Gonzalez says he has no hard feelings toward Orioles

CHICAGO - After pitching in 101 games for the Baltimore Orioles, right-hander Miguel Gonzalez pitched one against them last night. He said today that it was definitely weird to be facing his former team and some of his best friends.

Gonzalez gave up four runs (three earned) and 10 hits over six innings as the Orioles beat the White Sox 7-5.

After pitching to an ERA of 9.78 in March, the Orioles released Gonzalez at the end of spring training.

"It was surprising, that's for sure," Gonzalez said this afternoon in the White Sox clubhouse. "My teammates were great and everyone treated me well. That was the first team that gave me that opportunity and it was fun while it lasted. Now, I'm in a new journey. I'm with the White Sox now and I'm having a good time here."

I asked Gonzalez if the Orioles gave him a reason for releasing him.

"They wanted to give the other guys an opportunity," Gonzalez said. "The younger guys like Mike Wright and (Dylan) Bundy. Bundy is doing a really good job now. We all know how this works out. There are guys that are going to be there forever and others that will be somewhere else. There will always be doors opened somewhere else."

Gonzalez is 2-6 with a 4.09 ERA for his new team. But in seven starts since July 1, his ERA is 2.76. He has turned around his year after his spring struggles and an ERA of 5.17 in late June with Chicago.

But pitching against the Orioles last night was strange.

"It was. It was different," Gonzalez said. "It meant a lot to me, yesterday's game. I battled. That was it. I know that their lineup is great, we all know that, and they're playing great baseball."

He remains close with most of the players in the Orioles clubhouse and he said most of the Orioles team, including the coaches, came over to say hello to him after the game.

As for why Gonzalez has pitched better in the last few weeks, he said, "I think it's all mental. Once you put pressure on yourself it's even harder to go out there and perform. We all know how hard it is and how mental this game is."

Gonzalez said the Orioles did offer him a minor league deal and he had some decisions to make. He seems pretty comfortable now here in Chicago. He also said he has no hard feelings at all toward the Orioles.

"Never," Gonzalez said. "There's never hard feelings. That was the first team that gave me the opportunity to come to the big leagues and throw my name out there. That was an organization that went out to Mexico and saw me pitch and gave me an opportunity to sign with them as a free agent. Started in extended [spring], went to Triple-A and the rest was history. So, there's a lot of history there and a lot of friends and families that we are really attached to in the Orioles organization."