Friday Bird Droppings

Happy Friday. A little more than halfway through the gauntlet and the Orioles have maintained a winning record. Predictions for the Rays series?

Five years later, the Orioles' Matt Wieters ranks among baseball's best catchers - ESPN
"Baltimore's 25-year-old backstop is living up to the hype that was thrust upon him as the No. 5 overall draft pick in 2007."

Mike Newman Prospects Chat – 5/10/12 | FanGraphs Baseball Lots of birdly goodness. Worth a read all the way through.

Blue Jays Sign Vladimir Guerrero: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com Double A ups the ante after O's Tejada signing.

Red Sox release John Maine from minor-league deal | HardballTalk Remember the Maine?

MASN News & Information: Orioles introduce "Birdland Passport" program "The Orioles today unveiled the Birdland Passport program, which will reward fans who visit Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the Orioles' local minor league affiliates."

Five reasons Oriole Park at Camden Yards should be packed | Baltimore Sports Report

Camden Depot: 2012 Draft Coverage: Weekly pref list, May 9, 2012 More draft stuff from Nick. If we're just grading guys on names, Byron Buxton's an easy top 5.

On this day in 1897, the Orioles beat the Senators 6-3 despite eight runners getting thrown out on steal attempts; on this day in 2003, Rafael Palmeiro hit his 500th home run (though it was as a Ranger).

It's the birthday of Trenidad Hubbard (part of the bounty from the B.J. Surhoff trade) and Kerry Ligtenberg.