Showalter on 60th anniversary celebration, rotation and more

Orioles manager Buck Showalter had another busy schedule today that included a luncheon for the 60th anniversary celebration. He missed the praise heaped upon him by former players. "I left. I had to go and get ready for St. Louis," he said. "I was sitting next to Doug DeCinces. That's impressive. Listening to him and Eddie (Murray) and Al Bumbry, Ken Singleton, Rick Dempsey go back and forth, that was very entertaining. I didn't eat, listening to them talk about Earl (Weaver). "Eddie was Earl's pet? I didn't know that. They're still upset about it." The Orioles will hold an on-field ceremony following the game, along with fireworks and a laser show. "This is special," Showalter said. "I've been looking at the weather for two or three days hoping that we had a good weather game for it. "I've seen the rendering of what they're going to do tonight. It's pretty impressive. I hope we do our part and play a quick game. I know that St. Louis won't be cooperative. We've got our hands full. Quick night for our guys. I was hoping we'd get a day game yesterday and we didn't, but what are you going to do?" Showalter said it makes him "uncomfortable" to receive so much credit for the franchise's turnaround after 14 straight losing seasons. "I was gone, thank goodness," he said. "It's a special night for us, the organization. It's something that, I've seen what they're doing and this is special for us. I know the players are excited about it. "It's tough. You come off a trip and you've got a day game basically tomorrow, but our guys, it's very uplifting. And I think what hits you is how much they follow us. I think that's really cool. They live and die with... "It was such a great time for baseball in Baltimore, and how much they meant to the city. And there's such a sincerity about the fans and their memory, whether you were a kid at the time and things you associate with those teams and those players. And then when you meet them and you're around them and their personalities don't let you down. I've met a couple people along the way that I really had a perception of and then I was around them and I kind of went... But these guys don't let you down. "Is anybody any classier than Kenny Singleton or Brooks Robinson or Frank (Robinson)? I could go on and on. First time I got to spend a lot of time with Doug DeCinces. Man, can you imagine taking Brooks' spot. Then he reminded me that it was actually second base, that Earl (Weaver) had put Eddie at third base to open the series and put Doug at second. They gave me the whole story, and the feeds that Eddie was giving DeCinces. I said, 'How long did that last?' And he goes, 'Two days.' They decided to go in a different direction. I didn't know that. "It's one of those things where you keep your mouth shut and listen. You've got to pinch yourself and realize you're being allowed to do what we do and be associated with that history. I hope we make them proud during the season. Tonight's going to be a challenge regardless, but you just hope you're doing something you can make them proud of." Showalter hasn't formally set his rotation beyond Saturday, but he's got a pretty good idea how it will play out. "I'm going to take in all the information from tonight's game, too," he said. "See how Chris (Tillman) feels and the whole nine yards. We'll solidify it after tonight, but I've got an idea where we're going. Probably leaning toward Gaus (Kevin Gausman) on Sunday, but that could change depending on what we have to do in the bullpen tonight and the move we have to make tomorrow." The real challenge is making room Saturday for Ubaldo Jimenez. "I've looked at it being a position player, but no," Showalter said. "I thought about it, but who and how? We're not going to send out the second catcher. Or an infielder. You've always got to think about 'what if?' "It's not like we're three months away from September, either. And we also have, with an off-day and the 10-day rule, you could only have someone miss one start in 10 days. There's a lot of different ways to look at it. It's just like when we sent Ryan Webb out. That was tough. You know how bullpens are. You think that you've got everybody rested and ready to go and you're one game away from not having that. And one of the strengths has been being able to keep our bullpen healthy by passing the load around. "This time of year, taking starters and yo-yoing them back and forth in the bullpen... 'Push your work day back, or don't take a work day. Now you're in the bullpen. No, you're not. Now this guy's in there.' That's some dangerous water, too. I think we'll see where we are in the bullpen after tonight and know that you're a day away from that regardless of who's pitching. "We've been spoiled by a very high level of starting pitching here for a while, but you don't assume that's going to continue to happen, especially against the likes of the Cardinals and Yankees. Try to keep our flexibility as much as we can." Showalter again expressed his admiration for T.J. McFarland's ability to save the bullpen after the left-hander allowed one run in three innings Wednesday night in Toronto. "Mac being able to pitch three innings set us up to really be strong for yesterday's game," Showalter said. "That's a valuable piece, but so are our starters. So, somebody's going to go away for the time being. They're not going forever. It's not like we're releasing them or trading them. I'm not particularly comfortable with it, but..." Caleb Joseph was in the clubhouse this afternoon, but he headed back home to attend to a family medical issue. He may not return until Saturday. "We'll see if he gets back by game time," Showalter said. "He's going to stay in touch with us."