In The Zone with Brandon Erbe
How has your off-season gone so far?
My off-season has been kind of busy. I've just been doing the rehab scene. Because of the shoulder surgery, my off-season has been pretty dedicated. I've just been rehabbing in Baltimore city in the Merritt Athletic Club in Canton. They have a physiotherapy place down there. I rehabbed there three days a week and I just started throwing a couple of weeks ago. I've just been working out, throwing and rehabbing, trying to get everything ready for the season.
What was your surgery?
It was just a labrum repair. I had a tear, a partial tear on my labrum. So that's what it was, basically it wasn't as bad as they thought when they got in there. The surgery was kind of, I wouldn't say short and simple because no surgery is short and simple, but it was not as bad as we thought it was. But any time you do a surgery on a part of your body with that many moving parts, there is going to be a lot of stress put on it afterwards, the process becomes a little bit more difficult. There have been a lot of guys that have gone through it, and a lot of guys that have come out healthy and been able to pitch long careers. Hopefully I can follow in that sort of trend.
Will you be fully healthy for spring training?
I'll be throwing. My throwing progression that I have right now will take me through Spring training. It won't be at game capacity in Spring training, but hopefully I'll be pitching on side mounds and to hitters in simulated game situations towards the end of spring training. My throwing program is kind of dependant upon whether I have setbacks or anything. Hopefully that doesn't happen. If everything stays on track, I should be throwing sometime around the end of Spring training. I don't know specifically when, yet. It's all dependant on how things go.
How frustrating has it been to work through injuries the last two seasons?
It's always frustrating. You don't want to have to deal with it. Nobody chooses to have to have surgery or to have to deal with a problem with your shoulder. It's kind of been eye-opening, a little bit. It has made me appreciate the four years that I did have healthy and appreciate the opportunity to come back healthy. I think the best part of it is I can understand mentally now that it has been fixed and I can use my arm like I used to be able to. It was difficult not being able to pitch like myself because of the injury. Now that that's fixed, it's kind of given me the opportunity to start over and work on fixing some things and trying to get back to that point where I was a couple years ago.
Do you have an idea of where you will be assigned once you are healthy?
I don't know, I haven't heard anything specifically. I would assume it would be a couple weeks here, a couple weeks there, just making a few stops. Right now it is kind of hard to tell because it's such an early stage in the throwing program. When I actually am going to be healthy, as far as being ready to pitch in a game, that may not happen for another month, month and a half [after spring training]. Where I'm going to be, and in what capacity, I know I'm going be pitching in extended spring training games at least for a little bit until I show that I'm ready to get into the actual season. I would assume that I'll make some stops in maybe Frederick, Bowie, maybe even Delmarva. I'm not exactly sure yet. I think it depends on what capacity they are going to use me in and how the throwing program goes.
Have the Orioles approached you about moving to the bullpen to try to reduce the strain on your arm?
There haven't been any specific talks about it. I've kind of heard some hearsay from some people but nothing has been set in stone. I don't even know if that will come into play until the end of spring training when I actually am healthy. I think a lot of it will depend on how they kind of see me fitting in to any kind of team, any kind of scenario depending upon what they have already, what they need and what I'm able to show in Spring training. A lot of it depends on how well I'm able to come back. I've been starting for my whole career, aside from my first stint in Bluefield. There haven't been any specific talks about it, I'm willing to do whatever. I wouldn't be opposed to going to the bullpen, and I'd also enjoy being a starter. A lot of that just depends on how the throwing goes.
Last year was clearly not the way you wanted to perform at Triple-A. As tough as it was, what are some positives you took away from your time at Norfolk?
You try to find positives in everything. Obviously, the numbers weren't very impressive, but I learned how to pitch a little bit. Aside from that, I got better as the season went on. At the beginning, I struggled pretty badly. My last five, six, seven starts were actually pretty good. The numbers on those starts are pretty respectable. I think just going in to Triple-A, I kind of tried to do a lot more than I needed to. Not that I would have been successful if I would have just relaxed, but I think I was trying to do too much. I think I just wasn't being myself, really. I was trying to do different things in different situations, and not really trusting in my stuff. I got to that point by doing what I did, and kind of pitching my style, and I got away from that last year. Baseball is a very humbling game in any situation, even when you are going well. As a hitter, you still get out seven out of ten times, it is a very humbling game and it makes you work.
I took away a lot of things from last year, more so watching other guys play, and watching the way other guys went about it. I wouldn't trade that season. Obviously, I would have liked to stay healthy and been able to come back and pitch the second half of the season, but some things with my arm got in the way and some stuff I had to repair.
Who were some of the teammates you learned from?
There were a lot of veteran guys on that team, a lot of guys who had pitched in the big leagues for a while. Watching [Dennis] Sarfate pitch, guys like him and Chris George, some guys who had been in the big leagues for a little bit, watching their approach and the way they went about it. Then there was the flipside, guys like [Jake] Arrieta who just went right through [Triple-A]. I learned a lot from those guys, more so the style and kind of the attitude and the confidence that those guys have. That's something that when you are a pitcher, it's pretty important to have confidence in yourself. Just kind of understanding that and watching those guys use what they have.
Were you surprised to open to open the 2010 campaign in Norfolk after making 14 starts in Bowie in 2009?
