Jeremy Guthrie

Jeremy Guthrie no doubt impressed enemy scouts during Tuesday night's win over the Red Sox . The Orioles' top starter allowed two earned runs in seven innings of work, picking up (sadly) his fourth win of 2011 and improving his ERA to 4.35. Some contending teams are interested in acquiring Guthrie, whom Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun believes is "someone the Orioles likely would deal this month for the right offer. " Does ESPN baseball insider Tim Kurkjian think the Orioles should deal the 32-year-old right-hander?

Jeremy Guthrie received a warm reception from the crowd at Camden Yards when he took the mound Thursday for the first time here since he was traded away before last season. Then the Kansas City Royals right-hander did his part to beat his former team, handing the Orioles a 6-2 defeat in front of an announced 23,282. Guthrie, who was the Orioles' Opening Day starter in 2008, '09 and '11, held them to two runs (one earned) on seven hits over six innings to snap the Orioles' season-high four-game winning streak and allow the Royals to salvage the series finale.

Jeremy Guthrie received a warm reception from the crowd at Camden Yards when he took the mound Thursday for the first time here since he was traded away before last season. Then the Kansas City Royals right-hander did his part to beat his former team, handing the Orioles a 6-2 defeat in front of an announced 23,282. Guthrie, who was the Orioles' Opening Day starter in 2008, '09 and '11, held them to two runs (one earned) on seven hits over six innings to snap the Orioles' season-high four-game winning streak and allow the Royals to salvage the series finale.

When Jeremy Guthrie came to Baltimore as a member of the Kansas City Royals last August it wasn't his turn to pitch. So he watched four games, signed autographs and soaked in the atmosphere from the visiting side. On Thursday night, the right-hander is scheduled to take the mound at Camden Yards and face the Orioles for the first time in his career after spending five seasons in orange and black. “It's great -- fond memories, great coming back to the fans,” said Guthrie, who was 47-65 with a 4.12 ERA in 161 games with the Orioles from 2007 to 2011.

Jeremy Guthrie, Orioles pitcher Is it distracting to you when rumors start circulating about a manager's job status? For me, it's not a distraction. As players, we really don't hear a lot. Fans think we hear and read everything, but we don't know nearly as much as the people asking the questions or the fans think we know.

Jeremy Guthrie's story is of a former first-round draft pick and top prospect who struggled to meet hefty - and perhaps unfair - expectations that were placed on him. Ultimately, he was forced to go elsewhere to get an opportunity, and when he did, his powerful right arm reminded everyone what the hype was all about. It is certainly a feel-good story, especially for Orioles fans who have waited patiently for the organization to develop top-flight young pitchers, only to watch one drop in its lap on a $20,000 waiver claim.

SEATTLE -- In organizational meetings during spring training, Orioles officials pondered slotting right-hander Steve Trachsel, and not Jeremy Guthrie, into the No. 1 spot in the rotation. Their logic was that as a veteran, Trachsel, who had 141 wins entering the season, was better prepared to deal with the rigors of occupying that role. He wouldn't be overwhelmed by the high expectations or the challenge of facing the other team's top starter. It's not that Orioles officials felt Guthrie would be, but the right-hander did have just one full major league season of experience and 27 career starts.

Jeremy Guthrie was driving solo from his Utah home to Las Vegas to see a Justin Timberlake concert when he got the phone call that changed the course of his baseball career. The caller that day in January 2007 was Cleveland Indians general manager Mark Shapiro, who informed Guthrie he had just been designated for assignment, all but guaranteeing the pitcher's departure from an organization that thought he would become an ace but grew tired of waiting. "Honestly, my first reaction was excitement," Guthrie said.

Good morning -- Jeremy Guthrie -- Remember back in Little League, when they played only six innings?

Avg: Vladimir Guerrero .290 HR: Mark Reynolds 37 RBI: Mark Reynolds 86 SB: Robert Andino 13 Wins: Zach Britton 11 Saves: Kevin Gregg 22 ERA: Jeremy Guthrie 4.33 Strikeouts: Jeremy Guthrie 130

The losing became so persistent that Martha Macgill pulled herself from the rotation of Episcopal clergy who regularly attended ball games at Camden Yards. She remembers one defeat in particular; it was Mother's Day 2007 and Jeremy Guthrie pitched eight sparkling innings only for the Orioles bullpen to squander a five-run cushion in the ninth against the Boston Red Sox. Her son Jack Kelleher fell to the floor in despair. "It just got so depressing," says Macgill, the rector at Memorial Episcopal Church in Bolton Hill.

