Fifth Starter

MIAMI -- Orioles manager John Oates will announce the starting pitchers for the first four games of the regular season today, but could wait another week before deciding who will move into the fifth slot in the rotation.Right-hander Rick Sutcliffe has long been expected to be the Opening Day pitcher because his regular turn in the rotation would fall on April 6. The most likely alternative would appear to be Mike Mussina -- whose turn falls on Sunday, a day off, but the club has made a point of keeping him out of the limelight during spring training.

While auditions continue for the fifth slot in the Orioles starting rotation, the question that was debated throughout the team's largely inactive offseason suddenly seems relevant again. Can last year's formula produce a new and improved product in 2013? This might seem like a strange time to bring it up, since the Orioles are off to a solid start and entered Tuesday tied for the seventh-best record of the 30 major league teams while playing one of the game's toughest April schedules.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Pitching coach Dick Bosman can't believe people are predicting that this will be a boring spring training camp. He's already getting excited."

Much has been made - yes, by me as well as others - on the Orioles' vacant fifth starter spot. It really is one of the only interesting battles in camp. The way I see it, Jake Arrieta has made the team and the rotation with a good spring. But there is a possibility that Arrieta isn't the fifth starter. There's an outside shot he could be the fourth starter. Or even the third starter. I know, it's confusing. Stay with me. The Orioles would like to keep 23-year-old lefty T.J. McFarland, but he must stay on the roster all season or be offered back to the Cleveland Indians.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- With signs that his starting pitchers are wearing down, Orioles manager Davey Johnson likely will return to a five-man rotation next week.Johnson has employed a four-man rotation -- with Mike Mussina, David Wells, Scott Erickson and Rocky Coppinger pitching on three days' rest -- since the end of July, and the ploy seems to have helped the Orioles get back into the playoff race.But Mussina came up stiff after pitching on three days' rest last week, Coppinger said he was tired at the start of a poor outing and 10-2 loss to California on Tuesday night, and Erickson has been inconsistent.

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Orioles manager John Oates had intended to keep the identity of his fifth starter to himself for a few more days, but he decided yesterday that he couldn't -- and shouldn't -- keep it secret any longer.Right-hander Jose Mesa will enter the starting rotation on April 12 to face the Toronto Blue Jays in the final game of the Orioles' first road series of the season.Mesa, whose inconsistent performance in 1991 made him a long shot to win a job in the rotation this spring, has not given up a run in 20 innings this spring, but he was still in the dark after Oates announced his pitching plans for the first week of the season Monday.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - As the first lineup cards of spring training are written out for today's intrasquad game, the Orioles also begin to see their roster taking shape. Though many of the images are crisp, others remain hazy, with sharper focus coming as the daily routine expands beyond the assorted meetings and drills. This much is clear: The Orioles want to keep 12 pitchers, two catchers, six infielders and five outfielders. The trick is figuring out where to categorize players such as Melvin Mora, Jeff Conine and Jay Gibbons and narrowing the various competitions in camp, with a fifth starter, closer and backup catcher among the unsolved riddles.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- With signs that his starting pitchers are wearing down, Orioles manager Davey Johnson likely will return to a five-man rotation next week.Johnson has employed a four-man rotation -- with Mike Mussina, David Wells, Scott Erickson and Rocky Coppinger pitching on three days' rest -- since the end of July, and the ploy seems to have helped the Orioles get back into the playoff race.But Mussina came up stiff after pitching on three days' rest last week, Coppinger said he was tired at the start of a poor outing and 10-2 loss to California on Tuesday night, and Erickson has been inconsistent.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Which of the following does not belong -- an IRS audit, a free fall from 5,000 feet or the Orioles' fifth starter?True, all are bad, but the tax audit is the correct answer. People have survived that experience.In the last two seasons the Orioles have reached the postseason despite microscopic contributions from a role that has featured homer-prone retreads, timid call-ups and headstrong arms cloaking injuries. The experience overtaxed the American League's deepest bullpen and made the off-season acquisition of another starting pitcher a frantic priority.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- With fewer than two weeks remaining before the Orioles break camp and move their rebuilding project north, their final roster is far from set. Decisions loom in the lineup and on the bench, in the rotation and in the bullpen. The No. 1 starter is just as unclear as the 25th player. A relatively quiet camp is expected to start humming after yesterday's lone off day on the exhibition schedule. Orioles manager Dave Trembley is orchestrating competitions that will separate his in-house candidates.

