Steve Davis: Orioles Open Camp
Pitchers and catchers took the field for the first time on Sunday. The Orioles new GM Dan Duquette sure added a lot of bodies over the winter. Chen, Wada, Hammel, Lindstrom, Ayala, Eveland, etc., but quantity doesn't necessarily translate to quality.
I don't remember a camp, in all my years covering this team, where I had no idea who the opening day starter was going to be. Buck was on Friday and seemed to indicate the guy he was leaning towards is Jake Arrieta. This is a guy coming off arm surgery who had an ERA over 5 last year. That tells you how uncertain, or maybe even dire, the situation is. Besides Arrieta, you have Matusz coming off one of the worst years for a starting pitcher in the history of major league baseball. The 2 players from Japan have never pitched in the majors, and it's done completely different over here. There, they pitch once a week, here every 5 days. That is not a factor to take lightly. Eveland was in and out of the majors last year.
You get the picture. Hold on, it could be a bumpy ride.
