Quietly confident Orioles are ready to start a new season

With the start of a new season now just one day away, the Orioles feel they are right about where they need to be. Sure, pitcher Chris Tillman will start on the disabled list, but this remains a team full of quietly confident players.

They've won more games than any other American League team since 2012. And even though they've faced another preseason with a mountain of negative predictions, they believe they stack up with any other team.

You will seldom find an Orioles player to make any bold statements about how well they feel they can do, but the confidence seems to always be there.

"I think we are feeling pretty good about what we've got. We feel good about where we're at," shortstop J.J. Hardy said after Friday's game in Norfolk.

Tillman added: "I like where we're at. I really do. I think we've got a good ballclub. It's pretty similar to last year's team. Some good guys (new players) we've got in there. I feel like they are a part of this team now. I think we are right where we need to be."

Second baseman Jonathan Schoop said the goal is an obvious one.

"We believe in each other and we've got each other's back," he said. "We will push each other. We have one goal, to win a ring. Make the playoffs and win a championship."

During spring training, Mark Trumbo offered this assessment: "I think for me, the biggest thing is, we had such a good team and got results. We had a good feeling of what we wanted to do pretty much on a daily basis. You can't argue with the fact that we were a first-place team for a lot of the season last year and we basically have the same team back. So there is no reason to think that we can't improve upon what we did last year and be even better."

A Norfolk reporter asked manager Buck Showalter on Friday if he can tell how good his club is during spring training

"No," the skipper said. "I'm just confident we'll be as good as we're capable of being. We had a good spring. Wasn't ever groundhog day. I'm real comfortable where we are."

See, told you. The Orioles are comfortable where they are right now and ready for the challenge of 162 games and the American League East.

The season begins tomorrow afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles play two versus Toronto and three against the New York Yankees in a season-opening five-game homestand.

The Orioles play an AL East-heavy schedule through May 4. Their first four series and 11 games are within the division and so are 24 of their 27 games through May 4. Another fast start like last season would be big. The 2016 Orioles began the year 7-0 and 10-4, and were in first place all of April.

The Orioles went 40-36 versus the AL East, going 21-17 at home and 19-19 away. That included an 8-11 mark versus Boston, 10-9 against New York, 13-6 versus Tampa Bay and 9-10 against Toronto.

The 2016 Birds had winning records against the AL East and Central (23-9) and National League teams (14-6), but went a dismal 12-22 against teams from the AL West, which included a 4-14 road record.

The Orioles hold a workout at Camden Yards today and then the 64th season of Baltimore Orioles baseball begins Monday at 3:05 p.m. The long grind of another season will be underway.