Sunday Bird Droppings

Orioles director of pitching development Rick Peterson will not return in 2017 - Baltimore Sun
"Rick Peterson -- a well-known former major league pitching coach who has served as the Orioles director of pitching development for the past five seasons – will not return for 2017." You should go read Mark's article, too.

More on changes in Orioles farm system - School of Roch
"I’m hearing that John Stockstill isn’t expected to remain as the Orioles’ director of player personnel. Stockstill has served in a variety of roles over the years - including director of international scouting and director of player development - and may be reassigned to a professional scouting job."

Notes on defensive metrics, Mark Trumbo and Jason Castro - Steve Melewski
"Our interior defense, our infield, was really solid, but the one area we could improve on as a club is our outfield defense. And of course, if you improve your outfield defense, you’re also improving your pitching as long as you keep it in the ballpark." - Dan Duquette

McGregor's role in Miley's strong finish - School of Roch
"I didn’t know him at all. I said ‘hi’ to him when I came up there in September. I introduced myself and walked out to watch some of the guys throw in the bullpen and ended up next to him. I asked how he was doing and he said, ‘Fine.’ I said, ‘Man, you’re flying down the mound. I see what you’re doing.’ He said, ‘Ah man,’ and he was like a sponge." - Scott McGregor

Thoughts on Trumbo as the hot stove starts to heat up - BaltimoreBaseball.com
"The website, mlbtraderumors.com, predicted that Trumbo will return to Baltimore for a four-year, $60 million deal. That price tag seems about right – especially given Morales’ deal Friday. But I just think that’s more than what the Orioles want to spend given Trumbo’s skills set."

Carmel, Avon Marching Bands win top prizes at Grand National Championships | Fox 59
It is the official policy of the blog to celebrate all teams named Orioles, and this one will warm the heart of our blogmaster. The Avon Orioles went home with a solid second place finish, also winning Outstanding Musical Performance and Outstanding Visual Performance at the 2016 Bands of America National Championship.

Birthdays and History

Happy Birthday to Wade Miley and former Orioles Josh Bell,  Pat Hentgen, and Larry Harlow. They share this birthday with famous people including Robert Louis Stevenson 1850; Louis Brandeis 1856; Garry Marshall 1934; Whoopi Goldberg 1955; Chris Noth 1957; Jimmy Kimmel 1967; Gerard Butler 1969.

On this day in Baltimore baseball history... not much happened, actually.

On this day in world history...

1789 - Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to a friend in which he said, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

1927 - The Holland Tunnel opened to the public, providing access between New York City and New Jersey beneath the Hudson River.

1933 - In Austin, MN, the first sit-down labor strike in America took place.

1956 - The U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws calling for racial segregation on public buses.

1971 - The U.S. spacecraft Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet, Mars.

1982 - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC.

2006 - A deal was finalized for Google Inc. to acquire YouTube for $1.65 million in Google stock.

Consider this your discussion space for what happened at UFC 205. Conor McGregor wants a piece of ownership of the company, and WW, I've been telling you for years, Khabib Nurmagomedov is a bad, bad man.