masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgPitcher Kevin Millwood heard the rumors about a pending trade to the Orioles. He wasn’t exactly blindsided by the news.

“I’m a little surprised,” he said. “I can say that, but it wasn’t a total shock.”

Winter Meetings Audio: Kevin Millwood calls in to talk about being traded to the O’s

It became a reality late this afternoon, as reporters gathered at an elevator that would take us to Andy MacPhail’s suite at the Westin. Millwood was placed on a conference call after we interviewed…Pitcher Kevin Millwood heard the rumors about a pending trade to the Orioles. He wasn’t exactly blindsided by the news.

“I’m a little surprised,” he said. “I can say that, but it wasn’t a total shock.”

Winter Meetings Audio: Kevin Millwood calls in to talk about being traded to the O’s

It became a reality late this afternoon, as reporters gathered at an elevator that would take us to Andy MacPhail’s suite at the Westin. Millwood was placed on a conference call after we interviewed MacPhail and manager Dave Trembley.

“Actually, I don’t really know many people on the Orioles team right now,” he said. “I know them from playing against them, but I don’t know that we’ve ever sat down and had a conversation. I know there’s quite a few guys there that are really good players and they’re only going to get better. They’ll be exciting to play with.”

Millwood welcomes the chance to serve as a role model and mentor of sorts to the young starters.

“I think it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to fix some of the things that I’ve learned in the past, to try to hand it down to some of the younger guys. It makes it all worthwhile when guys start to do what you tell them and it works out for them.

“I’m definitely not going to walk into spring training right away and start telling people what I think is right and what I think is wrong. Once I get to know guys and kind of find my way around a little bit, I’m sure that if there are things I see that aren’t quite right, I won’t have a problem bringing that up to a guy one-on-one.”

Millwood described himself as “a pretty easy guy to get along with.”

“I don’t ask for much,” he added. “I keep to myself a lot. I don’t think it will be tough at all to get to know these guys.”

Millwood was raised in North Carolina, but he wasn’t a big fan of the Orioles, or any team for that matter. It’s nothing personal.

“To be honest with you, I didn’t grow up watching baseball at all,” he said. “I didn’t even know about the draft until I was a senior in high school. I just enjoyed playing and I didn’t really know all the intricacies of how you get into baseball.”