Pete - Do you sense any concern in the front office that the fan base is going to be very upset this year, since pitching looks so bad? And any hints that a last-minute trade is made with someone like Montanez for a possible starting pitcher? Thanks.

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Pete's reply: Nothing would surprise me at this point, but I think what you see is what you get. Sure, they're concerned, as are you and I. It's not a pretty picture right now.

Pete,
That saying is true; but it's been dark for 10 years. :( Starting to feel like an underexposed mushroom.

Let's hope you're tuning your knuckleball for a midseason callup.

NOW will they sign Pedro or do they want to lose a hundred games? Don't get me wrong, I think Jeremy is going to get it together and have a decent season, though his status as a starter has taken a real blow with this outing.

True, it's just one game, but he looked just as bad in the World Baseball Classic. (As I've said before, the real ace is going to be Koji, who's going to be lights out now that he's mastering the circle change. Mark my words on this: He's going to surprise a lot of skeptics.)

Still, something needs to be done. Who are the Orioles going to use to fill out the rotation? Eaton is likely, but hasn't been too good in the majors. Hendrickson? Should be in the bullpen.

Bass is in the running, but doesn't seem favored. Penn's toast, sorry to say. Bergesen may wind up there, but is untested at this level. (Pete, I didn't realize you'd done a story on Brad, but good to know he's being considered.)

And that brings us back to Pedro. The Dodgers, Mets, Pirates and Indians have expressed an interest, but L.A. appears to be backing out because of the $5M price tag (signing Manny kinda of limits you, doesn't it). I am astounded that Andy Macphail won't at least consider this, because the O's rotation this year isn't going to come close to cutting it and the pickings outside the organization are really slim once you get past Martinez.

Can anyone of the every day players pitch?

I keep trying hard to be a little optimistic about this season, but this rotation scares the hell out of me.
I see a lot of 10-8 losses for the O's this year.
They'll score runs this year, maybe even more than last season, but they'll be giving them back by the bucket load.
It's going to be a very long season.

It's too late to move the fences back at Camden Yards. Unless our Lady of Fatima appears to Dave Trembley, the Orioles will be out of many games by the fourth inning this year.

When Casey Stengel managed the early New York Mets he uttered the now famous line" Can't anybody here play this game?". Well Mr. Trembley, how about it?

I am sure Guthrie is going to say that he felt great, had good command, is stretching out, etc. My thought all along is NOT that the Orioles are looking for a 3,4 and 5 starter. They already have them. Problem is, they are masquerading as a 1,2 and 3.

SIGN PEDRO NOW ! If he is any good we can trade him at the dead line. He couldn't do any harm to this staff.

I don't understand what you are talking about, Pete - the O's are up 7-6 heading into the ninth as I read the linescore. I wonder who gets to be the designated closer today?

Seriously though, I for one am concerned that a few of the key performers on the staff from last year are not so far doing very well, not to mention that most of the three dozen plus that reported to spring training either got hurt somewhere along the line, seriously underperformed, or were deemed in need of a little more seasoning. The last part I agree with from an institutional perspective, but it would have been nice to have enough pleasant surprises that the difficulty Trembley had with picking his rotation and bullpen would have been trying to narrow it down from all the good choices rather than hoping to find the least atrocious to try and make do with.

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Pete's reply: I stepped out of the house and Guthrie pulled it together. I'm happy he did.

Another player bust? Looks that way.

No one can be suprised by this can they? What was the Orioles biggest deficiency last year? Pitching of course. They did nothing in the off season to address the situation so why would anyone expect different results this year. Anyone who would pay to watch this garbage this year with hopes that the team will be competetive is either delusional or an Obama voter -- wait, thats the same thing.

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Pete's reply: I don't see the comparison. Obama is coming off a winning season.

After looking at the schedule for April with the Yanks and Rays were looking at 0-6, It will not surprize me if we are 4-18 for the month of April. Bring up the kids, why keep sending them to the minors. Half of them will blow out there arms by the time we decide to bring them up. The hell with the options. who will pick up Penn if we cut him loose