Saturday Bird Droppings

Chris Davis and the 'hometown discount' - Baltimore Sun
So you definitely won’t hear the "hometown discount" phrase coming out of the Chris Davis-Orioles negotiations. But know this: For the slugger to return to Baltimore next year, the hometown discount is going to have to be in play.

School of Roch: L.J. Hoes on trade: "It's like going home"
"I'm very excited," L.J. Hoes said after being obtained from the Astros for cash considerations. "I was actually grocery shopping when I found out and I almost dropped everything I had in my cart. I started jumping up and down. It was pretty cool."

What awaits in negotiations for Major League Baseball's next labor deal? - ESPN
In a little over a year, baseball's current labor deal will expire. And there are a number of major issues that could hang over the talks between the owners and players.

Orioles searching everywhere for outfielders | CSN Mid-Atlantic
The Orioles have seven outfielders on their 40-man roster. Adam Jones and six others. Dariel Alvarez, L.J. Hoes, Junior Lake, David Lough, Nolan Reimold and Henry Urrutia are the others. How many of those six will open the season with the Orioles?

Happy Birthday to Jim Fuller, the only former Oriole player with a birthday today.  He shares it with famous folk like 1118 - Manuel I Komnenos, Greek Byzantine Emperor; 1820 - Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx's collaborator; 1923 - Sen. Ted "the internet is a series of tubes" Stevens, R-AK; 1929 - Berry Gordy, Motown Records owner; 1936 - Sen. Gary "I'm never getting on a boat again" Hart, D-CO; 1943 - Randy Newman, vocalist; 1946 - Joe Dante, director; 1949 - Paul Shaffer, orchestra leader; 1950 - Ed Harris, actor; 1959 - Judd Nelson, actor; 1961 - Alfonso Cuarón, film director; 1962 - Jon Stewart, comedian;  1967 - Anna Nicole Smith, playmate;  1974 - apl.de.ap, American rapper who has Nystagmus like my kid; and 1979 - Chamillionaire, American rapper.

1973 - Baltimore Orioles outfielder Al Bumbry beats out five other vote-getters to win American League Rookie of the Year honors. Bumbry played just 110 games, but tied for the AL lead in triples (11) and batted .337.

1978 - The Baltimore Orioles sign pitcher Steve Stone, a reentry free agent formerly with the Chicago White Sox.

2005 - Toronto Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi signs former Baltimore Orioles standout B.J. Ryan to the richest contract ever for a reliever in a 5-year, $47 million deal. And that, kids, is why you don't sign relievers to 5-year contracts.

Also on this day in history...

1340 - Battle of Salado, Spain: last Moorish invasion driven back

1520 - Ferdinand Magellan begins crossing Pacific Ocean

1814 - The Times of London is for the first time printed by automatic, steam powered presses

1893 - Women vote in a national election for the first time: the New Zealand general election.

1967 - 1st pulsating radio source (pulsar) detected by postgraduate Jocelyn Burnell and her supervisor Antony Hewish

1990 - Margaret Thatcher resigns as Britain's PM, replaced by John Major

Consider this your discussion space for Maryland vs Rutgers in NCAA football, because apparently both teams are contractually obligated to play this game. More's the pity.