Thursday Bird Droppings: Where O's fan playoff vengeance is on hold

Hello, friends.

There are now 167 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2018. For today, there will be the decisive Game 5 between the Cubs and Nationals to potentially entertain us, assuming, anyway, that the right team wins.

Watching the rest of the postseason could have gotten a lot more fun on Wednesday night if the Indians and Cubs had both been winners, knocking off the Yankees and Nationals, respectively. That just didn't happen.

The Cubs got an Orioles-vintage Jake Arrieta performance, still only gave up one run due to an error while Arrieta was actually in the game, then went on to see the second Carl Edwards Jr. meltdown of the series put the game out of reach. The playoffs are definitely not the time to do an Armando Benitez impersonation. There's probably never a good time.

And then there's the Yankees. Why couldn't they have been bad this year? It really offends me on a personal level. The original purveyors of dark magic in baseball are back and they don't want you to forget it. Unlike the Yankees of the recent past, in truth there aren't many hateable characters on this current squad. If they weren't the Yankees, I'd be rooting for them. But they are the Yankees, so go Astros - and go Cubs, too.

Around the blogO'sphere

What's needed from Harvey, Sedlock, Akin, and Lee (School of Roch)
In short, be healthy and don’t suck. As yet, none have managed both in tandem.

In playoff pressure-cooker, AL East manager job security takes a hit (Steve Melewski)
Melewski may not be laughing about the Red Sox firing John Farrell, but I am. The Yankees miracle revival in the ALDS may have saved Joe Girardi from the same fate, at least for now.

Orioles will look to boost rotation for '18 (MLB.com)
Not the first article on this topic, and not the last. Good feelings about next season may not long survive reading the Possible FA Fits section of Alex Cobb, Miguel Gonzalez, Lance Lynn, and Derek Holland.

If Sabathia is done as a Yankee, the Orioles need to make a solid push for him this offseason (Baltimore Baseball)
Here’s Dan Connolly with an article topic that’s somewhat out of left field, but he makes a strong case based on Sabathia’s 2017 performance, his likelihood of signing for no more than two years, and his 3000+ innings of veteran lessons to impart.

Prospects worth checking out in the Arizona Fall League (Keith Law - ESPN)
Subscription required. Law says to keep an eye on Ryan Mountcastle and Tanner Scott. Good advice!

Prospect retrospective: Jake Arrieta (Minor League Ball)
Our friends over at Minor League Ball have been doing prospect retrospectives on each postseason starting pitcher. Here, an argument that Arrieta was improving in 2012 based on his FIP. I would argue that FIP saying Arrieta wasn’t horrible in 2012 shows the limitation of FIP.

Juan Samuel the first to interview for Phillies manager job (Philly.com)
The Windmill may not get to be the next Phillies manager, but he was certainly the first to interview for the job.

Birthdays and anniversaries

There are a number of former Orioles with birthdays today: 2017 catcher Francisco Pena, 2009-13/15-16 gazelle Nolan Reimold, 2015-17 infielder Paul Janish, 2000-01 pitcher Leslie Brea, 1994-95 starter Sid Fernandez, and the late Ray Murray of the inaugural 1954 Orioles.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: gyrocompass co-inventor Elmer Ambrose Sperry (1860), Gumby creator Art Clokey (1921), opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti (1935), The Temptations singer Melvin Franklin (1942), actor Hugh Jackman (1968), and Olympic skier Bode Miller (1977).

On this day in history...

In 1692, the Salem witch trials came to an end with a letter from Massachusetts Governor William Phips, who had created the trials in the first place.

In 1793, a cornerstone was laid for Old East at the University of North Carolina. This is the oldest state university building in the country.

In 1810, the first Oktoberfest was held. The occasion was for the citizens of Munich to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.

In 1928, an iron long respirator was used for the first time. The patient was at the Children's Hospital in Boston.

In 1979, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams was published. Do you know where your towel is?

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And that's the way it is in Birdland on October 12 - or at least, unless something changes later, which it probably won't, because after all, it's still the postseason and the Orioles aren't in it. Have a safe Thursday.