Duquette and Davis at FanFest

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette received a nice ovation today, with many fans rising to their feet as he was introduced at FanFest for the Q&A forum for season ticket holders.

Manager Buck Showalter received a prolonged standing ovation, as expected. The reception for Duquette was the real curiosity following reports all winter that he might leave for Toronto.

"Sometimes there is substance to them and sometimes there isn't," Duquette said. "There was substance to it, but I want to tell you that my sole and singular focus has always been on improving the Oriole team and I'm going to do that every single day."

More applause.

"A lot of time, it's rumors and there's a period of time when I didn't address it because I didn't really have anything to say, but I want to assure Oriole fans that we do our job every day and we build our team piece by piece. Twenty-four hours a day we're trying to do whatever we can to improve the Oriole team and I think the proof is in the pudding. We have a good organization, we have great leadership and we're going to have another really good ballclub this year."

More applause.

Executive vice president Brady Anderson lightened the mood when asked about the uncertainty surrounding the front office the past two months.

"We were just wondering if he was going to try and take us with him," Anderson quipped.

"I'm not going."

More applause.

Duquette said he's still looking for another bullpen arm and a utility infielder and expects to get them before spring training.

First baseman Chris Davis spoke to reporters for the first time since being handed a 25-game suspension on Sept. 12 for using Adderall without an exemption. He joked about going "Marshawn Lynch" on reporters, but he didn't do it.

"I had an exemption in the past and I was denied in 2013," Davis said. "Obviously, I shouldn't have been taking it last year. I took it a couple times. Like I said before, it was a moment of weakness. I obviously wasn't thinking about the big picture. It was a mistake that I wish I could go back and undo, but that being said, I served my suspension. I have one game left. I think it'll be all right. I think it's something that should have been addressed in the past, but obviously I didn't take the right steps."

Davis said was diagnosed with ADHD in 2008, and taking Adderall "was never a baseball issue."

"For me, it was off the field, just an everyday life thing," he said. "There were a lot of times when I was young where teachers had brought it up and kind of mentioned, but we never really went down that road. When I was diagnosed in 2008, I was prescribed Adderall and I realized how much of a difference it made just in my everyday life, and for me that was kind of the reason I went down that road.

"I was a little overwhelmed, just kind of with everything that was going on with the (oblique) injury. There were a lot of different things that were taking my focus away from baseball. It was a mistake that I wish I could undo, but I can't, so I've just got to move forward."

Davis joined the Orioles in Kansas City as the Royals completed their sweep of the American League Division Series.

"It was tough," he said. "I came back up toward the end and was in Kansas City. It was great to see the guys after everything I'd gone through. But it was tough. I've said this before, I thought we were the better team, to be honest with you. Even without myself, Wiety (Matt Wieters) and Manny (Machado), but Kansas City was just hot at the time. And I've seen it with the Giants in 2010. You get hot at the right time and ride it out.

"They did a great job. I was proud of my guys the way they fought, but it was definitely hard not being there."

I'll post more quotes from Davis later today. There's a lot going on behind the main stage as players and executives are made available for interviews.