Monday Bird Droppings

The Orioles head into their fourth day off in a little more than a week in second place in the AL East. The O's open the interleague portion of their schedule with a brief two game series against the Mets and then skip over to the Bronx for a four game series against the first place Yankees (it hurts my soul a little bit to utter the words).

Under Tumultuous Circumstances, Orioles Stay Focused Against Rays (Pressbox)
Paul Folkemer wraps up a successful, if slightly off kilter weekend in St. Pete.

School of Roch: Odds and ends following a weekend series in St. Petersburg
Factoids and ephemera from the files o the self-styled Professor of Posts.

Orioles pitchers aren't expected to provide offense | Comcast SportsNet Baltimore So, this.

Baltimore Orioles: Still looking for a lead-off hitter - Birds Watcher - A Baltimore Orioles Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More
Manny Machado has identical .375 OBPs leading off and batting seventh (24 PAs combined, so...)

Jean Segura was hit in the head by a Pedro Strop fastball | HardballTalk
That's gotta smart.

On this day in 1985, Cal Ripken, Jr. broke the franchise record for consecutive games played (464) set by Brooks Robinson. In 1986, former O's manager and GM Paul Richards passed away.

It's the birthday of Joe Borowski. Borowski was traded to the O's from the White Sox for Pete Rose, Jr. and though he managed only six games with the big club, his major league career spanned 423 games. I always confuse him with Dave Borkowski.