Chris Davis on the Thome trade: "I think it's exciting"

After he talked about today's game and his homer against Cleveland, Chris Davis was asked about the Orioles adding Jim Thome to the team. "I think it's exciting. He's a guy I loved to watch play growing up. I have a lot of respect for him and I'm excited to have him here, not only as a player, but as kind of a mentor. He's been on winning teams," Davis said. "He obviously knows the game and I've heard nothing but great things about him as far as his character and his personality. He's a class act and we're going to welcome him with open arms. Hopefully he can swing it for us like he could against us." Davis said he had heard that Thome was a high-character guy that will be a good addition. "Absolutely. That kind of goes unsaid with as long as he's been around the game," Davis said. "You don't hang around that long, even as good as he is, if you're a bad person. He's played for winning teams and like I said, I've never heard a bad thing about him." Davis went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer in today's 11-5 loss. His bat may be heating up again. He had two hits his last two times up last night to make him 4-for-6 since the sixth inning Friday. "I was finally glad to barrel one up and not at somebody. Just trying to get something generated and it felt good to drive one out of the park. Our pitchers are not pitching the way we know they are capable of right now and we need to let those guys know we are battling for them," Davis said. Davis' homer in the fourth landed onto Eutaw Street, becoming the 65th ball to land there in Oriole Park history and second by Davis, who hit one there April 28 against Oakland's Jim Miller. Dana Eveland had a chance today to state his case for staying in the rotation, but instead he gave up six hits and five runs over 3 2/3 innings to take the loss. "Nothing went right," Eveland said. "From the start, my mindset coming in was I knew I would have to establish my sinker and have to be able to throw in on their lefties. I just never found it, from the time I was in the bullpen trying to figure it out and I was just up a lot. Never found that sinker and that is a pitch I know I have to have. "It's pretty disappointing obviously and I won't make any excuses. I wore out the bullpen today which I hate doing. Being down there I know what happens the rest of the week. With no off days coming up no one's going to get any rest. I messed that up a little bit." This was his second start and now he may be headed back to the bullpen. "I love to start. I feel like if I was given the opportunity to make a few starts and get my feet back under me, I could do it. But either way I'm happy. I want to be a part of this group and feel like we've got something special here," Eveland said. Meanwhile, Tommy Hunter followed him to the mound and he gave up eight hits and five runs over 1 2/3 innings as his ERA went up to 6.11. "I left the ball up and they took advantage," Hunter said. "It is what is is, I can't make excuses. Get the ball down the results will come. This sucks bad. Get the ball down and you wouldn't be in that situation. Losing is disappointing and I'm not throwing the way I should or can. I've got to find a way."