Jake Arrieta

I appreciate a good beard when I see one -- maybe it's because I can't grow one above my neck -- so I am bummed out to see that Orioles starter Jake Arrieta had shaved off his amazing Al Borland beard from FanFest. In case you missed it, the beard was breathtaking .  Yes, I know it's because the Orioles have a facial hair policy, which is ridiculous. How can Koji Uehara grow sideburns like these but Arrieta can't take a page out of Brian Wilson's book ? I guess it's to avoid a situation like this one (sorry, Nick Markakis)

It didn't take long for right-hander Jake Arrieta to retreat to the video room inside the Orioles' clubhouse to go over another tough start Wednesday afternoon. Shortly after the Orioles' 6-5 series-finale loss to the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards, Arrieta could be found inside a dark room full of computers, trying to find answers to explain his up-and-down season. When the 26-year-old right-hander has pitched well, he has shown the potential to become the front-line ace the organization needs, but when he has struggled, he has had heads shaking.

Right-hander Jake Arrieta pitched two innings and gave up a run on two hits and two walks in his 2011 exhibition debut against the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium on Friday, but he didn't seem too concerned about his inconsistent command the first time out. "I felt great," he said. "It's just that the first time out there at game speed, the sinker's got more life. The fastball has more life to it. The breaking balls were sharp. Now, it's just a matter of being more consistent around the strike zone.

The Orioles had a chance to earn their first three-game sweep of the Rays at Camden Yards since 2007 on Sunday afternoon. But more importantly, they could have gone up three games on division rival Tampa Bay - a monumental accomplishment considering the Rays came to Baltimore on Friday tied with the Orioles atop the American League East standings. The Orioles' Opening Day starter, right-hander Jake Arrieta, saw it as an opportunity to seize. But after his shortest start in nearly a year, the 26-year-old admitted he went to the mound Sunday trying to do too much.

When Jake Arrieta cruised into the fifth inning Saturday night after retiring a dozen consecutive Los Angeles Angels, the Orioles right-hander looked as if he would pick up his third quality start in four outings this young season. By the time his head stopped spinning in the fifth at Angel Stadium, however, Arrieta was in the Orioles dugout smarting from his shortest stint since July. The Angels collected five singles, three walks and five runs in the fifth to chase Arrieta on their way to a 6-3 win and a series victory against the Orioles (8-7)

It didn't take long for right-hander Jake Arrieta to retreat to the video room inside the Orioles' clubhouse to go over another tough start Wednesday afternoon. Shortly after the Orioles' 6-5 series-finale loss to the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards, Arrieta could be found inside a dark room full of computers, trying to find answers to explain his up-and-down season. When the 26-year-old right-hander has pitched well, he has shown the potential to become the front-line ace the organization needs, but when he has struggled, he has had heads shaking.

— 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.

In the relaxed atmosphere of spring training, the Orioles' locker room in Sarasota seems less pro athlete man cave than after-school rec center. Their workout over for the day by early afternoon, the players seem in no particular rush to head home. Jake Arrieta wheels in the bike he rides to and from the stadium every day; Nick Markakis carries in his 9-month-old son, quickly borrowed by Brian Roberts for a knee bounce, a cell phone picture and the answer to that mathematical question: What does cuteness squared look like?

The Orioles' 16-9 start has obviously been caused by tremendous pitching - and specifically starting pitching. Orioles starters have thrown nine quality starts in their past 10 outings - and have a 1.65 ERA in that time. In the three-game series against the Yankees in New York - in which the Orioles won two of three for the first time since 2010 - the bullpen threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings. But what might be getting a little bit lost so far this year is just how good catcher Matt Wieters has been.

With Zach Britton essentially out for the start of the season, the Orioles' rotation picture is becoming a little clearer. We will know even more after Wednesday, when Tommy Hunter (lower back) makes his spring debut in a major-league game. If Hunter comes out of that fine, you can probably pencil in Hunter, Wei-Yin Chen, Jason Hammel and Jake Arrieta as four members of the ration - in some order. (My guess is Arrieta, Chen, Hammel, Hunter). That leaves the fifth spot, with Brian Matusz seemingly the leader in the clubhouse based on the results he has gotten so far this spring (one earned run in 13 innings, though he did allow seven hits on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies in five innings)

First, the good news for the Orioles: They won't have to play the Rangers again until August, and if their series then is still meaningful, the Orioles can consider that a small victory. More good news: The Orioles head into their weekend series with Tampa Bay tied for first place in the AL East with the Rays at 20-12. OK, now for reality. If things go wrong for the Orioles this weekend - and they don't figure out their suddenly struggling pitching staff - they could conceivably end the weekend in fourth place in the division.

