Happy Labor Day! Workers of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains! And $500 off a 40" flat screen television at Best Buy! (Seriously. Check the ad. Pretty sweet deal. Just sayin'.) Socialist-inspired humor aside, wow, there's not much goin' on in Birdland that doesn't involve 750 hp engines in overgrown go-karts or embarrassing performances by starting pitchers and infield defense, but here's what I could find.
Orioles notebook: Struggling Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz likely to face Yankees (today)
"[He's] made some progress," [manager Buck Showalter said.] "Also, it keeps some other people in line. I hope Brian has a good start and finishes up real strong, but this all serves some other factors involved. We want to keep some guys that are pitching better in line and also give him the benefit of having a solid work day."
School of Roch: Closing arguments about Gregg and Stanhouse
"I believe that Reynolds is better defensively at third than we've seen this year, but there's no question that he's a better first baseman. There's no question that the Orioles should project him as a first baseman while plotting their winter roster strategy." Sometimes, you don't need sabermetrics to make the obvious move. He just plain sucks at 3B this year.
Orioles' Mark Reynolds commits two more errors at third base - baltimoresun.com
"It's crazy if you don't work at something how fast you feel a little awkward over there, but it's no excuse. I'm a freaking big league ballplayer, I should be able to field ground balls. It's very frustrating. I guess I'll just put in double work during [batting practice] taking ground balls at third and first." Sounds like someone's not happy to be bouncing between corner infield spots. And I don't blame him.
Reynolds turning heads with first-base play | orioles.com: News
"Impressed? Yeah," manager Buck Showalter said of the 24 games that Reynolds has played at first. "I'm not overly surprised. He's obviously a guy that's had some background in it. Works very hard at it. It's not like [he says], 'OK I got to play over here because Chris is hurt and Derrek was traded.' He looks at it like, 'OK, that's what you need.' He didn't want to not be good at it, so he's worked real hard at it." See, the rest of the Orioles need to not want to not be good at something. There you go.
Steve Melewski: Bowie wins to keep its flickering playoff hopes alive (updated)
"Bowie is now 1/2 game back of Richmond for second place and a playoff berth. Monday, Altoona hosts Richmond at Noon and Bowie hosts Erie at 2 p.m. So the Baysox need a win Monday and a Richmond loss. They could still finish 1/2 game ahead of Richmond and make the playoffs if that happens."
Anyway, I, uh, I fell through some thin ice; and I'm telling you, water that cold, like right down there... it hits you like a thousand knives stabbing you all over your body. You can't breathe. You can't think. At least, not about anything but the Open Thread.