Rotation

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)

The San Diego Padres might be better than their sub-.500 record indicates, but losing two games to them over a span of 18 hours this week has to be a bitter pill for the Orioles to swallow. Following today's off day, the Orioles will play 17 games in 17 days, opening with 10 straight against American League East teams. So as much as the recent injuries to the starting rotation didn't impact the Orioles dramatically because of three off days in an 11-day span, they now have some holes to fill.

Long study has persuaded me that there are only four personal-finance columns in newspapering, which rotate week to week every month:   1. Saving for your children's college education No way you can ever save enougn. You're screwed.    2. Saving for your retirement It's already too late to catch up. You're screwed.   3. Investing in stocks Too risky. You're screwed.    4. Investing in bonds Too little return. You're screwed.   

As Maryland awaits word from former Memphis point guard Antonio Barton regarding his possible transfer to College Park, it might be interesting to look at the lineups Mark Turgeon could put on the floor next season with or without the 6-2 senior from Baltimore. His three-season stats at Memphis might not accurately reflect how important a piece Barton could be for the Terps. How do you measure a player's basketball IQ, leadership and maturity? Think of what Logan Aronhalt gave Turgeon's team last season, but with Barton playing a much bigger role at a more key position.

The Orioles have had two consistent starters this season: Jason HammelandWei-Yin Chen. The other three spots have been anything but reliable. At times, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta and Tommy Hunter have been good. Other times, they've been way south of good. The positive news is that injuries have not hit the Orioles' rotation. The above-mentioned five have made 72 of the club's 73 starts. The other one was started by long reliever Dana Eveland. The bad news is that Jake Arrieta (3-9, 5.55 ERA in 16 starts)

The returning Orioles pitchers welcome the unspoken message to them. Executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette spent the offseason focusing on starting pitching, acquiring left-handers Wei-Yin Chen, Tsuyoshi Wada and Dana Eveland. That makes for a crowded staff. As of now, the Orioles' list of starting rotation candidates is in double digits, which will create intense competition come spring training. “I think they know it's time to you-know-what or get off the pot,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said at Saturday's FanFest at the Baltimore Convention Center.

OK, I'm sure you'll start thinking about the Orioles in roughly 10 days when pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota. Right now, you have other sporting things on your mind. I get that. This week the bar is adorned in purple and black. I had to borrow the colored lightbulbs from a Deadhead couple I know. Hope you like the special touches in here. We haven't done a Prediction Friday in a while. But boy is this the perfect time to do it. We can't just be all football in here this weekend.

Interim manager Juan Samuel said the team will stick with its current rotation at least one more time through despite Orioles starters' posting an 8.50 ERA in the first 12 games after the All-Star break. "Right now, everybody is going to make their next start," Samuel said. "Hopefully, these guys can figure it out up here, but looking at the options that we would have right now, there are no options. These guys are going to have to make some pitches, bear down and get us through this stretch that we're in. That's what they're going to have to do, make the adjustments."

Welcome back to the bar. We're so close to baseball season, I can almost taste the $8 beers. By the way, we don't charge more than $4 per watered-down fake brew in here. I'm not counting the cover out front, though; can't do much about that. Anyway, I'm putting together some spring training preview stories, and obviously, one of the most intriguing things about this Orioles camp is that no one -- including executive vice president Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter -- knows exactly how this roster is going to shake out. The most wide-open battle is for the most important spots -- the rotation.

Buck Showalter still isn't officially revealing his roster or his full rotation until after today's game against the Norfolk Tides - rosters have to be in by 5 p.m. EST. The game will probably end around 6. He did say however that Tommy Hunter will pitch in game 2 - in between Opening Day starter Jake Arrieta and Sunday's scheduled starter, Jason Hammel. The common belief had been that Wei-Yin Chen would pitch game 2, but that was speculation and nothing official from the Orioles.

When Orioles right-hander Freddy Garcia was left without a job just a week before the regular season began this year, there was no doubt in his mind that he would pitch in the major leagues in 2013 if he was given the chance. Garcia - a 15-year major league veteran who won the World Series with the Chicago White Sox in 2005 and is the winningest Venezuelan-born pitcher in baseball history (152 career wins) - didn't need to prove anything after the San Diego Padres released him in late March.

