mike Hargrove, who is just happy to again be able to glance at the six-hole and see Bordick there. "We'll take it easy with him once the (exhibition) games begin, but it's just good to see him on the field.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"My goal is to again be out there every day, to stabilize things, so the lineup doesn't have to be messed around with."
-- Mike Bordick
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"People like Mike Bordick make other people around them better."
That's a nice quality. Unfortunately, by definition, the opposite is also true: Removing someone like Bordick makes those other people lesser.
So the Orioles' 2001 season took a spill along with him. They were still feeling their oats in early June. With green Brian Roberts (a total of 147 professional games) force-fed at short and Hargrove forced to juggle through 139 different lineups, Baltimore lost 65 of its last 99 games without Bordick.
"It made the year very frustrating," said Bordick, who played 58 games last season after putting in 150-plus in each of the previous five. "In my mind, shortstop -- or any position up the middle -- is critical, and me not being out there messed up the stability of the team.
"My goal is to again be out there every day, to stabilize things, so the lineup doesn't have to be messed around with."
Bordick excused himself for a few minutes, to make his contribution to a promotional video being shot by the club. The day's subject, asked of several players taking their turns in front of the camera: Memorable moments in Orioles history.
Naturally, the name "Cal Ripken" was dropped quite often. It underscored the fact that, at least at the outset, one of the season's recurring themes will be the absence of the retired star.
Bordick -- who, ironically, missed much of Ripken's farewell tour last September while tending to his shoulder -- views the celebrity of Tony Batista with a wry grin. Batista has the burden of replacing Ripken at third base, but a lot of people may have forgotten that Bordick was cast in perhaps an even less-popular role -- he's the one who nudged Ripken from short to third.
"Making that move may have been tough on the organization, and on the manager," Bordick said. "For me, there was nothing to the transition. I was more concerned with just coming into a new situation. I didn't know anyone. But this was a great team, and that made everything easier. I know Cal was very helpful.
"Tony will be fine. It was probably more stressful for him last year, with the way people reacted when he played instead of Cal. This year, there will be no pressure on him."
There could be plenty of pressure on Bordick. He comes off a partial season in which he hit .289, with seven homers and 30 RBIs. He will turn 37 in mid-season. He has no contract for 2003.
He flashed that contagious grin. It's late February, it's Spring Training. There is only optimism, as far as the eye can see.
"I'm excited. There's always anticipation at the start of a new year," he said. "We're starting to get together as a team. Who knows ... if you play the game the right way, with good pitching and solid defense ... we could be right there."
Taking steps toward fulfilling his goal? Yes, but the Yankees, who live in the same American League East Division and have spent the winter ravenously reloading -- they don't seem very sympathetic to anyone else's goals.
"They do their thing to make the team better. They're certainly very aggressive, and you can't knock them for that," Bordick said. "You're left just hoping things turn out well for your team.
"It's a long season. You get off right, and good things can happen."
Better things, with Bordick back in the hole.
Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to approval by Major League Baseball or its club