Jeremy Guthrie

SARASOTA, Fla -- We'll have a late start today because the Orioles' first full squad workout doesn't begin until noon. That's because most of the position players have to take their physicals beforehand. I wrote a story for today's Sun about left-hander Brian Matusz, who spoke to the media for the first time yesterday. He seems upbeat and positive about putting last year's disastrous season behind him, which is a good thing. But from talking to special assistant Brady Anderson and Orioles pitching coach Rick Adair, they seem to think that Matusz has turned the corner with the way he's focused on conditioning.

Much has been made of the fact that there are a dozen candidates for the Orioles starting rotation, but that's only half the story. The field of starting pitchers under consideration to be the Opening Day starter is almost as wide-open. When the Orioles traded Jeremy Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies, they were left with no obvious choice to start against the Minnesota Twins in the regular-season opener on April 6 at Camden Yards, but they have plenty of pitchers to choose from.

Less than two weeks ago, Jason Hammel was ready for spring training in Arizona and preparing for another season in Colorado. On Saturday, Hammel arrived at the Orioles spring training complex in Sarasota - a new player in a new place after Baltimore's Feb. 6 trade of pitcher Jeremy Guthrie. Right-handed reliever Matt Lindstrom also came to the Orioles in the deal. “It was a pretty wild week when it happened, obviously because [it was] a week before spring training,” Hammel said.

The Orioles came to terms with their final arbitration-eligible player on Tuesday night, agreeing to a one-year, $6.15 million deal with center fielder Adam Jones. Jones, 26, would have had his hearing Friday in Florida. He was asking for $7.4 million, and the Orioles had countered with $5 million. He basically agreed to the midpoint of $6.2 million, as there is $50,000 available to him in performance bonuses. He'll get $25,000 if he reaches 620 plate appearances and $25,000 more if he gets to 635 plate appearances.

Well, at least it's been a nice, quiet offseason for the Orioles. Let's see, all they've done is overhaul the roster, tinker with the notion of pursuing disgraced steroid-cheat Manny Ramirez, trade their most experienced starter in Jeremy Guthrie and nearly touch off an international incident with South Korea's professional baseball league. Other than that, yep, it's been pretty uneventful. The bottom line is this: pitchers and catchers report to spring training Sunday and we still don't know if the Orioles are any better than last year.

It appears the Baltimore Orioles are in for another losing season. They trade Jeremy Guthrie for a couple pitchers who both have lifetime losing records and ERAs above 4.0. Dan Duquette also adds to the mix by getting another pitcher with a similar record. To add to the problem the Orioles will probably give these three pitchers million-dollar deals. The Orioles should sit down and watch the movie "Moneyball. " Then they would understand subpar performance doesn't warrant player big contracts, and it sure doesn't get the team to the World Series.

As a Baltimore native, Orioles spring training season ticket holder and longtime Jeremy Guthrie fan, I'm saddened that my favorite pitcher was traded to the Rockies ("Orioles' spring version of the show: 'As the Rotation Turns,'" Feb. 8). But the recent acquisition of relief pitcher Pat Neshek - the only known vegan player in the Majors - definitely softens the blow. I'll cheer for a vegan pitcher any day - even if he blows more than eight saves. Anyone who spares animals, helps save the environment and promotes healthy living is a champion in my book.

Orioles right-hander Brad Bergesen lost his arbitration bid Thursday, giving the team its seventh consecutive victory in the process. Bergesen, 26, filed for $1.2 million after a season in which he was 2-7 with a 5.70 ERA in 34 games, including 12 starts. The Orioles countered with $800,000, and since the sides could not find middle ground, they went before a three-person arbitration panel Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Fla. The panel chose the Orioles' figure - which is still a considerable increase for Bergesen, who made $434,000 in 2011.

We already know that new Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette has been looking to upgrade the team's on-base percentage when making moves this season. And when Duquette explained Monday's trade of starter Jeremy Guthrie to Colorado for starter Jason Hammel and reliever Matt Lindstrom, he pointed to another key stat he's tried to focus his moves on: strikeout-to-walk ratio. In acquiring Hammel and Lindstrom, Duquette said, he was continuing to acquire pitchers with a strikeout-to-walk ratio close to 3-to-1.