Friday Bird Droppings

The Orioles opened the final series of their west coast swing with a convincing defeat of the scuffling Angels. In the battle of young phenoms, Manny Machado got the better of Mike Trout, though Trout still has that 2012 thing going for him.

As was noted in yesterday's open thread, if you're into "event drinking" this weekend is shaping up to be an epic one with the Kentucky Derby and Cinco de Mayo back to back.

...and speaking of the Derby, who looks good to you?

Mike Trout crashes into the wall, helps a homer over the fence | Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports The Orioles reaped the benefit from Trout's rough night.

Orioles' Davis named AL Player of the Month - Carroll County Times: Baltimore Orioles Bow down.

Freddy Garcia gets the call from the O’s, will start Saturday | HardballTalk Let the Honey Badger Special shine its ever lovin light on me.

It's been whirlwind week for Manny Machado as his hot streak continues and accolades mount. In case you missed the flurry of Manny coverage, he was discussed as a budding superstar in fangraphs and named defensived player of the month by by the four letter network.

There's also been a delayed backlash regarding the selection of Roberto Alomar to the Orioles Hall of Fame. While not completely denying Alomar's cred, Roch and Jon Shepherd presented alternatives, but Stan the Fan took a harder line.

On this day in 1992, Gregg Olson became the youngest player in MLB history to reach 100 saves. In 1999, the Cuban national team beat the Birds 12-6 at OPACY.

It's the birthday of Davey Lopes, Gabe Molina, Mike Paradis and Bob McCrory.