Loyola's long line of strong faceoff specialists - from Dan Kallaugher to Tim McDermott to John Schiavone to J.P. Dalton - has not continued this season. Sophomore Blake Burkhart has won 50 percent (80-of-160) of the draws he has taken, and junior Brendan Donovan has won 47.1 percent (49-of-104). The No. 8 Greyhounds (9-3 overall and 5-1 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference) are winning 49.5 percent (137-of-277), and the team's uneven results showed up in last Saturday's 13-12 overtime loss to top-ranked Denver.

With Alex Len headed to the NBA, how will the Terps replace their 7-1 center? The Len Replacement Committee will be convening shortly at Comcast Center. For someone who has been around the Maryland basketball program, this is not like replacing  Joe Smith after he was the No. 1 pick in the 1995 NBA draft. To tell you the truth, it's not like finding another Lonny Baxter after the Terps won the national championship in 2002. Both Smith (20.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.9 blocks)

SARASOTA, Fla. - This time last year, right-hander Jake Arrieta was as excited as he had ever been about his professional career. At 26, he was about to be make his first Opening Day start for the Orioles, the only organization he had ever known. He was in the midst of a spring in which he seemingly had separated himself from the rest of the organization's mid-20s pitchers - once dubbed the cavalry. But just as quickly as Arrieta's star seemed to shoot across the baseball sky, it plummeted.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Earlier this spring, an Orioles official was talking causally about the competition for the fifth starter's spot. He mentioned Jake Arrieta, Zach Britton, Brian Matusz, Jair Jurrjens. And then he paused. "I'm forgetting somebody," the official said, before slapping his hand on his head. "Steve Johnson. You CAN'T forget Steve Johnson. " Johnson, the 25-year-old Baltimore native and St. Paul's graduate, cracks a smile when the story is retold. "I've always been that guy. I was never a high prospect or anything like that.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Although the Orioles aren't making any proclamations about their rotation with Opening Day looming in less than two weeks, Zach Britton's chances of going north with the club seemingly took a hit Wednesday as he failed to get out of the second inning in a Grapefruit League start against the Toronto Blue Jays. The 25-year-old lefty allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks while retiring only four batters, pushing his spring ERA to 6.10 and likely damaging his standing in a battle with Jake Arrieta , Steve Johnson , Brian Matusz and others for the fifth rotation spot.

The San Diego Padres might be better than their sub-.500 record indicates, but losing two games to them over a span of 18 hours this week has to be a bitter pill for the Orioles to swallow. Following today's off day, the Orioles will play 17 games in 17 days, opening with 10 straight against American League East teams. So as much as the recent injuries to the starting rotation didn't impact the Orioles dramatically because of three off days in an 11-day span, they now have some holes to fill.

Some brief notes from Buck Showalter's pre-game meeting with reporters: Saturday's starter has still not been determined. Jake Arrieta will pitch Friday and Jason Hammel will pitch Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Lefty Zach Britton pitches today for Triple-A Norfolk, so he is not an option. Showalter said the candidate could come from the current bullpen, such as lefty Dana Eveland or righty Miguel Gonzalez, or from Norfolk. Candidates there would include Chris Tillman, Tommy Hunter and Jason Berken.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Despite a rocky start, Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz continued to make a case for himself to be the team's No. 5 starter in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park Matusz allowed just one run on six hits through five innings, walking one and striking out two. His five-inning start is the longest of any Orioles pitcher this spring. Matusz threw 75 pitches, 58 strikes. Over his past two starts, Matusz has allowed just one run over nine innings with six hits, nine strikeouts and two walks.

Long study has persuaded me that there are only four personal-finance columns in newspapering, which rotate week to week every month:   1. Saving for your children's college education No way you can ever save enougn. You're screwed.    2. Saving for your retirement It's already too late to catch up. You're screwed.   3. Investing in stocks Too risky. You're screwed.    4. Investing in bonds Too little return. You're screwed.