Sunday Bird Droppings: Where this ride will finally come to a complete stop

Hello, friends.

The horror show that is the 2017 Orioles season will finally conclude today. The stakes are not very high, since they have lost so many games. They just finished a 7-20 September. It takes some real skill to lose 20 games in a single calendar month.

That’s not to say there are no stakes. The Orioles will be trying to stay out of last place. They’re currently tied with the Blue Jays for last heading into the final day. The O’s currently hold the 11th pick in next year’s draft. They will not be able to get into the top ten.

The Orioles will also be trying to avoid having MLB’s worst starting rotation by ERA for the whole season. It’s going to take some work to avoid that, because they enter the day with a 5.74 rotation ERA.

The Reds, who are second-worst, are at 5.59. Even a complete game shutout by Kevin Gausman would only lower the O’s to a 5.68 - so they’re going to need to hope for that plus a Reds disaster against the Cubs. It’s unlikely, but I guess you never know. I’m ready for this nonsense to be over.

Around the blogO’sphere

Adam Jones on his season, his future, and the club’s needs (School of Roch)
Jones will be meeting with Peter Angelos over the offseason. Past times doing this are credited with influencing the re-signings of Chris Davis, Darren O’Day, and Mark Trumbo, so, uh...

Kevin Gausman gets one more shot to end dissatisfying season on good note (Baltimore Sun)
Wouldn’t it be nice?

In his autumn years, he’s still ‘so Brooks’ (Baltimore Sun)
In which Brooks Robinson accidentally showed up to the funeral of an elderly Baltimore resident and longtime Orioles fan.

Winter Came: 2017 Baltimore Orioles (Yahoo! Sports)
The Yahoo postmortem of the O’s season. Spoiler: The rotation was really bad.

Birthdays and anniversaries

There are a few former Orioles with birthdays today. They are: 2011 three-gamer Mitch Atkins, 2000-01 reliever Chuck McElroy, and the late Bob Boyd of the 1956-60 Orioles.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: Boeing company founder William Boeing (1881), actor Walter Matthau (1920), actress Julie Andrews (1935), mad hits getter Rod Carew (1945), funny man Zach Galifianakis (1969), and actress Brie Larson (1989).

On this day in history...

In 1814, the Congress of Vienna, which would redraw the political map of Europe in the aftermath of Napoleon, got underway.

In 1890, Yosemite National Park was established by Congress.

In 1918, a force of Arabs led by T.H. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) captured Damascus in World War I.

In 1946, the individual sentences for Nazi leaders found guilty in the Nuremberg trials were issued, with twelve being sentenced to death.

In 1962, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson had its first broadcast.

In 1971, the first ever CT scan (computed tomography) was performed at Atkinson Morley Hospital in London.

In 1975, Muhammed Ali defeated Joe Frazier in the Thrilla in Manila.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on October 1 - or at least, until something happens later, which it surely will this afternoon when the Orioles season finally, mercifully, blessedly comes to an end. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!