More pre-game chatter

Interim manager Juan Samuel doesn't know how many starts Brad Bergesen will receive in the right-hander's latest return to the club, but he doesn't want today's outing to be viewed as an audition. "We sent him down to get some things straightened out," Samuel said, "and hopefully he'll do a good job for us today." We know what Bergesen needs to be successful - an effective sinker. When the ball's up, so is his ERA. "Whether he needs to get his fingers on top of the ball a little bit more, I don't know," Samuel said. "That's something for our pitching coach to talk to him about. I'm sure they probably did it. But as you know, he has to pitch down. When he doesn't have that sinker going, it doesn't work to his advantage. He needs to have some movement on the ball." Samuel also wants to see Bergesen use all of his pitches and work both sides of the plate. "You've got to keep those guys off-stride," Samuel said. Felix Pie could accompany the Orioles on their next road trip, but only if he plays the outfield at Double-A Bowie. He's expected to join the Baysox early next week. I asked Samuel whether Scott Moore is more relaxed at the plate when he isn't playing second base, which has been a struggle this year. Do the problems in the field bleed into the batter's box? Maybe it's the other way around. "In my conversations with Scott, it looks like when he was at second base, he was thinking about his at-bat," Samuel said. "We saw where a ball that was hit deep in left-center, he was not in his position. And at times you have guys at second base who are looking to steal a base and he's not even near those guys. I think sometimes he wanders around there and it's something he needs to separate, hitting from defense."