Ed Smith Stadium

Buck Showalter laid out the perfect spring training scenario as soon as the Orioles reported to the newly renovated Ed Smith Stadium complex six weeks ago, and it didn't call for his club to win all 32 of its Grapefruit League games. He was looking for the O's to be right around .500 when they closed out the exhibition season — which they did on Tuesday — and that's just where they ended up. They lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-4, to finish with a 15-15-2 record. Can't get more .500 than that.

With Tuesday's Grapefruit League exhibition finale in the books, the Orioles have completed their first spring training at renovated Ed Smith Stadium and under manager Buck Showalter. Impressive new digs and Showalter's orderly, purposeful camp helped the Orioles prepare for Friday's season opener against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. But celebration and instruction were each only a part of the Orioles' 2011 spring experience. Here's a look at three positives to take from this spring and three things that did not go well.

Michael Gonzalez was the newly signed reliever last spring who struggled early and then spent a decent part of the Grapefruit League schedule facing minor league hitters and working on his mechanics. This spring, it's been Kevin Gregg who has made his past two appearances at Twin Lakes Park in minor league games. The purpose has been for Gregg to work on some mechanical alterations in a controlled environment. In minor league games, innings can be prolonged to allow pitchers to hit their pitch count and get their work in. "He had a couple of [big league]

It isn't often during spring training that you see a veteran and projected lineup regular enter the game in the fifth inning, but with Opening Day 10 days away, Derrek Lee is running out of time to get at-bats. After Vladimir Guerrero got two at-bats at designated hitter, Lee replaced him and went 0-for-2 with a groundout and a popout in the Orioles' 6-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Tuesday at Ed Smith Stadium. It was just Lee's second game this spring, and he's 0-for-4 with a walk.

If you're an Orioles fan, the news coming out of Camp Showalter is not wildly encouraging. With Opening Day two weeks away, you had visions of Brian Roberts igniting the offense and moving freely at second base and running the base-paths with abandon down in Sarasota, Fla., his back problems of a year ago just a bad memory. You hoped new third baseman Mark Reynolds and new first baseman Derrek Lee would be feasting on spring training pitching by now. (Doesn't it seem like only yesterday that they were moving cars out of the way at Ed Smith Stadium, because Reynolds was jacking moon-shots in batting practice that were landing in the parking lot?

Young first baseman Brett Wallace knocked in seven runs and a Houston Astros lineup that included just three regulars knocked around starter Brad Bergesen and reliever Kevin Gregg in the Orioles' 14-8 loss before an announced 5,262 at Ed Smith Stadium. Bergesen allowed three runs on four hits and two walks over four innings, barely lowering his Grapefruit League ERA to 6.94. He has given up 10 runs, 16 hits and five walks in his past three starts spanning 9 2/3 innings. "I know that the numbers aren't good the last three outings, but it's early, it's spring training," Bergesen said.

Jake Arrieta isn't concerned about the eight hits he gave up in the Orioles' 8-2 exhibition victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday. What was important to him is that he pitched four innings and didn't walk anyone. "I don't really look at the results all that much," Arrieta said. "One thing that I do look at is walks. If I can limit the walks, those base hits scattered throughout there aren't going to hurt as bad. That's a big key for me as well as the rest of our staff.

— The Orioles cruised through the first three weeks of spring training without major incident, a fact that — whenever presented to manager Buck Showalter — invariably caused him to rap his knuckles on anything in the vicinity that was made of wood. There was the usual assortment of rehabbing players, even a little intrigue when Brian Roberts missed a few days with a sore neck and Justin Duchscherer was shut down briefly with a sore hip, but there was plenty of time for everything to come together and — seemingly — good reason for all the happy faces around the newly renovated Ed Smith Stadium complex.

Jeremy Accardo officially signed with the Orioles on Dec. 17, though in his mind, where he would pitch in 2011 became a formality two weeks earlier. That's when Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and manager Buck Showalter called Accardo while they were at baseball's winter meetings and told the reliever how much the club valued him. "The way they went about their business, they said they were going to be honest with me, 'This is what we're going to do, this is the way we see it,'" Accardo said.