THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 4, 1994 TAG: 9407040156
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Mike Birkbeck was hanging out there, to be had. Last spring, that is, certainly not Sunday when the Richmond Braves' righthander mastered his former team, the Norfolk Tides, for the first six innings of Richmond's 6-0 victory at Harbor Park.
One of Triple-A's best pitchers last season, Birkbeck was taken off Atlanta's 40-man roster at the end of spring training and so was available to anyone for the $20,000 waiver price. Nobody claimed him, and the pitching-poor Mets hardly gave even passing mention to reacquiring him.
So Birkbeck, 33, reluctantly agreed to return to Richmond and build on last year's 13-8, 3.11 ERA season. Handed a 6-0 lead after four innings as his teammates ripped Joe Roa, Birkbeck thus claimed the Tides as his latest victim and improved to 8-2 with a 2.44 ERA.
``It's been a good year,'' said Birkbeck, who was 4-10 with a 4.08 ERA during the Tides' all-time worst season in 1992. ``It's reminiscent of last year. When I've needed a double play or a strikeout, we've been able to turn the double play and I've been able to get the strikeout.''
For sure, the charm under which Birkbeck is working has not allowed him to blow many leads. He scattered four hits, fanned five and saw only two Tides reach second.
The listlessness continued against Pedro Borbon and Brian Bark, and together that trio retired 14 of the last 15 hitters. Meanwhile, Roa had nothing and the Braves (48-35) collected 11 hits off him in five innings.
The meager effort only extended the Tides' puzzling futility at home. High after winning three of four on the road, the Tides (39-45) dropped all three weekend games to Richmond to dip to 18-27 in Norfolk.
``The way he was pitching, getting behind two runs (in the first) was tough,'' Tides manager Bobby Valentine said. ``We needed to come out of the chute, and two of these three games we staked them a lead early. We played catchup the one game over there (a 16-6 victory) and we just didn't have it in us to play catchup here.''
Especially against Birkbeck, who said he would have loved to come back to the Mets, and still hopes a return might be in his future. When he was waived on the last day of spring training, Birkbeck said he tried to call Tides pitching coach Bob Apodaca to ask that he put in a word for him, but he didn't get through.
``I could've become a free agent,'' said Birkbeck, who hasn't lost since May 11. ``But when nobody claims you ... My contract here is such that I'm not going to give up that money on a whim, thinking maybe I can get a job somewhere else.''
So he's back doing a job on the International League. And only his teammate, ERA-leader Brad Woodall, is doing it better. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Motoya Nakamura, Staff
Doug Dascenzo of the Norfolk Tides steals second base ahead of
Richmond's Mike Mordecai's tag in the third inning at Harbor Park.
by CNB