Thursday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles are winners, even if the media doesn't get why

Hello, friends.

Things aren't going so great when you think about how the Orioles only have two good starters and one of those two good starters gets totally lit up to the point where you have to wonder if he's actually a good starter. That's what we got from Kevin Gausman last night, though. It wasn't much fun. But next time he won't have to face the AL's best offense, so maybe that will go better.

The rubber game of this three game series awaits. The winner will come away with the AL East lead. All they have to do is win... whether or not that will happen is another story. Tyler Wilson is not one of the Orioles good starting pitchers, which doesn't mean he's incapable of shutting down that same Sox offense. It will be a challenge for him, that's all.

Then again, former Orioles prospect Eduardo Rodriguez will also face a challenge in pitching against his former Orioles organization. Frustrating as they can be sometimes, the Orioles hitters are not slouches. They are good! They can rally from deficits as long as those deficits aren't too gigantic. It'll be good to get a little distance here, with the Jays looming next. Maybe it'll happen.

Around the blogO'sphere

Orioles pitching coach Dave Wallace on Ubaldo Jimenez demotion: 'We're going to need him' - Baltimore Sun
Let's get the depressing stuff out of the way first. If Wallace is right and the Orioles will need Jimenez, they're in big trouble.

The 2016 trade deadline is going to be murder on teams looking for starting pitchers - SBNation.com
You want to read Grant Brisbee any time, I promise you that. In this case it's bad news for the O's, though. There are hardly any starting pitchers who will be on the market next month.

How the Orioles pieced together MLB’s oddest contender | New York Post
One in the genre of national baseball press being utterly unable, once again, to comprehend a successful Orioles team and how and why things are happening this way.

Manny Machado Is Becoming His Idol | FanGraphs Baseball
Don't read this article if you are uncomfortable with Manny Machado being connected to Alex Rodriguez. Do read this article because it's Jeff Sullivan talking about the Orioles.

Hardy could return to Orioles by weekend | orioles.com
This is excellent news for everyone who is getting tired of seeing Ryan Flaherty in the lineup, which should be just about everyone who's not in some way related to Flaherty.

Who is the Baltimore Orioles' class clown? Chris Davis doles some out - Baltimore Orioles- ESPN
Apparently the best dancer on the Orioles is Mike Wright, according to Davis. That is not the answer I would have guessed.

A look at the Orioles' Dominican Summer League rosters - Steve Melewski
You never know, maybe the next Jonathan Schoop is lurking deep down on one of these foreign rookie league rosters... but probably not because the Orioles don't spend much money on international amateurs.

Birthdays and anniversaries

There are a few former Orioles with birthdays today. They are: 2012 wild card game hero Joe Saunders, mid-00s utilityman Chris Gomez, and from the 1959 bullpen, the late Ernie Johnson.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Along with those former Orioles, your birthday buddies for today include: Apache tribal leader Geronimo (1829), CIA coup victim/Iranian prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh (1882), Watergate-era Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham (1917), wrestler The Ultimate Warrior (1959), N.W.A. rapper MC Ren (1969), rapper Tupac Shakur (1971), new-Star Trek's Mr. Sulu, John Cho (1972), and Game of Thrones actress Sibel Kekilli (1980).

On this day in history...

In 1487, the last battle of the War of the Roses, the Battle of Stoke Field, was waged. King Henry VII's forces defeated the last of the York challengers to his rule.

In 1779, trying to take advantage of the American War of Independence, Spain declared war on Great Britain and began the Great Siege of Gibraltar, which would last for over three and a half years before the Spanish gave up. Gibraltar remains a British possession to this day.

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln, then running for Senate against Stephen A. Douglas, gave his "House Divided" speech in Springfield, Illinois. "I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free..."

In 1963, on the Vostok 6 mission, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space.

In 1981, President Reagan awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to Ambassador Ken Taylor, Canada's ambassador to Iran during the hostage crisis, who helped six Americans hide and escape. He was the first foreign citizen to be awarded the medal.

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And that's the way it is in Birdland on June 16 - or at least, until something happens later. Have a safe Thursday. Go Orioles!