
Bobby Orr Jersey Finals
Samstag, 23. Juli 2011
Twists and turns in a rising career | The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, VA Newspaper | Find Articles at BNET
By Tom Robinson
The Virginian-Pilot
The swirling ink on Josh Bell's arms depicts a struggle of gain and loss, his baseball success countered by the death of his father six years ago. "Reminders of life," Bell, a Stanley Cup Bobby Orr Jersey touted Baltimore Orioles prospect, said of his tattoos on a Florida morning last month.
The relentless beat Bobby Orr Jersey Stanley Cup of pro baseball offers ample dramatic fodder, especially for a young player like Bobby Orr Jersey Finals Bell whose storyboard is laden with potential. A switch-hitting third baseman, Cam Neely Jersey Authentic Bell was Baltimore's prize - along with pitcher Steve Johnson - in August's trade that sent reliever George Sherrill to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That kind of thing brings Cam Neely Jersey eyeballs NHL Bobby Orr Jersey and expectations; veteran Miguel Tejada is presumed to warming third base for one year as Baltimore awaits Bell's arrival.
Official Bobby Orr Jersey /> It's in that atmosphere that Bell, 23, will seek a healthy balance this season with the Norfolk Tides, his first Triple-A team in his first full year with the Orioles organization.
"I look at the trade as a blessing," said Bell, who hit home runs from both sides of the plate in his first big-league spring training Bobby Orr Finals Jersey game in early March. "You know, you've been with a team for five years, they drafted you, they gave you your first opportunity; you build relationships with people.
"And then to pack it all up, it's bittersweet. But it's baseball. Opportunities arise, and Authentic Cam Neely Jersey you've got to be ready for them. And I think this is a good opportunity for me."
In 2005, the Dodgers put fourth-round faith in Bell out of high school in Palm Beach, Fla., because they imagined Bell's athletic blossoming - stout at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, brimming with corner- position strength.
As Orioles manager Dave Trembley told reporters near the end of camp this spring when Bell was Bruins Cam Neely Jersey sent down to the Tides, "Bell has a tool you can't teach: power from both sides of the plate."
It took Bell five years, though, interrupted by knee surgery in 2008, to get to Triple-A. That speaks to the painstaking Cam Neely Authentic Jersey pace of buffing talent, Cam Neely Premier Jersey a rewarding chore that Tides manager Gary Allenson quickly Authentic Cam Neely Jersey noted can also be rife with complications, especially for the highly regarded prospect in the manic age of information and instant analysis.
"He's the 'third baseman of the future;' you can read or write about that NHL Bobby Orr Jersey stuff all you want, but until you do it on the field ... " Allenson said the other day at Harbor Park. "He's got raw ability, but he's gonna have to fine-tune that. Let's let the season start and see Bobby Orr Jersey Bruins what happens."
Two telling things the O's want from Bell in his first Triple-A challenge, Allenson said: smoother defensive footwork at third base and refinement of a super-aggressive swing Cam Neely Jersey from both sides for more contact, without robbing power, of course.
Bell, who said he has switch-hit since he was very young, progressed well with the latter in Double-A. Statistically better as a lefty, which makes sense given the prevalence of right-handed pitchers, Official Bobby Orr Jersey Bell hit for average (.295) and power (20 home runs) and whiffed 98 times in more than 500 plate appearances - not Bobby Orr Stanley Cup Jersey great, but Finals Bobby Orr Jersey not terribly often for a power guy.
His first exposure to big-league spring training, though, reminded Bell of the peace necessary between the body and the mind in that long march through the good and the bad.
"You've got to be physically talented," Bell said, "but there's so much Premier Cam Neely Jersey mental that goes into it, just your mindset, your preparation. I'm just really, really starting to understand the mental part of the game.
"It's not like basketball, where Kobe Bryant's gonna go score 23 points every night. In baseball you can't go out and hit two home runs every game. You have your days, but it's a humbling sport. You come out, and you do what you can do."
Tom Robinson, (757) 446-2518
tom.robinson@pilotonline.com
season opener
Durham Bulls at Norfolk Tides, 7:15 p.m.
Starting pitchers Jeremy Hellickson (Bulls) vs. Chris Tillman
inside A look at the 2010 Tides, with a schedule and ticket information. Pages 4-5
online Get stats, results, rankings, news and more about the Tides and Major League Baseball at our new baseball channel at hamptonroads.com/tides.
OPENING DAY
Who Durham Bulls at Norfolk Tides
What Opening of the International League season
When Today, 7:15 p.m.
Where Harbor Park
The starters Jeremy Hellickson (Bulls) vs. Chris Tillman
Inside: A closer look at the 2010 Tides, with Bobby Orr Jersey Finals a schedule, ticket information Cam Neely Jersey Premier and a list of some of the team's scheduled promotions. Pages 4-5

