Leftovers on Jake Arrieta, Rick Adair and Ron Johnson

Jake Arrieta threw a complete-game shutout last night to lead the Cubs to a 4-0 win over the Pirates in the National League wild card game.

Of course he did.

This guy can do no wrong. His stuff is nasty and he's got confidence oozing out of his pores.

Arrieta always had his chest puffed out with the Orioles, but as one official noted, he came across as a guy trying too hard to mask his insecurities. He'd run into trouble in the first inning and the confidence melted away. You could see it from the press box.

Oozing and melting. This guy leaves a trail wherever he walks. Snails look at Arrieta and cringe.

A lack of confidence no longer is an issue for Arrieta with the Cubs, perhaps because he never seems to run into trouble. He's as dominant as any pitcher I've watched.

Arrieta was the first Cubs pitcher to throw a shutout in the playoffs since Claude Passeau in Game 3 of the 1945 World Series. I saw it on Twitter, so it must be true.

Former Orioles pitching coach Rick Adair mentioned to me yesterday that Arrieta has better range of motion in his elbow compared to a few years ago with the Orioles after he underwent surgery. It took a while for Arrieta to regain the feel for his pitches.

Adair also said Arrieta was under pressure to "make his mark and keep his job."

There were just so many factors working against him in Baltimore. Heck, the guy even had trouble holding runners. Arrieta was challenged to reduce his time to the plate from 1.7 to 1.4 seconds, but he had to adjust his delivery to compensate for the elbow discomfort.

"He's a competitor," Adair said yesterday during our phone conversation. "It's a great story. You tip your hat because he persevered and he always worked his (butt) off. I'm so happy when something like this happens to a guy like that."

Orioles fans would be much happier if it occurred while Arrieta pitched at Camden Yards, but the club gave him plenty of chances.

The cavalry keeps changing and it still never arrives. Arrieta was supposed to be part of a rotation that also included Zach Britton and Brian Matusz. They stayed with the Orioles, but in late-inning bullpen roles. Brad Bergesen, David Hernandez and Troy Patton also were lumped in with the group.

We could go further back and reference Erik Bedard, Adam Loewen, Daniel Cabrera, Radhames Liz, Hayden Penn and Brandon Erbe. We could do it, but why suffer?

The Orioles traded Penn on April 1, 2009. Without looking it up, tell me which player they received. Answer below.

As for Adair, he told me that he's heard from a few clubs that expressed interest in hiring him. He mentioned the possibility of working as a consultant. He also said he's intrigued by the idea of mentoring pitchers at the lower levels of the minor leagues.

I've got some leftovers from the last month of the season, including Triple-A Norfolk manager Ron Johnson's opinions and observations on a few of his players. For example:

Johnson on catcher Steve Clevenger:
"He did everything Buck (Showalter) asked. I'm a big fan of Steve Clevenger. One, he can hit. He's always been interesting to me because he's a guy who doesn't need everyday at-bats to step into the batter's box and put a good swing on a 95 mph fastball. Those guys are few and far between. He can do that. The bat stays in the zone a long time.

"I was proud of him this year, probably as much as anybody we had, for what he did with his defensive skills because I know that was something, and I was there when Buck dropped that on him before he came down this year. I know coming out of spring training, Clev was disappointed. He wanted to make the team, he wanted to be the guy, but he went down and worked hit butt off. He did everything he was supposed to do. He had success. I know he's had success since he's come back here, so I'm really proud of him."

Johnson on whether he felt that he needed to assist a struggling Mike Wright:
"I've been around Mike for parts of two years. I don't think it's as much discouraged as, I have seen him this way. He's a tremendous competitor and he is hard on himself, but I think a lot of that is what drives him to be really good. And he's going to be good. I think you have to get to this level and you have to learn to deal with the people who are here with you and you learn from them. But I believe Mike Wright will be fine."

Johnson on whether he saw any differences in a healthy Steve Johnson:
"It was big time, man. I've always been a Steve Johnson fan. The first year I was down there with him I was like, 'Who is this guy?' He wasn't on the radar and all he did was get people out and strike out everybody. He was a different guy this year. He was back to what he was a couple years ago when he actually came up here and helped this ballclub.

"He struck out 10 or 11 guys per nine innings for us down there. He's got the disappearing fastball back, the velocity's back to where it needs to be for him to have success and I'm a big fan."

Johnson on whether Norfolk had any sleepers who weren't with the Orioles:
"I think most of them are here. I think there are guys who could possibly help this ballclub out. I think Rey Navarro finished up extremely well for us down there. I know he came up and played a little bit up here. It was interesting to watch him play not only second base, but a lot of shortstop down the stretch. Interesting guy. But I think we have a lot of sleepers who are actually here.

"When they first come up here, they're brought up and the whole idea is to see how they fit and how they're going to help the Baltimore Orioles be a first-division club. I think they're in the room here. Guys like Mike Wright. They're going to evolve and they're going to be quality big leaguers."

Answer: The Orioles traded Penn to the Marlins for infielder Robert Andino.