FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Orioles right-handed reliever Mike Fetters has been getting some strange looks lately. A pitch leaves his hand, hits the catcher's mitt and defies logic.

Typecast as a sinkerball/forkball pitcher, Fetters began experimenting with a slider about two weeks ago. Anything to keep the nightly battles from getting too one-sided.

"Lefties always look for me to throw them away, and righties look for me inside," said Fetters, 34. "If I can get that slider on the other side of the plate, that's another half of the plate they just gave me, so it'll make my sinker even more effective because they're leaning out a little bit. I can throw that sinker in and get a little bit more on their hands, and instead of a base hit, it's a ground ball to my shortstop."

Signed to a minor-league contract over the winter, Fetters has made a bold pronouncement this spring that he's capable of helping the Orioles. In seven appearances covering as many innings, he's allowed one run and six hits, with no walks and six strikeouts.

Not bad for somebody who drew little interest as a free agent. Hounded by rumors of an arm injury, which were unfounded, Fetters convinced the Orioles he was in good health by throwing for a scout at his Arizona home.

"Everyone in baseball, the general managers and what-not, considered me washed up. I'm not washed up by any means, and I'm out here trying to prove that," he said.

"I don't know if you can see the determination on my face or not, but I'm out there totally focused trying to make this club and to prove to the other general managers that, if it's not in the cards here, maybe they should be interested now."

They'll have to throw out the book on Fetters. It's now missing a chapter.

"Everybody in the league knows about my sinker and forkball," he said. "Days I'm not feeling 100 percent and people know what's coming, it's kind of tough. I'm just seeing if I can get the slider over for strikes. Most of these guys I'm facing know who I am and what I throw. They see a slider and they're looking at it like, 'What in the world was that?'

"The name of this game is making adjustments. If you've been around long enough, people catch on to you and you've got to start making some changes. One adjustment I think I need to make to stay in the big leagues is to come up with a third pitch and keep people off my forkball."

Out of every 10 that Fetters throws, he estimates five to be good.

"I think the more I use it, the more consistent it's going to be," he said. "But I'm happy where it stands right now. I'm confident enough to throw it. I threw one [Tuesday] with a 2-1 count and got to 2-2 with it. The guy looked at me like, 'You're supposed to throw me a fastball in that situation.' Then I threw him a forkball and struck him out. That's when he really gave me a look."

DeShields making progress

Second baseman Delino DeShields had his fractured left thumb X-rayed again yesterday while the rest of his teammates had their only day off of the spring. A club spokesman said that the results were good and DeShields continues to make progress.

DeShields suffered the injury while catching a line drive in a March 4 intrasquad game. At the time, he was told it would be four weeks before he could resume full workouts. Yesterday constituted a three-week anniversary.

Thus far, DeShields has been throwing and taking some swings one-handed. He wears a splint, which easily can be removed once inside the clubhouse.

Projected as the No. 2 hitter before the injury, DeShields most likely will hit lower in the order after returning to the lineup.

Mike Bordick, batting second in DeShields' place, carries a .400 average (16-for-40) into today's game against Los Angeles in Vero Beach. His two RBIs Wednesday moved him into the club lead with nine.

Pace brisk for Murphy

One of the busiest Orioles this spring has been outfielder Mike Murphy, who seems assured of beginning the season at Triple-A Rochester. Murphy appeared in his 15th game Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, pinch running for Brady Anderson and taking over in center field. He went 0-for-1 but stole a base and advanced on an error.

For Murphy, 27, this almost constituted a day off. He had started in left field against St. Louis Tuesday, shifted to right in the fifth and finished in center. The afternoon was made complete by two hits and an RBI.

"My goal's just been to come out and do the best I possibly could, work as hard as I could and show Ray [Miller] and the Baltimore Orioles that I wanted to play," said Murphy, who's 4-for-16. "I've been kicking around in the minors and I'm ready to get up there."

Murphy spent most of last season in the Texas Rangers' system, playing at three levels before being traded to the Orioles in late August for journeyman pitcher Jim Converse. Assigned to Triple-A Rochester, he batted .379 (11-for-29) with one homer. He's never played in the majors.

"I think I'm pretty close," he said. "I feel like I can play right now. It's just a matter of getting the bat working. I haven't had a good spring with the bat. As far as defensively, I know I'm ready. As far as running the bases, I know I'm ready."

Murphy regards himself as a center fielder, but always has been comfortable moving to either side.

"My whole career I've played right and left as much as I've played center," Murphy said. "That can only benefit me."

If it doesn't wear him out.

Pub Date: 3/26/99