FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- With a runner on first base and the count full in the second inning of yesterday's intrasquad game, Orioles catcher Guillermo Quiroz requested a timeout and walked to the mound, where young pitcher Garrett Olson needed a little counseling.

Quiroz reminded Olson about a conversation they had in the dugout earlier in the day, and Olson proceeded to retire the next two batters to complete his scoreless outing.

Quiroz noticed Olson was dragging his left arm again "because the front elbow was coming out too fast," he said.

"I went out there to explain that the ball was rising up a little bit and it was because of that."

Olson remains a work in progress, which would be more acceptable to the Orioles if they weren't counting on him to make a strong bid for the fifth starter's job. Results need to come more quickly, even when the opposing hitters share the same clubhouse.

"In the bullpen, I felt really good," Olson said, "and going out there initially I felt really confident and stuff, but I just sped up on myself a little bit and rushed to the plate a couple times. Just minor things. But overall I felt pretty good, and I got some good work out there."

In two innings, Olson threw 30 pitches - five below the limit. Only 14 were strikes. He allowed one hit, walked a batter and hit two others, but he left with a 1-0 lead.

"Coming out here the first time, I felt pretty good, and I think it's just going to get better."

That's precisely what manager Dave Trembley is waiting to see.

"He pitched down, but his command wasn't where it needs to be. He needs to show that he can command his pitches in order for him to be successful," Trembley said.

"If you take a positive spin, that's better than what I saw last year when he got called up. But he still has a ways to go. For his first time out, there's room for improvement."

Quiroz was kinder in his evaluation, saying: "I thought he threw good overall. He got a couple pitches up. His front side was flying open a little bit on a couple of them. But, overall, everything was there. He threw a couple breaking balls that were good, a couple changeups that were good. He was loose out there, and the ball was jumping out of his hand."

Olson, 24, said he has learned from the mistakes he made during his seven starts with the Orioles last season, when he was hesitant to challenge hitters and walked 28 in 32 1/3 innings, matching his strikeout total. He had a 7.79 ERA in the majors, but was 9-7 with a 3.16 ERA, 39 walks and 120 strikeouts in 128 innings at Triple-A Norfolk.

"I definitely went to school a little bit. It was a tough experience," said Olson, a supplemental pick between the first two rounds of the 2005 draft out of Cal Poly.

"Coming in, I felt like I was trying to do too much, trying to make an impact early instead of just going out to do my thing and influence the situation one game at a time. ... I learned to relax and just stay within yourself and control what you can control.

"I tried to be too fine, too perfect, and that goes back to me trying to do too much instead of just making my pitches and making them put the ball into play, which is part of the game anyway."

David Stockstill, director of minor league operations, agreed Olson tried to be "too perfect" and pinpoint every pitch during two stints with the Orioles last season, rather than trust the stuff that enabled him to hold Triple-A batters to a .208 average last season and earn a selection to the All-Star Futures game.

"He's not wild, but he gets behind hitters," Stockstill said. "He didn't give himself enough credit. ... Everybody is going to go through tough times. The people that learn how to overcome those tough times and get through it have a chance to be very good major league players. The players that can't get through it, that's going to be as high as they go."

The Orioles would settle for Olson being fifth in their rotation, and the competition might be thinning with Troy Patton hampered by shoulder tightness that might be caused by a labrum tear that could require surgery later this year. The field includes Matt Albers, Patton's former teammate with the Houston Astros, and left-hander Brian Burres, who made 17 starts among his 37 appearances last season.

"It's a great group of guys," Olson said. "I guess that spot is open, but I try not to think about it. I think it can be anybody's. You just come in and do your work, and things will work out."

Albers started for the other team yesterday and allowed a bases-empty home run to Kevin Millar and Quiroz's single in two innings. He threw 20 of his 26 pitches for strikes and might have taken the lead over Olson if it becomes a two-man race.

"I felt OK. It was pretty much just one bad pitch," Albers said. "I tried to relax and keep the ball down and throw strikes. This is definitely the time you can go right after hitters and if they hit a home run, it's all right."

Said Trembley: "I liked Albers. He worked fast, kept the ball down, threw strikes. He gave up the home run and came right back and got the next guy."

roch.kubatko@baltsun.com

Sun reporter Jeff Zrebiec contributed to this article.