Arrieta

It's never a pleasant experience for major league ballplayers when one of their struggling teammates gets sent to the minors. In close clubhouses, most of these guys are friends, or friendly anyway. And, frankly, many of them have been through the same situations. It's possible no one in an Orioles uniform has a better understanding of what Jake Arrieta is going through right now than fellow right-hander Jason Hammel. Arrieta, 27, was sent to Triple-A Norfolk on Monday after posting a 6.63 ERA in four starts.

Take a look at the Orioles’ batting averages on the sports website of your choice and you will find three unlikely names atop the list: Chris Jakubauskas, Jake Arrieta and Zach Britton. Sure, they have combined for seven plate appearances and are hundreds of at-bats short of qualifying for the American League leaders, but the Orioles’ starting pitchers have been pretty impressive at the plate during interleague play. Jakubauskas, who on Sunday became the first Orioles pitcher with two hits in a game since Erik Bedard in 2007 , has looked most comfortable at the plate, which isn’t surprising if you know his background.

In a season that has been marked by failure to hit in the clutch and protect leads, one aspect of the Orioles' struggles has largely been minimized, simply because it hasn't been as easy to quantify. Watch the Orioles long enough, however, and it's evident that an inability to make key defensive plays has been as crucial as any other ingredient in creating this mess at Camden Yards. Thursday's 8-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics -- which dropped the Orioles to 24-54 on the season and 3-21-2 in series -- served as the perfect example of the Orioles' season-long defensive ineptitude.

Lots of pre-game notes here in addition to the roster moves (Wei-Yin Chen to the disabled list with a strained right oblique; infielder Yamaico Navarro and pitcher Alex Burnett recalled from Triple-A). Here goes: ** Miguel Gonzalez, currently on the disabled list with a blister on his thumb, will play catch today and if things go well could pitch in a minor league rehab game Thursday, likely at Bowie, and be a legitimate candidate for the currently “to be announced” spot in the rotation Tuesday against the New York Yankees.

SARASOTA, Fla. - This time last year, right-hander Jake Arrieta was as excited as he had ever been about his professional career. At 26, he was about to be make his first Opening Day start for the Orioles, the only organization he had ever known. He was in the midst of a spring in which he seemingly had separated himself from the rest of the organization's mid-20s pitchers - once dubbed the cavalry. But just as quickly as Arrieta's star seemed to shoot across the baseball sky, it plummeted.

— When he was about 7, Orioles right-hander Jake Arrieta attended a Texas Rangers game at old Arlington Stadium to watch his idol, the ageless Nolan Ryan , pitch. Seventeen years later, Ryan is a baseball Hall-of-Famer and current president of the Rangers. And Arrieta is a promising rookie, who will attempt to beat his favorite childhood team Sunday in his first start in Texas as a major leaguer. "It is crazy. To come to a lot of games, sit in the stands and watch and be a spectator," said Arrieta, who is 2-2 with a 4.96 ERA in six starts in the majors.

The Orioles announced today that right-handed pitcher Jake Arrieta has been assigned to minor league camp. With the move, the Orioles' spring training roster currently stands at 47 players. Last season, Arrieta was 6-3 with a 2.59 ERA in 11 games at Double-A Bowie and 5-8 with a 3.93 ERA in 17 games at Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles optioned right-hander Jake Arrieta back to Triple-A Norfolk following Monday's 4-3 win over the White Sox to make room on the 25-man roster for newly acquired left-hander Joe Saunders, who joined the team during the game Monday. Arrieta could return after Norfolk's season ends Sept. 3 to join the team's expanded roster. He will start for the Tides in a game over the next three days, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. Arrieta, who was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on July 5 after going 3-9 with a 6.13 ERA in 18 starts, was recalled on Sunday essentially to take the bullpen spot of Matt Lindstrom, who was dealt to Arizona for Saunders.

Right-hander Jake Arrieta came into spring camp as one of a host of candidates for an open spot in the Orioles' starting rotation.  There was no question is his mind, though, on who would win the competition: Him. “No, absolutely not. Whether that's cockiness or overconfidence, whatever you want to call it. that's just the way that I personally had to approach the situation, with that mindset," he said. "Knowing that I had to go out and actually show it and not just know it in my mind.

As expected, most of today's pregame interview session with Orioles manager Buck Showalter revolved around right-hander Jake Arrieta, who was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk this afternoon. Arrieta will join the starting rotation in Norfolk -- there's no talk of moving him to a relief role because the Orioles still believe his arsenal of pitches is best utilized as a starter -- and Showalter said he mentioned some things to Arrieta privately that he'd like for him to work on. Showalter expressed that he still has faith that Arrieta can help the Orioles get to the playoffs, but “when will be up to him.” He added that he believes Arrieta's issues are entirely mental.