The Orioles have indicated they are not yet certain whether Brian Matusz will pitch as a starter or a reliever this year. But if Matusz has any say in it, he made clear today what he favors. "I'm going in this spring with an opportunity to be a starter," he said. "I've been a starter my whole life until last year. I want to go out and fight and try to earn a spot in the rotation." He knows how much success he had as a lefty reliever late last year but he wants to carry that back into a...

The Orioles' new third base coach has not been in that box for a while, but Bobby Dickerson, who was hired to replace DeMarlo Hale, has been in that box a lot over the years. "I've got over 1,200 games coaching third at the minor league level," Dickerson said today at FanFest. "I've coached third at the Triple-A and Double-A levels. I've been over there. The only big difference is I was there as a manger. The biggest adjustment I've going to have, I believe, is going to be relaying the...

Center fielder Adam Jones joked today at FanFest that he's in catcher Matt Wieter's ear about signing a contract extension, "but he's got Boras." That would be super-agent Scott Boras, who usually prefers that his clients test the free agent waters. Wieters agreed to a $5.5 million contract yesterday. He's got two more arbitration years remaining. "I'd like him up here," Jones said. "He's a fixture in this city. He's our leader behind the plate, he's a leader on this team. I...

We've seen Jim Palmer become emotional before - for instance, this year during his legends ceremony, when he talked about Mike Flanagan. Today, the Hall of Famer kept it together pretty well when talking about Earl Weaver until very late in an interview with reporters covering FanFest. "Mike Flanagan came up to me and said, one year after (I) had pitched during a spring training game, Earl called him over said, 'See that guy out there? Just do what he does and you'll be fine,' " Palmer...

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said he feels free agent pitcher Joe Saunders, who started two playoff games for the Orioles last October, will be making a decision soon on which team he will pitch for this year. "Joe is not here, but he did a great job for us last year," Duquette said. "He's probably going to make a decision this week." Is Duquette confident that Saunders will re-sign with the club? "I don't have a real sense of it," Duquette said. "We'd like to have...

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette shared his thoughts on Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver, who passed away last night at 82. "I have to be grateful that Earl was with us for the legends series and we got a chance to spend time with him, like every single statue unveiling," Duquette said. "He was terrific and his simplicity and the clarity of his leadership and his passion for baseball, he's unmatched. And he's a treasure for the Orioles and we're so grateful that we had the...

There is a bit of concern regarding the left-handed depth available out of the Nationals bullpen heading into the 2013 campaign. Zach Duke and Bill Bray are the top names that will get the best shot to be the lefty specialists out of the 'pen. Duke did well in his work last season with the Nationals and despite some injuries, Bray had success with the Cincinnati Reds. And he also was with the Nationals before he was traded away in 2007. But do the Nationals need more depth at the spot? Ross...

Orioles outfielder Nate McLouth is looking forward to his second season with the team. He told reporters at FanFest today that he felt this was his best fit when he was a free agent and he had that in mind as much as the dollars when sizing up where to play in 2013. "Things were started to materialize with other teams. It just came down to this is where I wanted to be," he said. "I wanted to jump on the opportunity before they started looking at somebody else. Luckily it happened the way it...

The Orioles haven't made a final decision on Mark Hendrickson, but it appears that they're going to invite him to camp and let him compete for a job in the bullpen. Manager Buck Showalter and executive vice president Dan Duquette continue to discuss it. Hendrickson threw at the minicamp on Wednesday, breaking out his new sidearm delivery. The Orioles remain intrigued by it. Players are starting to filter into the backstage area at the Baltimore Convention Center. I'll pass along a few...

At the beginning of their forum with Orioles season ticket holders, which kicks off FanFest each year, executive vice president Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter each made comments about Hall of Famer Earl Weaver, who died this morning. "Earl obviously was a great manager," Duquette said. "I was grateful last year we got to share a lot about his career when he was with us last year. You could see the love between the players and Earl. Earl was a simple guy. You pitch it, catch it, hit...