Morse excited to join Orioles' playoff chase

NEW YORK -- New Oriole Michael Morse, who arrived at the team hotel in New York at 3:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, stood in the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium and talked about how excited he was to be part of a contending club.

"I look at it as, 'I turn the page of what was going on over there,'" said Morse, acquired in a waiver-claim deal Friday from Seattle, "and I get to start fresh here and help this team get to the playoffs."

Morse, who is coming off a strained quadriceps injury, posted a disappointing .226//283/.410 line in just 76 games with the Mariners and said he's fully recovered from that and an earlier broken finger.

"He's pretty excited about being here," manager Buck Showalter said of Morse, who is expected to start Sunday against lefty Andy Pettitte. "He was kidding about some of our guys. When they were in our place, he had heard a lot of talk about our interest in him. He said it's been a long wait."

Morse spent the previous four years in Washington, and hit .302 with six homers in the last month of 2012's regular season before going 5-for-19 with a homer in the playoffs.

"This is a great area," he said. "Baltimore-DC area is a great area. It's a good baseball area. There are a lot of fans. To me, it's always been good. I'm just happy to be back."

Morse, who will have the ever-popular "Take On Me" as his at-bat song, came up with center fielder Adam Jones in Seattle and knew a handful of other Orioles, which makes the transition a little easier. And then, of course, there is the O's hitter-friendly Camden Yards ballpark.

"I am [excited to hit at Camden], but I'm also excited to watch these guys and keep watching how they're playing," he said. "It's all about getting to the postseason. That's the goal. Whatever it takes, I'm for it."