Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz looking forward, not behind

said he’s put last season's struggles behind him and feels he's become a better pitcher having gone through them.

Matusz looked impressive in his first public bullpen session Wednesday. Catcher Matt Wieters said it looked like Matusz's mechanics had improved and he regained his 2010 form.

"I felt good," Matusz said. "I felt nice and loose. The ball was coming out of my hand with no effort and it was coming out nice. I feel like the stuff is there. Just a little bit inconsistent right now, but I'm on a good track. I feel good about these upcoming weeks."

Matusz  was 1-9 with a 10.69 ERA last season in 12 starts, the highest single-season ERA in major league history for a pitcher with at least 10 starts.

He spent the offseason working out under former Orioles player Brady Anderson in Irvine, Calif. He said he spoke with Orioles pitching coach Rick Adair to improve some mechanical flaws. And he leaned on his father for advice on recapturing his love for the game.

"Last year was a lot of negatives," Matusz said. "Nobody wants to experience struggles, but after going through them, I was able to learn a lot from them -- never get complacent with anything,  just being able to battle and grind through the entire season and never give in."

With a dozen starting rotation candidates in camp, Matusz knows he will have to compete for a rotation spot this year.

"There's a lot of competition this spring," he said. "There's a lot of young, talented arms and with the addition of Chen and Wada coming in, two left-handed arms. It's going to create a lot of competition. It's going to be fun this spring."