The Ohman

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

April 02, 2010, 8:16am

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Will Ohman snuck up behind Felix Pie this morning and gave him a big hug. He moved around the clubhouse, spotting familiar faces and getting reacquainted. Ohman is excited to be here and he didn't try to hide it. "It's kind of like a homecoming for me in a way," he said. "I know a lot of the guys here and a lot of the coaching staff from my days with the Cubs. I'm excited to work with Kranny again." Ohman chose the Orioles over other teams offering minor league deals because he saw a chance to make the club as a lefty specialist, his main competition coming from Alberto Castillo, Mike Hinckley and Wilfrido Perez. "Obviously, the opportunity is great," he said. "And pitching in this division, you get an opportunity to go against the best." Ohman signed late in spring training last year and appeared in only 21 games with the Dodgers before undergoing shoulder surgery five months ago. He referred to the procedure as a "cleanup." "It sounds bad because it's the shoulder, but it's all the excitement of a bone spur," he said. Ohman started throwing in December and hasn't experienced any setbacks. "I'm very excited," he said. "This will be a much better spring training than I had last year."