Sunday Bird Droppings

With apologies to Thomas Paine...

"THESE are the times that try fans' souls. The summer enthusiast and the sunshine O's fan will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their team; but s/he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman, ballplayer and ticket taker. Baseball, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives the playoffs its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as meaningful September games should not be highly rated."

This bummer of a month beats 1998-2011 in every conceivable way. Back to your regular programming...

Baltimore Orioles vs. Toronto Blue Jays - Recap - ESPN
"The Baltimore Orioles are struggling to come through in the clutch, and it's putting their playoff hopes in an increasingly precarious position." Thank you, Capt. Obvious.

O's set rotation for pivotal series against Red Sox | orioles.com: News
"Scott Feldman, Wei-Yin Chen and Chris Tillman are slated to pitch in the three-game set that opens Tuesday." Bud Norris does not have a date set to return to the rotation, despite reporting to the contrary from other outlets yesterday, apparently.

School of Roch: Will Orioles regret missed opportunities? (O's lose 4-3)
"Fourteen of the Orioles' last 20 games have been decided by two runs or fewer. Why should today be any different? The Orioles are 5-9 in those games, including 2-5 in one-run affairs." And there's that.

Orioles' struggles with runners in scoring position have come at inopportune time - Baltimore Sun
"One thing I hate being around this group of guys it being Captain Obvious," Buck Showalter said. "They get it. If anything it created more anxiety. They know. Our guys have so much 'want to' to change it that it can create that." Oh, look there's that phrase again.

Sadly, it appears Rill Talk from The Carroll County Times is no more, or is at least on an extended hiatus.

Today's Orioles birthdays include John Pacella and Dave Pagan. Both were one-year Orioles who left absolutely no lasting mark on the team, and are lucky that we are as thorough as we are with birthdays to have even been noted here.

This date in Orioles baseball history...

"In 1966, Tom Phoebus of Baltimore begins his ML career with a 2 - 0 shutout of the Angels.

In 1977: The Orioles forfeit to the Blue Jays when manager Earl Weaver pulls his team off the field in the 5th inning citing a hazardous condition - a small tarpaulin held down by bricks on the bullpen mound. The Jays are ahead 4 - 0 when the forfeit is called. The O's will end the season tied with the Red Sox at 97-64.

In 1990: Despite solo homers in the 5th by brothers Billy Ripken and Cal Ripken, both off David Wells, the Orioles lose 4 - 3 to Toronto. The Jays score three in the bottom of the 9th on Kelly Gruber's home run to make a winner of reliever Willie Blair. The brothers Ripken will homer together one more time, in 1996, again in the same inning. In 1991, In Baltimore's 4 - 3 win over Cleveland, O's OF Joe Orsulak - he starts today in LF and switches to RF - has an assist, his 6th in an 11-day stretch. He leads ML outfielders with 20 assists and will finish with 22

.In 1997, Baltimore OF Eric Davis returns to action in the Orioles' 6 - 5 win over Cleveland only two months after having a cancerous tumor removed from his colon. Davis goes hitless in the contest, but rips a long fly out to deep right-center in his first at bat."