Thursday Bird Droppings

Roberto Alomar On Not Being Voted Into Hall Of Fame: 'I Was Shocked' - SB Nation
Ken Davidoff got Alomar's reaction to not getting voted into the HoF. -Stacey

Hoiles talks about Alomar
I always like an opportunity to hear from Chris Hoiles. I just wish I could actually have heard him. Hearing him give an interview was always fun. -Stacey

Baseball Hall of Fame: Umpire John Hirschbeck backs Roberto Alomar - baltimoresun.com
Just a reminder that Hirschbeck himself feels that Alomar should be in the HOF. -zk

Who is the next Yankee HOFer? | River Avenue Blues
An interesting opinion on Mike Mussina. While he's certainly not a shoo-in HoF he does merit discussion. It's been commonly assumed among Orioles fans that if he does go it, it will be as a Yankee, but this Yankee fan disagrees. -Stacey

Bullfrogs' event to feature Berken | Green Bay Press-Gazette
Are you in the Green Bay area? Stop by the 4th annual Green Bay Bullfrogs' Hot Stove event featuring Jason Berken! Just $10 for the brat fry buffet. Yum. -Stacey

MLB discusses global series with Japan | MLB.com: News
The World Series champions from Major League Baseball could face the champions of Japanese professional baseball in a regular Global World Series under a plan being discussed by the two countries. -Stacey

Around town - chicagotribune.com
Now it can be told. Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. confessed he often called pitches from his third base position on the Orioles. "Waited a long time to let that secret get out," Ripken said this week on WGN Radio's "Sports Central" show. -duck

The Schmuck Stops Here: Chat wrap: Orioles Q&A with Jeff Zrebiec
Read a full transcript of Wednesday's live Orioles chat with Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Zrebiec. Jeff answered reader questions about trade rumors, Felix Pie's role in 2010, whether the club may pursue former Oriole Miguel Tejada and more. -duck

Report: St. Louis Cardinals to be paying Matt Holliday through 2029
If anyone is still smarting over the O's not making a big play for Holliday, note that the Cardinals will be paying him $1.6M per year from 2020-2029. Relatively speaking that's not a huge sum, but sheesh. -Stacey

In hot stove news: the Red Sox traded Casey Kotchman to the Mariners for Bill Hall, a minor leaguer, and cash, thus relieving their corner infield glut. They're still stuck with Mike Lowell, though. Hot shot Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman appears to be close to signing a deal. Teams still listed as interested are the Angels, Yankees, Orioles, Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Athletics. And the Braves signed Eric Hinkse to a one year deal. Hinske has been to the World Series the past three years with three different teams, so look out for the Braves in 2010.