Gonzalez on recall, Davis on playing third base

CHICAGO - Miguel Gonzalez was sitting at his locker this morning when reporters were allowed inside the visiting clubhouse at Wrigley Field. Gonzalez is on the 24-hour taxi squad. He'll be recalled on Sunday and will start the final game of the series against the Cubs. "Everyone's receiving me like it was my first time being called up," he said. "It was fun. They're all excited to have me back, so I'm excited as well." Gonzalez hasn't pitched for the Orioles since Aug. 7 in Toronto. He's 6-6 with a 3.80 ERA in 20 games (19 starts). The Orioles sent down Gonzalez to make room on the 25-man roster for Ubaldo Jimenez, who's been moved to the bullpen. Gonzalez worked three innings at Triple-A Norfolk and threw about 75 pitches in Monday's simulated game at Double-A Bowie. "I faced Buck Britton. He was all pumped," Gonzalez said. "I thought it was a good little workout I had. It's going to help me out for tomorrow's game." Gonzalez allowed two earned runs or fewer in five of his last six starts with the Orioles before being optioned to Norfolk. "I was excited to come back and I think tomorrow's game is going to be a battle and it's going to be exciting at the same time," he said. "I can't wait. It's been a while. It's been two weeks, so I'm excited. "It was a tough decision for them. I'm one of the few guys who has options, so it was a decision for them to make. I went down, got my work in and I'm ready to rock and roll." Hearing about Manny Machado's pending knee surgery wasn't sweet music to the Orioles. "It was disappointing," said Chris Davis. "Obviously, we didn't expect that. We were hoping for the best. You never know with injuries like that - knees, shoulders. Things like that are hard to come back from, but we want what's best for him. "Obviously, he's going to play. He's got a bright (future) ahead of him. We understand that there are going to be challenges in our way. Losing Matt (Wieters) earlier this year wasn't cool, but we've been able to bounce back. Guys are going to have to step up. That's what it's all about. I wish him the best. We hope he'll be around for the postseason run." Asked whether he's surprised that Machado could be done for the year, Davis replied, "I was, but I don't think any of us really knew. "He was going to go on the DL, he'll do his rehab, he'll be back. Last year was a little bit different because it was such a dramatic injury. Seeing him being carted off the field, we're like, 'Man, this may be a while.' Like I said, we're disappointed, but at the same time we know he's going to bounce back. The biggest thing for him is just to be healthy." Davis is starting at third base again today and figures to get most of the innings at the hot corner unless the Orioles make a trade. "I've played there quite a bit in the past," he said. "It's helped to have a few games to go over there and get some work in, have rockets hit over there right off the bat. Like I said before, I'm not going to try and replace him, just try to pick up the slack when he's gone, make the routine plays. "Any championship team, any championship caliber team, I think their roster has changed during the course of the season. It's a thing you have to deal with. You have injuries, you have guys beat up. That's just part of it. "We're confident in the group that we have. Even coming out of spring training, knowing that we, like I said, you're going to have injuries, knowing that you're going to be beaten up. I think we were confident in the guys we have at Triple-A, the guys who have been around the team at spring training that know what their job is. You just have to move forward. The best thing for us is to continue to focus on one game at a time and continue that."