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Good morning. There are 47 days until Opening Day. For the O's, number 47 was most famously worn by Jesse Orosco, and since his departure it seems to have become the designated number for mediocre-to-bad relievers. Since 2000 alone, it's been worn by Chuck McElroy, Sean Douglass, Mike DeJean, Jim Hoey, Pedro Viola, Pedro Strop, and Evan Meek. I'm seeing a pattern here.
Today Orioles news is...there is no Orioles news. Yovani Gallardo remains unsigned and Nolan Reimold remains a tentative starting outfielder. The chatter about Gallardo and Fowler has definitely died down a bit - it's hard to get any contract negotiations or reporting done when everyone is flying to Florida. Maybe by the time you read this post, we'll get some news and this paragraph will be out of date. I wouldn't hate that. Until then, it's slim pickings for today's links:
Baltimore Orioles: Top 10 prospects - MLB - Keith Law Blog- ESPN
Weirdly enough, the O's are the only team whose list isn't behind the Insider paywall. There are some interesting names on Law's list, especially Davis Hess all the way up at #3.
The Worst Transactions of the 2016 Offseason | FanGraphs Baseball
Dave Cameron isn't too optimistic about the later years of Chris Davis' contract.
Buck Showalter: A Manager For All Seasons - Press Box
From Monday, a nice read about Buck Showalter and how he's been a much different guy from what players and fans first expected in 2010.
Film on 'The Other Ripken' and his profane baseball card to debut at California film festival - Baltimore Sun
The title pretty much sums this one up. File this under "news I never thought I would read."
The list of former O's with a birthday today is not impressive: the only recent Oriole is Scott Williamson, part of the ill-fated reliever spending spree of 2007. We also have Alan Wiggins and Mike Hart, a pair of 1987 teammates who combined for -1.6 WAR that season, and Willie Kirkland, who played 66 games for the Birds in 1964.
Other February 17th birthdays include football legend Jim Brown (1936), basketball legend Michael Jordan (1963), director Michael Bay (1965), awful human Paris Hilton (1981), and recent Grammy winner Ed Sheeran (1991).
On this day in 1801, an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr was resolved when Jefferson was elected President of the United States and Burr was named Vice President.
On this day in 1865, Columbia, South Carolina was burned as Confederate forces fled from advancing Union forces.
On this day in 1933, The Blaine Act ended prohibition in the United States.
On this day in 1976, the Eagles released their "Greatest Hits" album, which would go on to become the best-selling album of all time. It still ranks second, behind only Michael Jackson's Thriller.
Finally, on this day in 2003, Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler passed away suddenly during spring training. The Keys now have a community service award named after Bechler and given to a player each year in his honor. More importantly, his death resulted in an FDA ban of ephedra-containing supplements; that decision probably saved the lives of countless other young athletes across the country.
If it's still icy where you are, be safe out there. If it's not, be safe anyway. Have a great one.