"New Orioles' first baseman Derrek Lee reported to Ed Smith Stadium for the first time and saw familiar faces everywhere he looked.

He played with Cesar Izturis, Felix Pie and Kevin Gregg in Chicago. He was part of All-Star festivities in 2007 with Vladimir Guerrero. He played against Robert Andino and Luke Scott in the National League.

"A good day," said Lee, summing up his indoctrination to the Orioles' clubhouse. "I played with a lot of these guys, and against almost all of them at some point. It's good to be here and see the guys and put on the black and orange."

When Lee, the two-time All-Star first baseman, passed his physical and finalized a one-year, incentive-laden $7.5 million deal with the Orioles in January, he told reporters via conference call that he thought his new club was going to be better than people thought.

Since then, the Orioles signed slugger Vladimir Guerrero, starter Justin Duchscherer and Gregg to solidify their bullpen. That has strengthened the perception that the Orioles are a team on the rise."