We're back at the bar this weekend. I'm still in Florida, so we'll stick with the Tiki and palm tree motif. Besides, the palm leaves are effectively covering the Ed Reed mural behind the bar until we can get the painters out here. On Thursday, Jake Arrieta again looked like the pitcher everyone knows he can be -- striking out nine in six innings and not allowing a run against the Pittsburgh Pirates. I know, you've seen that movie before. Arrieta was the club's Opening Day starter last year and eventually lost his rotation spot due to an inconsistency that has plagued him throughout his big league career.

One of the main competitions - really, one of the only competitions - in Orioles spring training this year is for the fifth starter's role. A whole lot of names have been thrown into the mix: Jake Arrieta, Zach Britton, Steve Johnson, Brian Matusz, Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hunter and T.J. McFarland. Hunter, in particular (and Matusz, potentially) is earmarked for the bullpen. McFarland, a Rule 5 pick, may have to be offered back to the Cleveland Indians because he doesn't look like he'll make the rotation.

Brian Matusz threw his ballcap into the ring for the open fifth starter spot Wednesday with a dominant outing: four innings pitched, no hits, one walk, seven strikeouts and no flyball outs. Granted it was the Minnesota Twins without Joe Mauer (World Baseball Classic) and Trevor Plouffe (strained calf). But Matusz was very impressive. The question, though, is this: 'Is he really in the rotation competition?' Orioles manager Buck Showalter says yes. He says Tommy Hunter, who threw two perfect innings Wednesday, also is in that competition.

With three weeks left in spring training, it seems as if four spots in the Orioles' Opening Day rotation are spoken for. Jeremy Guthrie, Brian Matusz and Brad Bergesen are locks, and based on his first two outings and the reports out of Sarasota, Jake Arrieta looks to be a shoo-in, too. But the race for the fifth spot in the rotation is wide-open right now. Veteran Justin Duchscherer and Chris Tillman are the frontunners, and Ryan Drese, Zach...

By all accounts, the battle for what might be the final slot in the Orioles' starting rotation is a friendly one, especially this early in the exhibition season. Chris Tillman took his turn Monday afternoon at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers and took a few licks from a pretty good Boston Red Sox lineup, but he was upbeat about his performance and in a rush to get back to Sarasota to see Zach Britton take the mound Monday night in the MASN-televised night game against the New York Yankees at Ed Smith Stadium.

- Chris Tillman saw it coming, but that didn't make it any easier to accept. So as the 21-year-old discussed the most difficult day of his young career, his eyes became watery and his voice cracked. Tillman, who is considered one of the organization's top young pitchers, arrived at spring training as the clear favorite to win the fifth starter's job. However, he was informed Tuesday that the job would go to right-hander David Hernandez, and he would begin the season at Triple-A Norfolk.

Jose Mercedes had come full circle this season, forming another black hole that doubled as the fifth slot in the Orioles' rotation. He earned a job there out of spring training, was moved to the bullpen and became a starter again earlier this month. This had been the place, at the end of the rotation, where games and opportunities were lost. But Mercedes changed that last night, giving the Orioles seven quality innings in a 5-3 victory over the Florida Marlins before 37,591 at Camden Yards.

Orioles catcher Chris Hoiles could be back in uniform as early as tomorrow if the anticipation doesn't swallow him up first."It can't come soon enough for me," said Hoiles before yesterday's game. "I'm ready to go."Hoiles, whose right wrist was broken June 23 when he was hit by a pitch thrown by Tim Leary of the New York Yankees, has received full medical clearance after the latest set of X-rays, taken Friday, came back negative."They say everything's OK. He [team doctor Charles Silberstein]

Chris Tillman saw it coming, but that didn't make it any easier to accept. So as the 21-year-old discussed the most difficult day of his young career, his eyes became watery and his voice cracked. Tillman, who is considered one of the organization's top young pitchers, arrived at spring training as the clear favorite to win the fifth starter's job. However, he was informed Tuesday that the job would instead go to right-hander David Hernandez, and he would begin the season at Triple-A Norfolk.

The battle for the fifth spot in the Orioles' rotation is not only still up for grabs, but it also might not be decided until the final week of camp. Although it was widely presumed that 21-year-old right-hander Chris Tillman is the clear favorite, Orioles manager Dave Trembley said Wednesday, "Right now, no one is." Pitching coach Rick Kranitz added that the competition, which includes right-handers David Hernandez, 24, and Jason Berken, 26, is "wide open. It is not a done deal."