BASEBALL / JEFF FLETCHER : More Gives Young Less of a Chance

The chances of Dmitri Young playing in the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals might be getting slimmer by the day.

Which is more than can be said for Young.

Although Young, a 1991 first-round pick out of Rio Mesa High, has steadily improved offensively for the Cardinals’ double-A team in Arkansas, he has not endeared himself to the organization in other areas.

“I think he may be running out of chances,” Arkansas Manager Mike Ramsey said. “We are still up on him some. I don’t know at what point you would say I think it’s time to move on or maybe try to trade him, but that time might be coming.”

Young’s problems are his weight and his defensive skill: too much of the former and too little of the latter.

At 6 feet 2, Young reported to spring training at 246 pounds. After the season began, he ballooned to 265. Young said this week he is at 245. Ramsey said he would like to see him at about 230.

The added weight makes Young less mobile in his latest position, left field. Since Young was drafted, he has been tried at first base, third base and the outfield--and struggled at all three positions.

“I’m working on everything,” Young said. “I guess right now it’s just time for me to turn it up.”

Further soiling his reputation in the eyes of the Cardinals, Young was arrested and charged with disturbing the peace on a trip to Shreveport, La.

He was picked off first base once this season because he was looking up, watching a helicopter, while standing off the bag.

“He may be trying our patience a bit,” Ramsey said, “but he’s still a youngster.” True, Young is only 21. And his hitting is improving. He hit .320 in June, and through Thursday, he was batting .289 with eight home runs and 46 runs batted in.

“He’s offensively starting to do the things that we expect of him,” Ramsey said.

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It’s like the chicken and egg question: Does confidence lead to success or does success lead to confidence?

Actually, Russ Ortiz doesn’t care which came first. He’s just happy now that he is enjoying both.

Ortiz, a former standout right-hander at Montclair Prep, was drafted in the fourth round by the San Francisco Giants last month after he went 3-2 with a 4.53 earned-run average at Oklahoma.

But as soon as Ortiz joined Class-A Bellingham, Wash., he began to dominate.

In his first nine appearances, Ortiz did not allow an earned run in 14 innings. He struck out 18 and walked only two. As the closer, he has four saves.

Can pro baseball be easier than the Big Eight Conference?

Actually, it’s just been a matter of confidence for Ortiz. Bellingham pitching coach Elias Sosa, recognizing Ortiz’s good fastball, basically told him, “You’re the closer. Now go throw gas.”

“I considered him a closer for sure,” Sosa said. “He just has great stuff and we felt there was no reason to change anything other than give him a lot of confidence and believe in himself.

“He was making the transition from college to pro and I didn’t want him to think pro was something out of this whole world. I just wanted him to understand he has enough tools.”

Ortiz, who is 6 feet 1, 190 pounds, said he bounced between the rotation and various roles in the bullpen at Oklahoma. Being a utility pitcher hurt his confidence, which hurt his control, which hurt his performance, which is why he was a utility pitcher. And so on.

“At school I had a tendency to get behind early and not challenge hitters and then I’d have to throw the ball across the plate and I’d get hurt,” he said. “Here I’m getting ahead more and challenging more people.

“It builds your confidence a little because you don’t feel as hesitant to every once in a while just throw a fastball right there in their hitting zone.”

He also said his repertoire is better suited for facing hitters once late in the game, rather than trying to go through the order three or four times as a starter.

“I guess I have an advantage over the hitters,” he said. “They see me once, maybe twice, during the whole series. They don’t get a chance to adjust.”

Adjusting hasn’t been a problem for Ortiz.

“We haven’t changed anything in him,” Sosa said. “We have just tried to motivate him and make him believe in himself. We want to make sure he understands that he has the ability to get guys out.”

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David Glick (Antelope Valley College) has been assigned to the Milwaukee Brewers’ rookie-league team in Chandler, Ariz. Glick, a left-handed pitcher, was drafted by the Brewers out of Palmdale High in June of 1994, but he did not sign with the team until after the 1995 junior college season. . . . Right-hander Kenny Kendrena (Cal State Northridge) was promoted from the Montreal Expos’ Class-A team in West Palm Beach, Fla., to double-A Harrisburg, Pa. . . . The New York Mets promoted right-hander Erik Hiljus (Canyon) to double-A Binghamton, N.Y. Hiljus had spent four seasons in Class A. . . . Dave Milstien (Simi Valley) recently started to inch his way back to his previous level when the Brewers promoted him from Beloit, Wis., of the Midwest League, to Stockton of the California League. Although both are Class-A leagues, the California League is considered more advanced. Milstien was in triple A with the Chicago White Sox, but was released this spring. The Brewers signed him and put him in Beloit.