Wednesday Bird Droppings: Where we’re rooting for Cleveland

It’s hump day! Does anyone else often think of that silly camel commercial on Wednesdays? I think that marketing scheme failed though because while I remember the commercial, I have no idea what product it was for.

Anyway. Thanks to a rain out yesterday there are two baseball games on tap tonight. At 4 p.m. the Cubs will try to knock off the Nationals in game four of their series, and at 8 p.m. the Indians play the Yankees for the right to move on to the ALCS.

This is the deadest time of the year when it comes to trying to find new about the Orioles, but I managed to dig up a few things for you.

Here Are The 2017 MLB Prime Time Television Ratings For Each Team - Forbes
It's not surprising that the Orioles ratings went down given their season, but even with a drop they are still ranked 5th in MLB. Not bad!

Philadelphia Phillies: Managerial candidates begin to emerge - RealSport
I've heard in a few places that the Phillies might be interested in getting Buck Showalter to be their next manager. This instance comes from Nick Cafardo, who seems to me to have a history of basically making things up ("rivals GMs say" or "it would make sense") and then people run with it. The best line of article is " the prospect of reuniting with Showalter could lure Manny Machado in free agency next winter."

Are the Orioles ready to turn over right field to Austin Hays? - Steve Melewski
I certainly have no idea if Hays is ready to be a full-time MLB player, but who else do they have?

How Much is That Pitcher in the Window?: 2017/18 FA SP BORAS Projections - Camden Depot
Yesterday Mark wrote about how the Orioles are going to have to put some money into starting pitching, this article gives a ranking of possible pitchers to go after.

Tim Beckham’s two drastically different months with the Orioles short on long-term indicators - Baltimore Sun
This article looks at the difference between August and September for Tim Beckham without coming to any conclusions.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your day is chock full of birthday buddies. Former closer and rookie of the year Gregg Olson celebrates his 51st birthday today, while all star Ty Wigginton is 40! Celebrating his 73rd birthday is Mike Fiore, a utility player who kicked off a five-year MLB career with six games for the Orioles in 1968. And finally it is the birthday of the late Joe Ginsberg, a catcher for the Orioles from 1956-59.

On this day in 1971, Brooks Robinson reached base five consecutive times as the Orioles won game two of the World Series against the Pirates, 11-3. In 2012, J.J. Hardy drove in the winning run in the 13th inning to send the ALDS to five games against the Yankees.