Monday Bird Droppings: Where it’s Jonathan Schoop’s birthday

Hello, friends.

There are now 163 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2018. That is still quite a lot of days. At least for today, there will be Game 3 of the ALCS between the Yankees and Astros to potentially entertain us, assuming, anyway, that the Yankees lose in the most heartbreaking fashion possible.

Yes, that was former Oriole Justin Turner hitting the walkoff bomb to give the Dodgers a 2-0 edge over the Cubs in the National League Championship Series last night. It took Turner four years after the Orioles decided to dump him in order to keep Julio Lugo before he became a great player. Perhaps he was just a late bloomer. But that’s definitely not the greatest decision the Andy MacPhail O’s ever made.

There’s something weird about caring at all about the Dodgers winning. I mean, it’s not like they’re the underdogs at all. They just had a $241 million payroll. That’s crazy. But the Cubs just won the whole enchilada last season and the Dodgers haven’t won since 1988, so, you know.

As far as that goes, it’s obvious about which to prefer to this Orioles fan, at least for now.

Around the blogO’sphere

How the back end of the Orioles roster came to define their 2017 season (Baltimore Sun)
The Sun’s Jon Meoli makes a month-by-month case that as went the fringes of the Orioles roster, so went the team’s fortunes.

Still waiting on decisions regarding Orioles coaching staff (School of Roch)
Buck wants everybody back, even pitching coach Roger McDowell, but the Orioles, being the Orioles, haven’t moved to do that just yet.

First offseason edition: “10 questions for O’s fans” (Steve Melewski)
Among the questions Melewski is asking at this point in time is the percentage chance that Manny Machado will be an Oriole in 2019, and separately, the chance that Zach Britton will be an Oriole in 2019.

SEE IT: Tanner Scott brings the heat (Baseball America)
As advertised, some video of Scott throwing the baseball very hard in Arizona.

Dealing relievers at the deadline gives Oakland two solid prospects (Beyond the Box Score)
There are a variety of reasons why the Orioles didn’t get two solid prospects for any relievers at the trade deadline, including Britton’s health and the fact that the team most desperate for relief help, the Nationals, was probably off the list of O’s trade partners. But it’s worked out for at least one team so far.

Birthdays and anniversaries

On this day in 1983, the Orioles won their most recent World Series championship, beating the Phillies, 5-0. Eddie Murray hit two home runs in the clinching game, with Scott McGregor pitching a five-hitter, and of course, Rick Dempsey being named the MVP of the series.

One current Oriole has a birthday today: It’s Jonathan Schoop. Happy birthday, Jonathan! He’s turning 26. There are also a couple of former Orioles with birthdays today. They are 1977-78 reserve Mike Dimmel, and 1973-74 swingman Don Hood.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your other birthday buddies for today include: playwright Oscar Wilde (1854), longest-serving Supreme Court justice William O. Douglas (1898), mad hits-haver Bert Kaempfert (1923), actress Angela Lansbury (1925), actor Tim Robbins (1958), Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea (1962), and four-time gold medal-winning basketballer Sue Bird (1980).

It’s also the birthday of Bryce Harper today, who is once again celebrating by not being in the playoffs.

On this day in history...

In 690, Wu Zetian ascended to the throne of the Chinese Empire, becoming the lone empress regnant in more than two millennia of Chinese history.

In 1793, Marie Antoinette was executed by guillotine in France.

In 1847, Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre was first published.

In 1859, John Brown led a raid on an arsenal in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

In 1946, the Nazi leaders who were convicted and sentenced to death in the Nuremberg Main Trial were executed.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on October 16 - or at least, unless something happens later, which it’s probably not going to because this is the postseason and the Orioles still aren’t in it. Have a safe Monday.