Williams Is Happy to Be In Baltimore

BALTIMORE, May 6 -- Todd Williams returned to the Orioles on Saturday and pitched one scoreless inning, and he couldn't have been happier. After he was sent to Class AAA Norfolk following a sub-par spring training, then watched a gaggle of Norfolk pitchers get called up, he said it was "definitely a thought" he was no longer in the team's plans.

He also endured some nightmarish circumstances, even by minor league standards. Norfolk started the season with games in Scranton, Pa., and Rochester, N.Y., some of which were interrupted by snow. The Tides rode a school bus to one game. On the way back from Rochester, the bus broke down, and what should have been a 10-hour ride took 15 hours.

"To put it lightly, it was kind of miserable," Williams said. "It was a real crazy month. It's not that I'm too good for Class AAA, it's just I've done it. It's hard to really go down there and work on things. It was tough."

While there, Williams worked on increasing his velocity and continued to develop his sinker. He allowed eight home runs last season, and he tried to put more downward action on his pitches in spring training. He felt he did so, believing that several of the 16 hits he allowed in 10 innings were ground balls that found a hole.

Manager Sam Perlozzo saw it differently. "I told guys, 'Don't assume you've got anything,' " Perlozzo said. "He might have taken that a little lightly. I don't think Todd pitched his best."

The Orioles may go to a 13-man pitching staff, so Williams's stay could be prolonged even when Scott Williamson comes off the disabled list Wednesday. Williamson hopes to throw three innings at Class AA Bowie on Monday, trying to strengthen his arm. If the Orioles do go with 13 pitchers, the leading candidate to be optioned to Norfolk is utility player Freddie Bynum.

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