More downs than ups for Guthrie in '09

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Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie delivers against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)AP

BALTIMORE — Jeremy Guthrie stood outside the Orioles clubhouse in spring training eight months ago, talking about his excitement of getting to pitch for the U.S. team in the World Baseball Classic.

Guthrie left the Orioles for a few days to pitch for the red, white and blue, and even though he struggled he returned to beat the Yankees on Opening Day here in April. But after that it would be a season of change, with more downs than ups, for the Ashland High graduate and Roseburg native.

Guthrie entered the 2009 season with a new catcher after Ramon Hernandez was traded to the Reds after the 2008 season. The right-handed pitcher also got a new agent prior to this season, as he parted ways with Steve Boras. And once the season began Guthrie was the one constant in the Orioles starting rotation, as a parade of rookie pitchers came up to Baltimore from the minor leagues.

"I just didn't come into the spring feeling, pitching-wise, the same rhythm I had felt the past two seasons," Guthrie told Oriole announcers Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer last week. "Unfortunately, not feeling great and not having a good feel. I took off early for the World Baseball Classic and never really found it there. So when I came back, I was a little bit further behind than I had been in years past, and I began the season not having all my pitches where I would have liked to have them."

In a fitting end to the season Guthrie, who started game one back in April, was the Orioles' starter on Sunday in the regular-season finale at home against the Blue Jays. Guthrie, drafted by the Indians out of Stanford, allowed four runs and nine hits in 72/3 innings and did not figure in the decision as the Orioles won, 5-4, in 11 innings.

Guthrie, 30, allowed three solo home runs to Toronto and gave up 35 homers this season, tied for the most in team history. But he pitched 200 innings for the first time in his Major League career. He said last month that was one of his goals this year, along with making every start.

Was this a disappointing season? "Absolutely. I have pitched terribly. Have I worked hard? Yes," he said after a loss to the Red Sox in late September.

Guthrie, acquired in a trade from Cleveland by the Birds prior to the 2007 season, was 10-17 this season in 33 starts with an ERA of 5.04. He led the American League in losses this year. The O's finished 64-98 and have not had a winning season since the 1990s.

"It was a goal of mine to go out there and attack the guys," Guthrie told reporters after Sunday's game. "I ran into some hot bats. They're swinging the bat really well, but we made some phenomenal catches, especially in a tough sky today with the sun being as it was. We pulled off a great victory. Bats came alive, we played good defense and it was nice."

Dave Johnson, a former Oriole pitcher who now covers the team as a broadcaster, said of Guthrie: "A strange season for him. The long ball hurt him. He is durable. He is a competitor. That is huge."

Johnson said he expects Guthrie will be back with the Birds in 2010. "You hope next year is the year. He has the pitches. He has the ability," Johnson said here this past weekend. In spring training Guthrie said he did not consider himself to be the "ace" on the staff even though he led the team in wins a year ago.

Whether the Orioles test the free agent market for a veteran pitcher and take some pressure off Guthrie remains to be seen. Johnson, the former Oriole, noted he led the Birds in wins with 13 in 1990.

"Did that make me the ace? But the next year wasn't as easy," said Johnson, who fell to 4-8 in 1991.

Guthrie made his major league debut with Cleveland in 2004. He was 7-5 with an ERA of 3.70 for the Orioles in 2007 and 10-12, 3.63 last year. He is now 27-34 lifetime in 111 Major League games, with 90 starts.

"When we took him out, I thanked him and he said thank you and he was appreciative because he reached a milestone goal for himself with the innings pitched," manager Dave Trembley told reporters Sunday. "He deserved it."

Notes: Former Seattle outfielder Adam Jones, the lone Oriole All-Star this season, ended the year on the disabled list for the Orioles. Jone hit .277 with 19 homers and 70 RBIs in 473 at bats but slumped badly in the second half ... The future may be up in the air for the Blue Jays coaching staff after general manager J.P. Ricciardi was fired this past weekend. Former big league pitcher Brad Arnsberg, a 1981 graduate of Medford High, has been the pitching coach for Toronto since Oct. 4, 2004. He marked his fifth anniversary on the job Sunday as his staff walked five batters in the extra-inning loss to Baltimore. But reports suggest Toronto manager Cito Gaston is expected to return in 2010 ... The Orioles exercised their option Friday for manager Trembley, who will return in 2010.

David Driver is a free-lance writer based in Maryland. He can be reached at www.davidsdriver.com