Saturday Bird Droppings

Orioles nearly absent from prospects lists; Steve Johnson signs with Rangers - Baltimore Sun
"We’ve heard Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette say that national experts haven’t given the club's farm system its due. If that’s the case, Duquette can count this year’s MLB Pipeline top 100 prospects list among the snubs."

Steve Pearce on why he didn't return to Orioles: 'You might have to ask one of those guys' - Baltimore Sun
"Steve Pearce, whose one-year, $4.75 million deal with the Tampa Bay Rays became official Thursday, spoke with Rays reporters Friday by conference call. On the call, he was asked why the Orioles didn’t push to re-sign him. "You know, I really don’t know what happened there," Pearce said. "It’s one of those things, you might have to ask one of those guys."

Doug Fister to Houston Astros bad news for Baltimore Orioles - Baltimore Orioles- ESPN
"Doug Fister would have been a good fit for the O’s. Instead, he’s going to the ‘Stros. The Orioles, who still are looking to replace Wei-Yin Chen and improve a rotation whose 4.53 ERA ranked next-to-last in the American League last season, don’t like to spend big on pitching. Fister, a free agent who turns 32 next week and is coming off a disappointing injury-plagued campaign, represented one of the more intriguing arms available in baseball’s bargain bin."

Happy Birthday to former Orioles Joe Kerrigan, Davey Johnson (a 3-time All-Star and 3-time Gold Glove winner and my 2nd favorite Orioles' manager) and Walt Dropo. They share it with famous people like 133 - Marcus Severus Didius Julianus, Roman Emperor; 1882 - Franklin D. Roosevelt, American president; 1905 - Emilio G. Segrè, Tivoli, Italian physicist and Nobel laureate; 1909 - Saul David Alinsky, radical writer; 1912 - Barbara Tuchman, US, historian/author of "Guns of August", which I am currently attempting to finish; 1930 - Gene Hackman, actor; 1933 - Louis Rukeyser, financial whiz; 1937 - Boris Spassky, USSR, world chess champion; 1937 - Vanessa Redgrave, actress; 1941 - Dick Cheney, 46th US Vice President and firearms safety course dropout; 1951 - Phil Collins, England, singer/drummer; 1957 - Payne Stewart, golfer and fashion icon; 1958 - Brett Butler, comedienne and milk carton portrait subject; and 1974 - Christian Bale, actor.

On this day in Baltimore baseball history...

2003 - Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. joins his father Cal Sr. by becoming the 40th member of the Orioles Hall of Fame. Ripken Jr. is elected in his first year of eligibility by a unanimous vote of the media covering the team. The formal ceremony will be take place on September 6th, which marks the eighth anniversary of the night he broke the 56-year-old record of 2,130 consecutive games played set by Lou Gehrig.
2012 - The Orioles announce that they have extended 14 invitations to non-roster players for the upcoming spring training, including veteran Ps Armando Galarraga, Pat Neshek and Willie Eyre and C Ronny Paulino. And remember, folks, that's the year we went back to the playoffs. What a weird year.

On this day in world history...

1661 Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England is ritually executed after having been dead for two years.
1815 Burned US Library of Congress re-established with Thomas Jefferson's 6,500 volumes
1939 Hitler threatens the Jews during his speech to the German Reichstag (Parliament)
1948 Mahatma Gandhi assassinated by Nathuram Godse
1965 State funeral of Winston Churchill at St Paul's Cathedral in London. Largest ever state funeral.

Consider this your discussion space for NCAA Womens' Tennis: Maryland vs James Madison.