Sunday Bird Droppings

Caption Contest! Win an awesome Cal Ripken tee from Homage.com - Camden Chat
Enter the contest to win a sweet Cal Ripken T-shirt from homage.com! The contest ends at 5 p.m. today, so if you're going to enter, do it now. I said, DO IT NOW!

Orioles 3, Indians 1 - NBC Sports
"Jim Thome is still leaving his mark at Progressive Field. A day after moving into sole possession of seventh place on the all-time home run list, Thome struck again. His two-run homer in the seventh inning led the Baltimore Orioles to their fourth straight victory, 3-1 over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night." Jim Jam mashed another tater.

PressBox: Reynolds Becoming A Trade Chip?
"There is no buzz right now surrounding Mark Reynolds, but if the Orioles still consider themselves to be a player in the trade market, Mark Reynolds could be the one piece they could offer right now." Sure, they could offer him to another team. I could offer a used bicycle. We'd get about the same response.

Wild-card race is a gamble worth taking for baseball’s contenders - Sporting News
"Not even Bud Selig could have predicted the chaos that the addition of the second wild card in each league has created. But what is even more surprising is how the perception of those playoff berths is evolving." Bud Selig can't predict the direction in which the sun will rise, so color me unsurprised.

In the dojo and on the mound, Hunter's got all the moves - The Sacramento Bee
"(Cliff Lee) said: 'Everybody says you're good at judo. Put me in a move that impresses me," Tommy Hunter recalls. "So I put him in a move. And I impressed him." Tommy Hunter, Junior Olympic judo gold medalist. I still want to see pictures to prove it.

Orioles designate Pearce for assignment - The Sacramento Bee
"Orioles outfielder Steve Pearce became the odd man out Saturday when the club added newly acquired infielder Omar Quintanilla to the 25-man roster." Technically, wouldn't he have become the even man out, since he was #26?

The Orioles' unconventional new leadoff hitter - Carroll County Times: Orioles
"Nick Markakis has always been envisioned as a No. 2 or No. 3 hitter, and that’s where he has made the majority of his starts throughout his seven-year career. More than 85 percent of the left-handed hitter’s career starts have been either hitting second or third in the lineup. Baltimore’s latest No. 1 batter, though, has shown that he may be the best option for the job out of the players on the Orioles’ current roster." Only about 15 months too late...

Shorebird second baseman gives the team some life | The Daily Times
"I've been trying to make the most of my opportunities and act like every at-bat could possibly my last since I wasn't a high draft pick and I had to work for it," Jerome Pena said. "It's all about keeping your nose to the grindstone. I always like to play with a chip on my shoulder. I love playing baseball and I'm going to play until they don't let me play anymore." The TCU product is making the most of his opportunity, and ending the "Nicky Delmonico as 2B" experiment, I suppose.

Orioles Buzz: Aug. 12 Brian's Baseball Bash canceled
"Brian's Baseball Bash, the Aug. 12 fundraiser hosted by Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts to benefit the University of Maryland Children's Hospital, has been canceled. According to an announcement on the event's Web site, the fundraiser at Dave & Buster's at Arundel Mills Mall, was canceled "due to uncertainty around Brian's availability and condition after his recent injury." Sad part is, I had to check to make sure this wasn't from last year.