Monday Bird Droppings

After a disappointing road trip, the O's get to come home and face four games against the Texas Rangers. Expect a lot of "bloodlines" stories this week, footage of the wild card game and the like. Suffice it to say that one hopes that whatever ails the offense can be cured with a little home cooking. The division is still pretty much up for grabs and a nice little run headed into the All Star break would set up the second half nicely.

PressBox: Series Wrap-up: Ninth-inning Comeback Salvages Tough Series In New York Parting thoughts on another series against the motherlovin' Yankees.

Inside the at-bat: Jones vs Rivera - Stats & Info Blog - ESPN Fun with numbers!

Manny Machado pulls off defensive play of the year, throws out Yanks’ Cruz from New Jersey | Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports How many "plays of the year" for Manny at this point?

School of Roch: Today's game and leftovers from yesterday Feld-mannnnn!

Orioles lose Ishikawa on waivers to Yankees | Comcast SportsNet Baltimore Good luck with that, guys.

Fraley: Orioles hit the jackpot after rolling the dice on ex-Ranger Chris Davis | Dallasnews.com - News for Dallas, Texas - SportsDayDFW Did you know that Chris Davis played for the Rangers?

Heyman: "Straight thinkers" consider Maris the single-season HR king | HardballTalk Chris Davis is articulate and clean.

Scout.com: Bugg turns down the Baltimore Orioles We hardly knew ya.

Minor League Players of the Week: 7/1 - 7/7 | Baltimore Sports and Life Get to know Alexander Santana!

It's the birthday of Jerome Walton and Danny Ardoin.