Sunday Bird Droppings

Opening Day is but a mere 43 days away. Aside from being a mere one number away from the answer to the universe, some notable O's have worn 43, including Jim Johnson, Sir Sidney Ponson, and noted sock wearer and business anti-tycoon Curt Schilling. Wow, that's kind of depressing in retrospect. So we fondly remember Jim Johnson's few seasons of excellence, and look forward to ...

Orioles, Yovani Gallardo agree to three-year, $35 million deal - Baltimore Sun
"It took until two days into spring training workouts for pitchers and catchers, but the Orioles finally completed a lengthy negotiation with Yovani Gallardo, agreeing to terms on a three-year deal worth a guaranteed $35 million, according to an industry source." You know, it cost money to get even mediocre starting pitchers, so if you can stomach losing the draft pick, thus is actually a fairly good deal. Hopefully the O's make it better by signing Dexter Fowler, too.

Steve Melewski: A few notes on the Orioles' agreement with pitcher Yovani Gallardo
"So it is done and this time it seems pretty final, if not yet official. The Orioles have agreed to sign free agent pitcher Yovani Gallardo to a three-year deal worth $35 million with an option for a fourth year. A $35 million deal will bring the Orioles' free agent spending this offseason to a total of $249.8 million." Pete spent a lot of money this off-season, folks. A lot. Like, a quarter of a billion dollars.

Dan Duquette on Orioles' pursuit of free agents and weighing draft-pick compensation - Baltimore Sun
"We’re still trying to add to our team, and we have more work to do. We’re still working on a couple of things that could help the ballclub," Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said. "It’s really hard to handicap whether you’re going to get a deal completed or not, so I try not to. We just keep working it, trying to find the right fit for the team. We have a lot more work to do to get our team in shape, so that’s my perspective on it. We have a lot of work to do." Oh, it appears they just might sign Dexter Fowler. Good to know.

Orioles notebook: Jason Garcia's second big league camp offers club more possibilities - Baltimore Sun
"He’s got a good arm," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Saturday after Jason Garcia threw his first bullpen session of the spring. "We said 100 times last year, if we can get through the year we’re going to like having this guy in our organization next year. Not that we didn’t last year. He pitched like one of the guys for periods last year. I was glad where he ended up the end of the year. I would have signed up for that. He has a chance to be pretty good." There is so much coach-speak in here, it's hard to know where to begin.

Orioles bullpen candidate Jeff Beliveau says his shoulder rehab is all but complete - Baltimore Sun
"Former Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Jeff Beliveau said that his surgically repaired shoulder has healed to the point where he can pitch alongside the other candidates for a middle-relief role in the Orioles bullpen." Shoulder, huh? Color me disbelieving.

School of Roch: Notes on Tillman, Navarro, Gallardo and more
Chris Tillman isn't exactly sweating an extension. "Whatever happens, happens. I don't feel strongly one way or the other. I love Baltimore and I'd love to stay here, but that's not my decision to make. Not right now, at least." Spoken like the Southern California native he is.

Spring is here! Nine key questions as camps open | SI.com
A few interesting notes, but here's the first about my favorite topic, pre-season projections. It's kind of hard to project what a team might do when we have no idea what a chuck of the roster will be the last part of the season. "The playoff roster of last year’s 10 postseason entrants represented a 23% turnover from Opening Day (players called up from the minors or acquired from other teams). Texas led the way with 11 new players."

Happy Birthday to former Oriole Tom Shopay, who appeared in parts of 5 seasons with the O's while never exceeding a 63 OPS+. Ouch. He shares it with 1925 Dr. Jack Ramsay, Hall of Fame NBA coach; 1933 Nina Simone, vocalist/pianist; 1934 Rue McClanahan, actress; 1936 Rep. Barbara Jordan (D-TX); 1940 John Lewis, (Rep-D-GA), Civil Rights pioneer; 1946 Alan Rickman, actor and exceptional thief who's moved up to kidnapping; 1946 Tyne Daly, actress; 1946 Anthony Daniels, the actor in the C-3PO suit; 1946 Bob Ryan, Boston sports columnist and professional grumpy person; 1958 Mary-Chapin Carpenter, country vocalist; and 1977 Steve Francis, former UMd basketball player.

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

In world history...

1173 Pope Alexander III canonizes Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury
1431 Joan of Arc's first day of interrogation during her trial for heresy
1613 Michael Romanov, son of Patriarch of Moscow, elected first Russian Tsar of the house of Romanov
1916 Battle of Verdun in WW I begins (1 million casualties)
1922 Great Britain grants Egypt independence
1953 Francis Crick and James Watson discover structure of DNA-molecule

Consider this your discussion space for NCAA Baseball: Maryland vs Alabama. The two have split the first two games, with 'Bama beating Maryland ace Mike "The Unicorn" Shawaryn, but beat the Tide yesterday. It would be a rather notable series win for the Terps if they can pull this off. The game will be on the SEC Network at 1 p.m.