On the heels of one of the most uplifting road trips in recent memory, the Orioles suddenly find themselves at their first critical juncture of the young season, but here's the reason that it might not suck all the wind out of their terrific start: For once, they weren't blindsided by it. Two bullpen-busting marathons in Boston forced the front office to make a series of roster moves this week, and the struggles of starters Tommy Hunter, Brian...

One of the more remarkable traits of the Baltimore Oriole is its ability to make a home out of an odd collection of cast-offs and under-valued items — grass, bark, horsehair, wool, even cellophane and fishing line. And that's not the end of their cleverness. They are also acrobatic feeders who can snatch a meal from the most unlikely of sources. Perhaps it's only fitting that the Major League Baseball team of the same name has in the first month of the season demonstrated similar skills.

The Orioles began their current six-game road trip with many believing it would tell us a lot about what we need to know about the 2012 Birds. Baltimore's early-season success could be discounted by a favorable schedule early on, but road series in New York and Boston would be better indicators of the Orioles' staying power. And then the Orioles took two of three in the Bronx, shutting the Yankees bats down to three combined runs. Now they go to Fenway, where they took three of four in their last trip, a precursor to their final-weekend demolishing of the Red Sox's postseason hopes at Camden Yards.

The Orioles' 16-9 start has obviously been caused by tremendous pitching - and specifically starting pitching. Orioles starters have thrown nine quality starts in their past 10 outings - and have a 1.65 ERA in that time. In the three-game series against the Yankees in New York - in which the Orioles won two of three for the first time since 2010 - the bullpen threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings. But what might be getting a little bit lost so far this year is just how good catcher Matt Wieters has been.

OK, so Dylan Bundy is better than the other boys at Low-A Delmarva . The Orioles' top pick last year (fourth overall) has demolished the competition in the South Atlantic League. On Monday, he pitched four more scoreless innings - for a total of 17 in his pro career. In his first four pro games, Bundy has allowed one hit, two walks and struck out 25 batters.      The Orioles will stretch him out a little bit more, with at least one more four-inning stint at Delmarva, but one has to assume the 19-year-old will be at High-A Frederick soon enough.

The soft-spoken 19-year-old tucked away in a corner of the Orioles' spring training clubhouse is still hard to miss. For now, the main concern for Dylan Bundy, the fourth overall pick in last year's major league draft - and the first high school player selected - is surviving the traffic of the drink cooler parked right next to his locker. In a big league camp full of youth, he's the youngest player in this clubhouse by four-and-a-half years. Because he signed a major league deal in August, he's contractually obligated to be here.

The Orioles have traded the club's most accomplished starter, right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, to the Colorado Rockies. The Orioles received pitchers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom from Colorado. It's believed the Orioles discussed a third player with the Rockies but eventually settled on Hammel and Lindstrom. Guthrie, 32, had spent the past five seasons with the Orioles, had started Opening Day three times and was again expected to pitch the club's opener April 6. But he was to be a free agent at the end of the season and had been rumored to be on the trade block for more than a year.

For the first time in nearly seven years, the Orioles had a chance to go six games over .500 on Friday night. Instead, they received a middling performance from their de facto ace while their offense provided less pop than the plate umpire. With right-hander Jake Arrieta struggling with his command from the outset, the Orioles saw their four-game winning streak end in a 5-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics, a nondescript contest that will be best remembered by what happened during the seventh-inning stretch.

When Jake Arrieta cruised into the fifth inning Saturday night after retiring a dozen consecutive Los Angeles Angels, the Orioles right-hander looked as if he would pick up his third quality start in four outings this young season. By the time his head stopped spinning in the fifth at Angel Stadium, however, Arrieta was in the Orioles dugout smarting from his shortest stint since July. The Angels collected five singles, three walks and five runs in the fifth to chase Arrieta on their way to a 6-3 win and a series victory against the Orioles (8-7)