Wednesday Bird Droppings

Stupid Padres. Stupid Bullpen. Stupid Offense only scoring 2 runs. Always nice to realize the only thing standing between the club and a sweep at home by a crappy NL squad is a Sweaty Freddy start. Gonna need some runs, chaps. Or some of that patented Bronx Black Magik.

PressBox: Rare Jim Johnson Blown Save Costs Orioles Against Padres
Paul Folk's wrap up of last nights tough loss.

O's optimistic that Gonzalez will return next week | orioles.com: News
Britt with a rundown of the various rotation options going forward. Could really use a MiGo v.2012 performance or two or three once he returns.

Steve Melewski: Jim Johnson on the loss and end of his saves streak (plus Flaherty and Tillman quotes)
Tillman with some praise for Wieters' game calling.

Contract extension-worthy players with less than two years in MLB - CBSSports.com
Locking up pre-Arb players is one of the newest trends in MLB. And it will be fascinating to see how DD, after being out of the game for so long previously, handles this trend with the O's (or whether he even engages in it at all, for that matter).

Sources: MLB instant replay hits critical phase at owners' meetings - Yahoo! Sports
Only 19 years too late...

McCain Introduces Bill To Ban NFL Blackouts, MLB Blackouts Untouched | FanGraphs Baseball
End the Blackouts! Call you local Rep. or Senator. Power to the people!

Pen, young hitters are winning games for O's, but they seek an ace - CBSSports.com
But...to get an 'Ace' they'd likely have to give up a potential 'Ace' in either Gausman or Bundy. With the offense being as good as it's been, this club doesn't need an 'Ace'. They just need league average or slightly better pitching.

Jonathan Schoop and the value of role players
Jeff Moore wants Birdland to pump yo' brakes with regards to prospect expectations. "That's one of the inherent problems with prospect rankings—they require context." This is critically important. One cannot just look at the raw stats and have any sort of reliable conception of just how talented that prospect is or will be at the MLB level. And I realize that is all we basically do with the daily ATM updates. The stats are not entirely worthless. But I do not want readers of the ATM posts to ever be mistaken about what they ultimately mean in relation to who or what the player is / will potentially be.

How America Commie-Baited A Baseball Hero
Our government at work. I'm so proud!

Rex Barney | SABR
Read this. Thank yoooooooooooooooooooooooou.

On this date in 1991, Queen Elizabeth took in an A's vs. O's game at Memorial Stadium with President George H.W. Bush.