THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506180157
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Bill Miller, the umpire who was robbed at gunpoint in his Norfolk hotel room June 8, has been reassigned to the Pacific Coast League.
Miller, 28, was in his first season in the International League. That assignment was unusual in the first place because umpires are routinely sent to the league closest to their homes. Miller is from the Sacramento area of California.
But after the robbery, it was agreed that Miller should be allowed to return home to be with his wife, who is about to give birth, and then go to work in the Coast League when he is able to return.
``It was just determined that it's probably in his best interests, as he bounces back from this incident, to work out there,'' International League president Randy Mobley said. ``That was the recommendation of the Umpire Development Program and I wholeheartedly concurred.''
SAYONARA, MIKE: Mets fans might have scratched their heads over why their club allowed pitcher Mike Birkbeck, who had been outstanding since his recall last month from the Tides, to skip to Japan last week.
Conventional wisdom had the Mets moving Birkbeck to the bullpen to help that troubled area as they called up Bill Pulsipher for the rotation. But Gerry Hunsicker, the Mets assistant vice president of baseball operations, explained that Birkbeck and his agent had been working on the deal with the Yokohama BayStars off and on over the last year.
Talks heated up again recently and a deal was reached. Hunsicker said the Mets essentially wanted to do Birkbeck a favor and allowed him to accept the two-year contract. The Mets signed him as a one-season insurance policy and did not consider Birkbeck, despite his strong performances, part of their future, according to Hunsicker.
The money was not announced, but it is apparently more than Birkbeck, 34, has ever made in the United States and more than he could hope to make with the Mets.
DISAPPOINTING FOR DEREK: Veteran Tides outfielder Derek Lee was conspicuously bypassed when the Mets promoted Jeff Barry from Double-A, but Lee said he can't blame the Mets for their choice.
``I haven't gotten the job done,'' said Lee, a .300 hitter for Ottawa last year who is around the .250 mark for the Tides. ``I think if I had been, I would've gone up. I've left a lot of runners on base.
``I know I'm not a .250 hitter. A good two or three weeks could get me back to where I need to be.''
NOTABLE: ESPN's Peter Gammons discovered Tides shortstop Rey Ordonez the other night in Pawtucket. ``There's nobody better,'' Gammons gushed on the air. . . . Nothing has been announced, but indications are the Tides can expect to receive Double-A stars Paul Wilson, a pitcher, and Jay Payton, an outfielder, around the Triple-A all-star break in mid-July, if not sooner. Of course, should Jason Isringhausen be promoted before then, Wilson probably would be sent to Norfolk. Wilson, the top pick in last year's draft out of Florida State, is 5-0 with a 2.30 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 90 innings. Payton, from Georgia Tech and the Mets' third pick in the first round last year, is second in the Eastern League in hitting at .343, with 10 home runs and 39 RBIs. . . . Richmond's Grady Little was selected to manage the National League team in the Triple-A all-star game July 12 in Moosic, Pa. Chris Bando of New Orleans will manage the American League team.
The National League coaches are Indianapolis manager Marc Bombard and Colorado Springs' Brad Mills. Pawtucket's Buddy Bailey and Vancouver's Gary Ruby will coach the American League team.
Voting for the players will be completed this week. . . . Pitcher Kirk Presley, the Mets' first draft choice in 1993, is out for the year and will have rotator cuff surgery. . . . The New York legislature voted to restore the money previously appropriated to help build new stadiums in Rochester and Syracuse. Rochester's target date to move in is July 4, 1996. Syracuse's ballpark would be ready in 1997. by CNB