The Orioles' official reporting day has been uneventful, so far. Some players are working out already, but the first organized pitcher/catcher workout will be Wednesday afternoon, following physicals. Pitcher Wei-Yin Chen spent some time with the Taiwanese media, but there is very limited media access today. General manager Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter will hold their first news briefing today at 12:30. Not expecting any startling revelations, but you never know. Duquette has been known to make significant moves late in the offseason.

Jason Hammel's breakout season in 2012 was rewarded Friday when he agreed to a one-year, $6.75 million deal with the Orioles to avoid arbitration. He could make up to $300,000 more in performance incentives. Closer Jim Johnson also agreed to a one-year deal Friday ($6.5 million) , leaving just reliever Darren O'Day as the only arbitration-eligible player remaining on the club. Hammel, 30, went 8-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 20 starts for the Orioles last season. Acquired last February from the Colorado Rockies in a deal for Jeremy Guthrie, Hammel emerged as the club's top starter in the first half of the season, but a knee injury required surgery and limited his second half to just three regular season games.

My guess is I am averaging about five questions a day for the past two weeks on the Orioles' pursuit of left-handed pitcher Joe Saunders. Pretty incredible considering when the Orioles dealt reliever Matt Lindstrom to Arizona for Saunders last August, the move was met with collective yawns across Baltimore. The veteran and Northern Virginia native must have made quite an impression in his month-plus time with the Orioles (I guess that's what happens when you shut down the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees in the playoffs)

Orioles right-hander Jason Hammel, shelved twice in the second half of last season because of injuries to his right knee, said he has no restrictions on the joint after having a check-up with team doctors Friday. Hammel missed nearly eight weeks after arthroscopic surgery on his knee in mid-July, only to re-injure the joint in his second start since coming off the disabled list Sept. 11. The 30-year-old was able to return to start Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Yankees, but said then that rest would be the only way his knee would get healthy.

Buck Showalter knows it's a good problem to have. Biding time alone in his clubhouse office the past two months, the Orioles manager would look at the board wall that lists every player in the organization. In building for 2013 - and building off of the success of a trip to the playoffs last season - he can be happy that he sees pitching depth that didn't exist this time last season. In executive vice president Dan Duquette's first offseason with the club, he focused on building the pitching staff.

Orioles@Angels 10 p.m. [MASN2] Who would have thought it? It's May, the Orioles are still above .500 and Jeremy Guthrie doesn't have a win. Guthrie, who hasn't given up more than three earned runs in his past five starts, will look to improve his 0-3 record.

Baseball Tigers@ Orioles 7 p.m. [MASN2]: Orioles ace Jeremy Guthrie is scheduled to start against Detroit's Armando Galarraga. Galarraga hasn't been going very deep in games. He has lasted seven or more innings just twice in 15 starts. But he's been effective, with a 7-3 record and a 3.27 ERA.

Joe Saunders' offseason has been spent golfing, working out, entertaining at his Arizona home and being a father to his 2-year-old and 4-year-old girls. He can't say he hasn't thought about where he'll be reporting to spring training in six weeks, but the free agent knows he'll be pitching somewhere. And that's fine for now. “I'm a pretty patient kind of guy. I've always been that kind of guy, to really wait and see how it all plays out,” said Saunders, who was 3-3 with a 3.63 ERA in seven regular season starts with the Orioles after being acquired from Arizona in August.

Heading into a new year, the Orioles have much of the same team as they did in 2012. That's by design, and apparently there is a push to continue that trend. The Orioles have re-signed left fielder Nate McLouth, maintain dialogue with lefty starter Joe Saunders and, according to an industry source, are among the clubs showing legitimate interest in signing right-handed reliever Matt Lindstrom, whom the Orioles traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in August for Saunders. Lindstrom, 32, was 1-0 with a 2.72 ERA in 32 games with the Orioles, striking out 30 batters and walking 12 while allowing 35 hits in 36 1/3 innings.