I don't think 'surprised' is the right word. I wasn't really surprised, I was hopeful that I would be sent to Norfolk. Your goal in the beginning of every year is to progress. You are always trying to move up and always trying to get to the next level. I think that the fact that I was able to have some success in Bowie even though I missed a month and a half with my arm injury, I was able to come back and finish the season strong. I went to Arizona and I pitched well out there. I don't think I was surprised, but I was happy that I got the opportunity. I'm happy now, looking back, that I was able to get the nerves of Triple-A out of the way, and the atmosphere. I'm glad I was able to get acclimated to that, but if I could go back I don't think I would approach it any differently. I was excited to go there, maybe a little bit too excited. I don't think I was surprised, I think I was just happy and I think I had a good Spring training and I was able to put myself in a good situation.
Was it difficult playing in Norfolk after being so close to home the last few seasons?
It wasn't difficult, it was just a little bit different. I'm OK with being away. I think it was a lot harder on my family, not having the convenience of being able to drive 30 minutes to come watch me play, instead it was about five hours. It was a little bit different not having the close comforts. I've been very spoiled my first four years, having that situation, 95 percent of guys that play Minor League or Major League baseball don't have that luxury of being close to home. I was spoiled my first four or five years, I was OK with being a little farther away last year.
How was working with Grif last year? What kind of stuff did he have you working on?
He's an awesome pitching coach. I wasn't very happy with the way I pitched for the majority of last year, and I think it was a tough situation for him because last year was the first time he had seen me pitch outside of spring training. He had never really been able to see me have strings of success. It's a tough situation for a pitcher and a pitching coach to try to find things to work on and to find things to fix when he really had nothing to compare it to. He did a great job, especially toward my last month there, just kind of simplifying things. Just taking things back to the basics and just saying, 'Don't really think about anything, don't think too much. Just go pitch and keep your team in a position to win.' I think that kind of outlook helped me out a lot towards the end of the season, my last month there. He was a good guy, I just kind of felt bad of the situation, because he had never seen me have success and he didn't really know where to go with me. But I appreciated all the work that he put in to it.
You shaved 1.5 walks per 9.0 innings last year from 2008, what helped you harness your control?
A lot of it was just understanding that as a pitcher, your job is to get outs and to keep your team in the ballgame, but it is also to do it quickly. It's hard for your defense to make plays and then to come in and swing the bats when they've been out in the field forever. My approach last year was a little more pitching to contact a little bit, just trying to get quick outs. A lot of that, especially towards the end of it and it's kind of sad that this was part of the reason, but I was struggling with some arm problems. I was just trying to get through a lot of innings, especially towards the end there. It didn't really feel very good to be out there pitching until I actually said something. Overall, I was just trying to get some contact, trying to get quick outs and keep the team in the game.
As a pitcher, how hard it is to tell the team that your arm is hurting?
It's extremely difficult, for anybody. You never want to say that you're hurt and that you can't go. Aside from having to say it, just not being able to play is terrible. It's not fun to go to the field knowing that you're not going to play and that you can't play for a couple of weeks. It's not a good feeling. But at the same point, you can't keep throwing yourself out there, where you can do more damage. Or when you're pitching, you can't pitch just to get through it. Along with arm issues come some confidence issues. You start changing things to compensate for your shoulder hurting. You change things up and do things differently, and you are not putting yourself or your team in a good situation to win games when you are not able to give 100 percent on the mound. It puts everybody at a little bit of a deficit.
What are your goals for 2011?
The biggest goal is just to stay healthy, to get my arm back to what it was. The surgery and the recovery is a long process, and it is kind of painstaking. But it kind of gives you an opportunity to relearn some things, re-find a love for the game and makes you understand the reasons why you do it. The big goal this season is just to stay healthy. To be able to come back, stay on pace with my throwing program, get my arm back healthy and get up to where I'm going to be playing and be able to have some success. Just to get back into baseball, basically. I've been out since the All-Star break last year, and having the surgery, I haven't been able to do a whole lot outside of rehabilitation this off-season. It'll be nice to get back into a rhythm and back into a routine.
There is some uncertainty at the back end of the Orioles rotation, what are the odds that you make it up to Baltimore and make your Major League debut this year?
I have absolutely zero idea. If this was a perfect world, then hopefully I would say the chances are good. With the way I pitched last year, by no means did I help myself any. I understood that there was an injury, and I hope that people can understand that too. It's kind of difficult, especially in my situation, because the biggest goal is to come back and to be healthy. It's one thing looking at goals as far as making it to the big leagues when you are healthy. That is tough enough as it is when you are healthy. Right now I just have to focus on getting back to being strong and being able to pitch consistently and to be dependable. They are not going to put someone in the big leagues who is kind of a risk. Right now I've just got to get back to being able to be consistent and be healthy.
What do you think is the biggest move the Orioles have made so far this off-season?
I think they've made some good moves. They've brought in a lot offense, a lot of defense. It's always kind of a double-edged sword. Along with that you see guys that you've played with go away in trades and things like that. But this is the time that the Orioles have to get back into it. They are making all the right moves, they are doing all the right things that the fans are wanting, getting guys in here that are going to put a winning product on the field. They're doing all the right moves, it's just a matter of it being tough when you get new guys in to get that nucleus together. Hopefully, that stuff goes well in Spring training and it carries on in the season. Hopefully they can pick up where they left off last year.
Will you be at Orioles FanFest?
It depends, I may be going to Florida. I'm going to be going to Florida early. With the weather up here, it is going to be super cold. It's tough for me to get my throwing done outside. I'm doing a lot of throwing inside, so I might be in Florida during [FanFest]. I'm not exactly sure yet, I have to figure out the scheduling.
The Baysox 2010 campaign has come to an end. The Baysox open the 2011 season on the road in Harrisburg Thursday, April 7. They play their first game at Prince George's Stadium Thursday, April 14, at 7:05 p.m. Baysox ticket packages are now available. Click HERE for more information on 2011 ticket packages.