Hearing more from Richard Bleier following FanFest

The media at FanFest was treated to the availability of 27 players and six coaches for interviews in the workroom on the third level of the Baltimore Convention Center, along with executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde. The Orioles PR staff spoiled us again, making it easy to gather notes and quotes in a comfortable setting.

The only unexpected absences were due to scheduling conflicts that couldn't be avoided, with Jonathan Villar and Luis Ortiz impacted by sessions running long in other parts of the building. We'll get them at spring training.

Villar couldn't be asked whether he expected to play second base or shortstop. Ortiz couldn't be grilled about his weight and conditioning program.

(In a related story, grilling is advised over anything deep-fried.)

Reliever Richard Bleier remains confident in his availability for opening day, saying again that he's recovered from lat surgery in June and long-tossing as part of his rehab. He's close to getting back on a mound, which you can read about here if you need a refresher.

The Orioles could carry three left-handers in the bullpen with Bleier, Tanner Scott, Paul Fry, Donnie Hart and Sean Gilmartin among the candidates. It's doubtful that they'd go as high as four.

"There was a while in parts of the last couple years where there would be stretches where I was the only lefty," Bleier said. "But I think in today's game, you have to be able to get lefties and righties out. It doesn't really matter if we have three lefties and four righties because everybody's got to be able to get everybody out. It's just a matter of which situation to bring the guy in and whether he can give you length or he's a one-inning guy. But I think that everybody in the bullpen will be able to get lefties and righties out."

With three seasons in the majors, all of them ending with his ERA below 2.00, the 31-year-old Bleier qualifies as a grizzled veteran in the Orioles clubhouse. Leadership responsibilities come with it, especially after the Orioles traded Zack Britton, Brad Brach and Darren O'Day.

"I think it's just tough for anyone. A new environment, the big leagues," he said.

"We've worked so hard our whole lives to get to this point and all of a sudden, no matter what you do or think, you're not ready for it. You're just not ready to be called up or whatever. You get a call at midnight or you get a call at 4 in the afternoon for a 7 o'clock game. It's never like a perfect story. So it's just trying to help guys through their first few days, their first couple months, just until they get acclimated to the situations.

"Pitching is pitching, hitting is hitting, the game is the game, in my opinion. Obviously, the competition is better each level you go up, but for me, the comfortable part was on the mound my rookie year. Everything else, like knowing where to go, what to do, who to talk to, who not to talk to, when to eat, all these unwritten rules and all that stuff was the hard part for me. So I think just kind of guiding guys in that aspect is really helpful for them."

I'd love to know who should be avoided in conversations, but I digress ...

Bleier was interviewed on July 31 inside the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium after a follow-up examination in New York. A short time later, the Orioles traded O'Day and Kevin Gausman to the Braves and Jonathan Schoop to the Brewers.

Britton, Brach and Manny Machado already had been dealt. The teardown was in full bloom.

"Honestly, it was definitely an interesting situation," he said. "When I left after I got hurt and I went to do my rehab and I came back, it was a whole new team. And even now I'm like, 'Man, some of these guys who were in the big leagues for a month I'm meeting for the first time.' So it's definitely interesting, but guys come and go all the time, teams change, so it's part of baseball.

"Obviously, we lost a lot of great players, but hopefully the next people pick up the slack coming in behind them. Obviously, we can only get better from where we were last year, in my opinion, so we've got that going for us. I think we will."

Pretty much anyone who gets close to the media will be asked about Elias and Hyde. The reviews so far have been positive, but also respectful of former executive Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter.

Compliments can be handed out to the recent hires without slapping the departed.

"I think they bring a lot of positivity and really great things. Obviously, their previous experiences in baseball speak for themselves," Bleier said.

"I don't think the way things were run before were wrong at all. I have nothing but great things to say about Buck or Dan, but I think that the new guys will do a great job, as well."

Analytics also are a popular topic. How they can assist, each individual's comfort zone with them and the willingness to broaden their baseball minds.

Bleier came from the Yankees organization and is no stranger to the data. He won't break out in a rash.

"It seems like there's going to be a lot more information available to the player, and it seems like it will be up to the player to take advantage of the information," he said. "In my opinion, there's a fine line between using the information to your advantage and overanalyzing the situation to where you can't use your instincts on the mound to make pitches you need. So I think that's going to be based on individuality and what people are comfortable doing.

"For me, I'm looking forward to seeing the information and how people analyze the pitches I throw and what I do well and what I don't do well, and then comparing it to what I think I do well and don't do well. And seeing how that lines up.

"I think the advanced analytics don't work as well for me as a sinkerballer because I just throw sinkers and cutters, and it's just a matter of which one I'm going to throw," Bleier continued. "That was the same with Zack Britton, where he just throws sinkers and you hope they don't hit it. But guys that throw good sliders and spin the ball well and have high spin rate and all those kind of good things, you have to kind of figure out the game plan on the best place to throw a fastball.

"For me, I know the best place for me to throw a fastball is down in the zone. If I throw high sinkers I'm probably going to give up a lot of home runs. But some guys, they're only getting in trouble by throwing a high-spin-rate fastball in the bottom of the zone as opposed to the top of the zone. So we'll see. Should be interesting."

Shameless plug alert: Scott and Chris Davis are calling into tonight's "Hot Stove Show" on 105.7 The Fan.